newbie wood burner needs advise

[shareneh]

After paying out my rear for propane last winter I decided to burn wood this winter. Well... I bought the woodstove, chimney and other essentials this summer, installed them, cut more wood than I have ever had the joy of cutting and am now happily burning wood for heat.

I have a few questions concerning my new heating adventure.

I have been using the woodstove for about a month and it feels like the soot is building up in the chimney now, the flue rubs against it inside the chimney when I close it.

My questions are:

How often do I clean my chimney out?

What types of tools does it take to clean the chimney and can I make my own?

Do I have to take the smoke stack back off the stove to clean it?

Can I use one of those little creasole sticks to maintain the chimney?

I also have a nice pile of ash building up.

I plan on making a large garden this summer and was wondering about how much ash to use for the garden.

Are there any other uses for ash?

 

[Zenbirder]

It would help if you could answer these questions:

What type of wood are you using, and is it dry or green?

Is your garden soil more basic or acidic?

Explain more about the flue rubbing, exactly what happens when you do what.....

Can you post a picture of your set up?

For my set up I only clean the stack twice a year. It does involve taking the inside pipe off and moving it outside to clean with a big brush. Then DH gets on the roof and I hold a bucket inside on the ceiling to catch the soot. We actually get very little out, but our wood is not pine, and is bone dry.
For the ash, I use a three stage system. One small metal bucket is outside the house door for cleaning out the stove, make sure there is a safe boundary where nothing will catch fire. When it is full, but often still dangerously hot for days, the ash is moved to a larger metal bucket in a weed-free non-combustible safe place. When that ash is dead cold, it can be put in a permanent place. Our garden is basic and it would not be good to put all that ash in the soil.

 

[shareneh]

Zenbirder,

I am using oak, ash, poplar and cotton wood. The only one that is still a little new or wet is the ash and just some of that is wet otherwise all of it is bone dry. Dead when it was cut.

My garden is just basic I guess, I haven't tested the soil but It is black dirt, North Dakota soil that doesn't need much fertilizer.

About the rubbing in the flue. It's like a grindy sound when the flue is closed all the way. It is like there is something building up in there so I was concerned that it could be creosole or something. I don't know for sure. I know it's soot and don't want a chimney fire.

Thanks for responding right away.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Not to be a party pooper or anyting, but did you notify your inurance company? Burning wood is a big deal to most insurance companies.

 

[inchworm]

That's not a bad idea. Our insurance company sent someone out to check our set-up. It was nice to get their "seal of approval". Also, the local fire marshal will help. I really could be wrong, but I always thought a thin layer of creosote/soot offered some protection or insulation or something. You get creosote from burning green wood, resinous woods (pines) and from burning at too low of a temperature. There are thermometers that can be installed to let you know at what temp you are burning. Ours has a "safety zone" marked in it. When it goes below, we have to add wood or air to make it burn hotter. If it goes above, we have to shut the air down. Make sure you understand how to control the air to your fire.

inchy

 

[k0xxx]

Zenbirder,

...About the rubbing in the flue. It's like a grindy sound when the flue is closed all the way. It is like there is something building up in there so I was concerned that it could be creosole or something. I don't know for sure. I know it's soot and don't want a chimney fire...

It sounds to me as if you are talking about the damper. The flue is the pipe (usually 6" or 8" in diameter) and the damper is rotated within the flue to control the amount of draft.

We clean our flue out at the beginning of the wood burning season and then again about midway through. If you suspect that creosote mat be building up, the best thing to do would be to go ahead and clean it.

We disconnect the flue above the stove and put a plastic bag to catch any creosote that falls out. We remove the cap off of the top and work our way downward, being sure brush it well. We use a flue brush that has four foot long extensions that are added to it as you get further down the flue.

If you are getting a lot of creosote built up, even though you are burning seasoned wood, it may be due to not having enough draft. Not having enough draft allows the gasses to cool and deposit more creosote in the flue.

Just my two cents.

 

[ams3651]

they so those cleaning logs are a help but not a replacement for cleaning. We used to use the ash for traction in the winter.

 

[dacjohns]

You can save the ash and use it for producing lye. With lye and fat or vegetable oil you can make soap.

 

[MorelCabin]

If you are not using the stove as your main source of heat and are letting the stove cool between fires this also causes alot of creosote build up. Wood should be dried for a full year before burning or you are not getting good heat and it will gunk up your chimney. We clean our chimney twice in the fall because the fires are on again off again...so it needs cleaning before the real heating season begins. Chimney cleaning logs are not a reliable cleaner...it really does need to be swept manually.

 

[me&thegals]

We use our ash to fertilize the garden (but I don't know the proper amount) and for traction on icy sidewalks and driveway. I imagine it wouldn't hurt a compost pile, either.

Burning wood in the moderate range should be safest. Too cool and creosote builds up, then too hot and it starts the buildup on fire.

We just clean it once in fall before the heating season starts up....

Are there any suggestions out there for stove blacking? We have some rust spots that need to get treated but our local Menard's has no blacking--just stove paint. I don't want to hijack the thread, but this seemed a good place to ask