Creosote Problem

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Hi All:

I am trying to find a solution to what is getting to be a very expensive problem...creosote eating up the top and horizontal section, including the elbow of the stovepipe for my Kodiak airtight wood stove. It usually does little damage to the first 2 - 24" vertical portions of pipe coming directly off my stove. I've always used the style stovepipe that one has to snap together..have had to replace most sections each year. Last year, I went to a regular stove store & was informed that if I used their very expensive 24 gauge pipe, I wouldn't have a problem. Well, I did..same exact thing. It cost me about $130 last year for 2 - 24" pieces, an elbow, 1 - 18" piece with a slider and a 8"/6" reducer. Yesterday I spent $81 to replace 4 of the original. All of a sudden the store's guarentee went out the window when I showed them the pipe.

Let me explain, that I live in an underground style home, that I open up the drafts acouple times a day for about 15-30 minutes each day and I use a powdered creosote eater every few days. I do maintain a slow burning hard wood, usually oak, fire, as my house heats up very fast. Any suggestions, as now instead of spending $25 a year to replace pipe it's quadrupled! Thanks for any help.

Layne

-- Elaine Cosgrove (adirondackwoman@westelcom.com), February 29, 2000

Answers

Hi Elaine. To have such a bad creosote problem makes me wonder how good of a draft does your chimney have? Is it a long section of horizontal pipe? Poor draft along with a strech of horizontal pipe is a sure way to get a creosote problem. If you dont think that is the problem how about: Is the horizontal pipe tilted downward or just level? It should slope upward a bit. Is it possible to move the stove closer and eliminate the horizontal section. Maybe you could find some slabs of soapstone for cheap and build a stove suround, then you could have one or two quick, hot fires a day to charge the stone and let the radiant heat warm the house instead of an all day smoldery fire. Lastly, what is in that creosote eater powder that you use so much? Maybe it is somewhat caustic on the pipes to.

-- mike (mstydale@aeroinc.net), February 29, 2000.

Maybe it is the creosote eater? I don't have your problem but I do burn 2- years well seasoned wood. I made my horizontal pipe from a section of 6" steel casing, I have in the past used gas line casing,which I got form a well driller, it is compatible with 6" stove pipe. Have you tried tripple wall pipe, that might be the answer but it if is not, that would be real expensive.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), February 29, 2000.

Maybe it is the creosote eater? I don't have your problem but I do burn wood that well seasoned wood, (2 years). I made my horizontal pipe from a section of 6" steel casing, I have in the past used gas line casing,which I got form a well driller, it is compatible with 6" stove pipe. Have you tried tripple wall pipe, that might be the answer but it if is not, that would be real expensive.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), February 29, 2000.

Well, like the others, that creosote eater got my attention. My stove pipe from the furnace to the chimney is eight or so years old (installed the year the Exxon Valdez wrecked whenever that was). It could be replaced, but no hurry. Yours should be lasting longer than a season.

Do you have any radiators on the pipe? Is there a strong air current across the pipe? Don't let the pipe cool down and creosote formation will be greatly reduced.

I'm going with the others. Burn good dry wood in a few hot fires a day, figure out some sort of thermal mass around the stove to catch the heat. Is it correct that what you are replacing is truly horizontal? If so try to get a bit of rise to it. Don't butn much garbage in the stove, especially when you're firing it slowly.

Actually creosote isn't really that much of a problem as long as two things don't happen. First, it can't build up to the point where it is affecting the draft, avoid with hot clean fires. Second, if moisture is getting into it, it will eat the pipe, avoid by eliminating horizontal runs as much as possible and putting a cap on the chimney. Chimney fires from creosote usually happen when the creosote is nasty bad, not from the amount that builds up in a few days.

But most of all, ditch the creosote eater. Whatever it is, it has to be considered the main culprit in what's happening. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), February 29, 2000.


I have used the creasote stuff before,never really trusted them. you might want to contact the eaters company, maybe you are simply using it to often. try to do the pipe suggestions, make sure your wood is seasoned. i simply burn a hot fire occasionally to clear mine.

-- tom calloway (Calfarm@msn.com), February 29, 2000.


Thank you all for your suggestions. This is relatively a newer problem of about 3-4 years. Have used the same stove, same methods, etc. since 1981 when the house was built. The stove is about 1 ft. away from a massive stone heat sink, 5 feet square at the base and tapering to 3 feet square at the top where stone chimney exits thru the roof at 15' height. The vertical portion of stove pipe that exits the stove is about 5 ft. high..then comes about 2 1/2 ft. of horizontal pipe to include the elbow. Because of the massive stone work (heat sink), the horizontal pipe, which is connected to a horizontal 1 foot ceramic portion inside the stonework and intersects the main flue, is about 3 1/2 ft. in total length. I live in a cold climate (northern NY near the Canadian border, so it's not practical to fire it up and then let it go out. I'll stop using the creosote eater and see what happens and I'll try to slope the horizontal pipe..is that sloping toward the stove or toward the flue?? I noticed that last night, after installing the new pipe, I had creosote drippings on the mantal this morning. Hope I can find a solution. Thanks again. Layne

-- Elaine Cosgrove (adirondackwoman@westelcom.com), February 29, 2000.

How odd that this is a recent problem. As for the creosote on the mantle, the obvious questions-is everything tight; as the pipes build out away from the stove, does each new piece fit down inside the old piece?

Can't think why you would have started to have problems in the last few years. Is the rest of the chimney clean? Undamaged? Since you're living in an underground home, has something grown up near or upwind of the chimney that is adversely affecting the draft?

The horizontal run should be lower at the stove, higher at the chimney. The idea is to try and get any creosote that is landing on the stovepipe walls to fall/run/drip back into the stove as much as possible. You probably won't be able to change the angle of your horizontal run enough to fully keep it clean. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), February 29, 2000.


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