I hope I don't have a spelling mistake? Creosote is a flammable, tar-like substance that builds up in chimneys when wood is burned. It can cause chimney fires, structural damage, and health problems.On low, like idle or just above idle, certainly under 9-10 o'clock on the dial (imagine idle = 7 o'clock, and wide open = 5 o'clock), 24-30 hours per 40 pound bag but I tend to refill it at half. 1992 VC Reliance running Hamer's Hot Ones pellets. I can crank it up, but it'll run a body out of the house in a hurry. 🥵
What is "creosote"?
" . I'm fairly familiar with creosote, I've had and been around a few wood stoves, and even seen flue fires that roared, but they were wood stoves or fireplaces, where active flames are licking upwards at any accumulated creosote in a flue. The only thing I've found in my pellet stove's flue is a black ash, maybe even some minute traces of sticky black ash in the cleanout's upside down cap, but I don't see a flame path from flame to the flue up out of a fire box, down the back side past the heat exchanger tubes and out through a near floor level mounted combustion blower's blades.
Yes I had assumed you were making a little joke, but I was interested in finding out from someone else what to expect. I have only done one little cleaning so far and did get into the area past the combustion fan. It all looked like dry powder soot. I agree re wood stoves verses pellet stoves. The pellets burn so clean and hot it must send most of the gases right out. Much different than a smoldering wood fire going into a masonry chimney. Of course these days I assume no one uses a masonry and use double wall to keep the flue gasses hot. Even then I do know they have chimney fires as my install told me he just had to replace a DW chimney. The bad thing about wood is you need to be in control of combustion and that verses heat control is too hard. I LOVE this pellet stove. I get a flame to look at when I'm there, and it is heating the basement 24/7and hopefully helping upstairs. I have another plan underway to make a 1st floor register. Also, I am starting another test today to see how many pellets I burn with the dist fan on low instead of off. I did run it that way overnight and there is no difference to me in the basement heat. No fan was fine, as I have a big raised fan next to the stove for room air distributionIt was "in jest" that I asked "What is "creosote"?
I've never left home with a fire going in a wood stove or fire place, nor would I now. I've never shut my pellet stove down to go to work or anywhere else ... unless I was anticipating it maybe running out of pellets before I returned as that leads to smoky smell and wear on the auger.
Finished another test running the dist blower on low. Stove mode min heat setting. Had to turn the feed rate to 1.5 otherwise the flames were getting too high once and awhile. I'm sure I would have burned more pellets if I had left it on 3 like my previous test (no fan).
I keep the P43 feeder at about 1.5. I do that because if I set the feed rate at 3 or 4:
Thanks for the info. Yes, as far as I can figure out reading all the available info, the feed rate dial sets the "ON" time for the feed motor per minute but the control board can go x% above and below that to try and regulate. This ends up lowering your stoves max BTU input (and output by default). I am not heating my entire house (although I am working on a new vent today),so I have been trying to run it at the lowest settings. I am below the lower spec 23,900 BTU/Hr for sure.
It was a few pounds less without the dist fan. Might as well say it was the same. I figure might as well run the fan on lowest setting and getting more heat out due to the gain in efficiency. I just started my vent project, so it will be interesting when I start blowing cold air from my bedroom right next to the dist air intake. That air will get heated and want to go up the stairs. Then in the summer I can reverse my duct fan and blow cold air into my bedroom.
