Huge increase in creosote after installing new Jotul

[K-du]

Thanks everyone for weighing in. This is turning into an education, which is good even if it's expensive. I truly appreciate all the thoughtful and helpful responses. I will probably line the chimney AND work on getting my wood issues worked out AND reexamine how I'm using the stove.

I will continue to post and respond here about how I deal with this problem and what results I get.

 

[firefighterjake]

I truly love it when a fella like K-du comes along and instead of being like so many folks who insist their wood is great, their set up is fantastic and they know all about running a woodstove, he instead offers his thanks for the advice and is willing to experiment and reconsider things. You're a fine addition here K-du . . . hope you stick around.

 

[jatoxico]

IMHO all this chimney discussion is off track. Creosote forms from incomplete combustion of the wood. Incomplete combustion is generally related to a poor stove design, operation or wet wood

I think these stoves have recommended chimneys for a reason. If the draft is too sluggish to pull air through the stove adequately you won't get enough air to the fire and smoke will reside too long in the system. Even in a good system where wood is burnt fairly completely there will be problems if the gases cool and move slowly through.

Many of us have stoves that run fine but on warmish days or when atmospheric conditions are bad the draft is bad and the stove runs poorly even with good wood. Likely the wood is not as good as it could be and possibly the OP could run a bit better but lousy draft is a killer. To get the performance the stove can achieve it needs the right setup.

 

[peakbagger]

I expressed my opinion mostly as its lot less expensive to make operating and wood supply changes before working on the flue. I expect the prior poster also hit another point that many stoves have their most problems in shoulder season when the draft is poorer than later when it gets real cold out

 

[bholler]

Feel free to spend lot of money on the chimney, but running truly dry wood (at least 2 seasons old) and alter the stove habits or replace the Jotul with an inefficient smoke dragon that hides the fact that 1/3 or more of the heat is going up the chimney.

I agree that it is probably a combination of issues But an over sized uninsulated chimney will make any issues much worse. A good chimney will not fix bad wood or bad operation. But good wood will not fix a bad chimney either you can still get allot of creosote buildup from dry wood

 

[K-du]

UPDATE:

I bought a moisture meter. I split a log from my pile and tested moisture at it's center. It's 19%. Most what I have read says that we want it under 20%.

What do people here recommend?

 

[Stinkpickle]

I'd think that should be fine. Investing in a good insulated 6 inch liner should help a lot.

 

[TheRambler]

Anything 20 or under is good, 20-25 can be narginal, and 25+ not good at all. Make sure you check multiple pieces from different partsof the stack too

 

[JA600L]

Do you use any thermometers to monitor stove or pipe temperatures. It might be worth your while to invest in them so you can see what your stove is doing.

 

[bholler]

I bought a moisture meter. I split a log from my pile and tested moisture at it's center. It's 19%. Most what I have read says that we want it under 20%.
What do people here recommend?

I agree with what the others said also look for anywhere air could be leaking into the chimney usually the clean out or open block cores going through the wall to the clean out

 

[K-du]

Yes, I use a thermometer on the stove top per Jotul's instructions and keep the temp on the high end. I don't try to do overnight burns. The house is plenty warm in the morning from the previous nights final firing.

Pretty hard to find a chimney sweep this time of year. Most don't even call back. I went to the stove dealer where I bought the stove. They took pity and scheduled me for next Thursday. They are currently booking five weeks out. They will use the "chains" and chemicals if needed.
Then I will line it.

 

[Whiskey Fun]

Yes, I use a thermometer on the stove top per Jotul's instructions and keep the temp on the high end. I don't try to do overnight burns. The house is plenty warm in the morning from the previous nights final firing.

Pretty hard to find a chimney sweep this time of year. Most don't even call back. I went to the stove dealer where I bought the stove. They took pity and scheduled me for next Thursday. They are currently booking five weeks out. They will use the "chains" and chemicals if needed.
Then I will line it.

I was wondering if you've made any changes to your set up since Oct and found any solutions? I started a thread here called Total Creosote Blockage to ask for advice and ended up changing out my liner. After all was said and done it cost me about $1,100. I did it myself in an afternoon with a friend. Your set might require more or less material than mine, but I would definitely think it would be worth doing to get the most out of your new stove investment.