What Stage is this Creosote? (video and pictures)

[rcb5588]

Hey everyone, figured I would post this here with all the great knowledge on this site.

I am planning on having our chimney swept, but out of curiosity I wanted to see what the inside of our clay flue looked like. We've been in this house for a few years and have only casually used the fireplace, a few times a season. Not risking it anymore and will now be doing annual sweeps. But wanted to see what was built up inside first.

I only recently learned that there are 3 stages of creosote. Curious what people think about our flue, and what stage you might think this is at, or any other insight that you might have. It doesn't seem very flaky in there, but I can definitely see that it's glazed. But I really don't have much to compare it to.

I bought one of those chimney cleaning kits with the rods to attach to a drill, and that's what I attached my phone to so I could get this video. I haven't swept it yet, so again this is pre-sweep. Below is the video and some screenshots from the video.

I appreciate any insight, thanks!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies