Our flue after 3 months

[Nigel459]

Hi all, thanks for looking. Here's a shot of our flue three months after the install. Probably burned 90% of the time. BK Sirocco 20.1. The little buildup was flaking right off in lightweight chips that would curl up like cinnamon sticks, or crumble if handled, and looked brown on the outside of the little "sticks". You can see one spot a flake has come off just on its own.

Been following the BK prescription, i.e. 20 min. hot burns to char, wood is ash @ 18~22%, (split at room temp and tested), so not all splits are perfect MC.

We will do a good cleanup after the burning season but anything to worry about until then?

 

[jetsam]

Looks good to me, but creosote condensation happens on the cool parts of the pipe- so the top is always the worst. Check that part out too.

 

[xman23]

Looks good. Real smart to check the chimney before you have a problem. If you can sweep it and see what comes out is the best. The first year is always the worst. Poor quality wood, and burning techniques are the norm. It shows up as blacken glass, plugged up gooey cap screen.

 

[Nigel459]

Looks good to me, but creosote condensation happens on the cool parts of the pipe- so the top is always the worst. Check that part out too.

Will do. Binoculars reveal no visible buildup on the screen in the cap, but I’ll go up and have a look, just as soon as the weather allows!

 

[Nigel459]

Looks good. Real smart to check the chimney before you have a problem. If you can sweep it and see what comes out is the best. The first year is always the worst. Poor quality wood, and burning techniques are the norm. It shows up as blacken glass, plugged up gooey cap screen.

Thanks for chiming in, it’s nice to have this place to be reassured, even when you’re pretty darned sure things seem ok. Much appreciated

 

[jetsam]

Will do. Binoculars reveal no visible buildup on the screen in the cap, but I’ll go up and have a look, just as soon as the weather allows!

Well, if the cap has a screen on it, that's usually the very worst part. If the cap screen is clean, that's an excellent sign. (Inspect the flue anyway.)

 

[Rickb]

Mine is always dirty at the top and pretty clean at the bottom. After a full 6 months of burning I usually only have about a cup or 2 worth of crap and that's on a 20ft tall chimney. There usually isn't anything in my 6.5ft of stove pipe.