OT- Wood Burning Preferences -Chimney part III

On that note I'm set to go light it off, I did check this stove out thoroughly, seems to be fine, everything works like it should, it's an old Martin Industries/Ashley Automatic model 25H F.

I'm thinking the abundance of dead elm, and other hardwoods that have been down, many resting on limbs in the air, will be the best wood to burn, particularly the standing elm as it's bone dry, then the others if needed, figured those would not be as seasoned as they are not cut up, probably won't take long after they've been cut. Oak, Cherry, Maple and some White Birch.

That in mind I think the creosote build up should be at minimum, operating the stove so it burns clean, not choked out too much, the Elm will probably last me the rest of the season and produce the least creosote.

What I'm wondering, is an annual clean out say after the season's over, (check again before firing up in the fall) the normal interval or should I be checking more often, based on the kind of wood I'm using ? (there certainly won't be any green or unseasoned wood going in there)

The other thing with this stove is I remember leaving a bed of ash just a little below the level of the front door, what is recommended here, it's got ash in it still, I found a piece of newspaper, with a birth notice of January 27, 1980 ! Should I clean it out or leave the bed of ash, seems it would insulate the bottom, floor is concrete anyway, that is how I remember doing it then, not sure if it was correct or it does not matter.

I also sell some wood, all hard wood, in the winter. We have an abundance of pine here that continuously dies. The sweep said all he ever burned at his home was pine cause everybody gave it to him as they were afraid to use it. It is a real creosote producer, but that is all I burn cause I cannot sell it. I will check my main heating chimney every fall, and I usually get about a gallon of soot out of it, no creosote. The dryness of the wood is so very important.

Most of the elm here has been hit by the dutch elm, bark is off, and it is dry, even after a rain, it dries back out quickly, compared to those that are dead with bark on, hard too, only soft ones are the big ones that are dead and I have not gone near due to widow makers lurking above. There is about 98 acres here, all kinds of dead and blown down, hardwoods mostly.

I'l have to monitor the stack I suppose but it sounds like the dry elm ought to be the cleanest burning, only reason I am concerned is that the stove pipe goes from the stove 6" to 7" through a concrete wall, elbows up to a 8" x 12" flue in a big ole chimney that is for the fireplace on one side, (have 2 big FP's) those flues are both 2' x 2', they never needed cleaning, oversize helps there. Just that smaller dia flue was concerning me, it's clean, but was plugged if you saw the previous threads on tool talk, but has good draft, that is for sure. I used to run those 2 FP's often years back, but not so much anymore, outside air fed, w/ enclosures and heat exchange ducts to push more heat, they consume some serious wood and you have to watch them constantly, lot of work actually.

Obviously that would be a worst case scenario, I'll have to see how hot it gets wide open and choke it back a little if necessary. Right after the elbow above the stove to the horizontal to the wall, the pipe transitions from 6" to 7", so it's probably going to cool, then will cool further along the 4' it travels through the wall to the base of the chimney, so I'll have to monitor that area, when I initially cleaned the chimney and cleared the blockage from 25 + years on non use, those were the only areas with soot, mostly grinds, a few flakes. I made it easy to disassemble the pipe, no problem keeping an eye on things in there. Ive got a digital temperature reader for now, but see the magnetic wood stove thermometer listed and ones that look like you need to drill a hole in the stack to use.

I'll have to ask if his kids are on any of the teams, I think 1 or both played hoop, just approaching HS age now, nice area over there, I'm about 40 miles east.

Ashes in the firebox are ok within reason, and hold the fire a little better maybe. Each stove has its own rules and you must learn on your own for the most part. Burning some wood makes good hot heat, but does not last long, therefore if you get it hot you can throw some ashes over the top of the fire to tame it down a little and make it last longer. If you need more heat reducing the ash content makes more room for wood, and if it has grates you in my opinion get more air under the fire and makes for alot hotter fire if needed.

I have burned wood since 1971 and so far have never had to clean the chimney, but do so at least once a month. A clean chimney is a direct result of the type of wood, condition of wood, draft the chimney creates, and how hot you burn it. Most chimney fires are a direct result of someone who is afraid of a chimney fire. You would be best to have a chimney fire every day, there is little or no fuel for it to burn. If it acumulates it has stored fuel along side the chimney, thus making a big chimney fire. When you have a chimney fire the glaze gets hot and expands. Like perhaps as a child we had snakes (fireworks) that once you lighted them they would expand and make black snakes, and black marks on the sidewalk. Thus your chimney glaze expands, and with added creasote it chokes off the chimney. I would guess if you have a build up it will be from the roof line on up, not always, so keep a eye on it. Red hot stove pipes are good once a day or at least every other day. All this is opinion only, so use your own judgment. If you have a build up, you can have a chimney fire that lasts for several hours, or one that needs a fire department in a few moments. There is no such thing as a brush or chimney tool to take the glaze off a chimney wall, it must get hot enough to burn off or it will dry out and fall often during the summer months. Keep some zip lock bags full of dry powder in a bucket on hand to toss down the chimney, and stop as much air as you can to smother the chimney fire. Using water on a hot chimney usualy means a need for a new chimney next spring.

This one is on the end of the house and is over the roof line, there is a lot of space around it, if there ever were a fire I could cut off the oxygen to it pretty quickly on both ends, there is no place for it to cause any damage, but it's good discussion, best to be prepared and have a plan well ahead of time, it will be interesting to see how much creosote forms as I start to use it, just want to have some confidence that by keeping an eye on things, there is nothing to worry about, nope I'm not the guy who waits 5 years to clean their oil fired furnace, on the brink of a disaster, like my friend sees quite often in the heating business, well worth whatever work you have to do for the heat it provides.

I know that elm can be hard on chain saw cutters, but it does not seem to be a problem with small diameter logs, I've got a large supply of it standing, I hope to gather a bunch and stack it up under cover, I've burned it outside in the barrel and open fire, it does burn clean, set the damper just right on the stove it ought to burn at a decent rate.

When the bark is off, they can get wet from heavy rain, but they do dry fast, right now it's been quite dry, cold, little snow, time to get some of it stacked up. Ones with the bark or older standing dead ones, sometimes get soft, but all over this area and part of this state there is an abundance of it, could provide a lot of heat if there was a way to gather and process this material.