Creosote buildup, new guy concerens

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Thanks. I think I may have a similar isse at the top of the chimney. It seem like I have a hard time getting a good draft, I know I burned too cool for a while as well. I'm going to clean it this weekend. How clean dis you get the top of yours? Did that seem to help?

I have an easy roof to get onto so i cleaned the cap by hand and the soot eater did a good job with the rest. I didnt have a draft issue so I cant answer that but here are a few things ive gathered from asking similar questions on this site..... how tall is your chimney? Whats the moisture content of a fresh split at room temperature? What are your stove top temperatures? What does your stove do if you throw wood you know to be dry into it. The draft issue you think you have might just be something else. For me it was mediocre wood. If i toss pallet wood in my stove it looks like the gates of hell.
 
Thanks Mr. Obvious. I pointed out that I appreciated that portion of his otherwise useless post.
Well, no. Your response was seriously sarcastic. I’m not a moderator here, but hopefully you get told by one to slow your roll a little bit.
 
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Keep it nice folks. Facebook is for insulting each other. hearth.com is for helping each other.
 
Thank you for your advise on my concerns.
Not quite sure how to take this (serious or sarcastic) but I suppose the best thing to do is give you the benefit of the doubt and just say you're welcome.
But back on topic, your pipe looks ok, and that Sooteater should clean it up right nice for ya.
Furnace cement should work fine to make that baffle useable again...you can use pins to hold the pieces together while the cement cures...if re-enforcement seems like it is needed...
 
Curious, pic #2 looks like some kind of roxul material in the firebox, what is that?
 
My thought on your situation is that a sooteater and 15 minutes will clean it out and eliminate any concerns about a dirty flue. You can do it from inside, in any weather. Wondering if it's dirty? Run the sooteater and see what comes out.
 
Not quite sure how to take this (serious or sarcastic) but I suppose the best thing to do is give you the benefit of the doubt and just say you're welcome.
But back on topic, your pipe looks ok, and that Sooteater should clean it up right nice for ya.
Furnace cement should work fine to make that baffle useable again...you can use pins to hold the pieces together while the cement cures...if re-enforcement seems like it is needed...

Yes sarcasm, you hadnt provided any help which is what i came here for. Thank you. I plan to get on roof this weekend to take a close look at the chimney cap. The louvers are not real large and could have some buildup or larger flakes stuck in there causing draft issues. But then again the draft iss could be from the sub zero temps we've had here in lower michigan, not sure.
 
Curious, pic #2 looks like some kind of roxul material in the firebox, what is that?

Pic 2 shows the blanket that sits on top of the baffle and the flakes that had fallen down the pipe. Like maybe when the good draft slowed and then caused the flakes just to settle at the bottom. There was also what looked like powdery ash on it as well which didnt bother me too much.
 
I have an easy roof to get onto so i cleaned the cap by hand and the soot eater did a good job with the rest. I didnt have a draft issue so I cant answer that but here are a few things ive gathered from asking similar questions on this site..... how tall is your chimney? Whats the moisture content of a fresh split at room temperature? What are your stove top temperatures? What does your stove do if you throw wood you know to be dry into it. The draft issue you think you have might just be something else. For me it was mediocre wood. If i toss pallet wood in my stove it looks like the gates of hell.

Chimney is probably 20'. I do not have the means to test the moisture content but if I had to guess its not seasoned properly. I get the stove top to 450 ish but its difficult to stabalize it there. I have only burned the wood I have but when I load it up, it takes quite some time to get going. Pallet wood will burn hot, but I wouldn't expect split wood to burn like pallet wood.