Creosote Removal

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stoney28

Member
Hearth Supporter
Oct 12, 2008
64
Northern NY
I was thinking of buying some of those cresote removal logs I see in the stores, for my EKO 40, and I wanted to know if any of you tried it and how it worked out.
 
Where are you getting creosote? How much is there? Is it on a course of continuing to accumulate or is it likely to stabilize at a fixed level? Is it causing any problem?

I don't have an Eko, but a Tarm, and the only place I get creosote is in the firebox. There isn't much; some places more like a light scale and in some other places maybe up to 1/8" or a little more. It does not continue to accumulate but seems to just maintain a more or less fixed amount. In other words, it now seems to burn off as quickly as it might accumulate. It causes no problems, there are no drips, and it does not seem to affect anything.

Hence, I ignore it. I do shut my system down in late spring, and the Tarm manual recommends scraping the firebox and sealing it so no air/moisture can get in the firebox over the summer. Last summer I scraped as much off as I could, a layer remained, and I sealed up the firebox. When fall came and the first fall fire, there was no evidence of rust or corrosion in the firebox. Creosote + mositure (water) = acid = corrosion of steel. I feel comfortable that my firebox is doing OK.
 
Yeah, its just in the firebox. I was thinking ahead to this summer when I shut it down. I don't relish the idea of scraping it out if I can just burn a couple of special logs to get rid of it.
 
you will be hard pressed to get a creosote log to remove the thick runny creosote... if you have storage, you probably don't have as much of that as compared to someone without storage. As long as you clean anything loose out at the end of the season... ie loose or flakey creosote and ash... you should be fine. Those are the areas where moisture can collect and cause corrosion. The thick runny stuff actually forms kind of a protective barrier after it hardens, providing there isn't moisture between it and the steel... which under normal use, there shouldn't be.

cheers
 
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