Clean Chimney With Aluminum Soda/Pop Cans

[veme]

The Orchard Pruner guy was here today and we got to talking wood stoves & chimneys while we worked.

He told me he uses 3 or 4 empty aluminum soda/pop cans to keep the creosote down - puts 'em in the firebox.

I never heard of that before
It sounds goofy to me.

Does anyone have experience with it?

Thanks

veme

[Cindy in KY]

Yeah, we burn at least one a day. It makes the soot dry and flaky instead of sticky. We still have to knock it down to clean out, but ours drops straight into the firebox, and we just pull out into firebox, and it burns. All the oldtimers around here save their cans for burning in the stove.

[Abe R Crombie]

Neighbor has been doing it for years and says it works.I clean my flue regularly but do throw a can or two in when I think of it.This is the first time I've heard of it other than from the neighbor.Must be something to it?
Abe

[Junkmanme]

Very interestin. Never heard of it. Might be a very good idea. I know it won't hurt anything. Probably worth a try!

THANKS,
Bruce

[jersey girl]

OK, just so I understand, you put the empty soda cans into the firebox when a fire is burning and it helps keep the cresote down? What a great idea. We will try it.
Joanie

[Rockin'B]

I'd like to know the science behind this.
Anyone?

[InHisName]

My hubby was a chimney sweep for 20 years- we use aluminum cans too! try
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/g-an...?msg_id=00AC12 or google creosote aluminum.

Not coming up with address- Google wood stove cleaning log aluminum -

[Cabin Fever]

If only things were so simple....people are always looking for the "magic bullet."

[Twogun]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

If only things were so simple....people are always looking for the "magic bullet."

I don't know about "magic bullet" but I toss a few "silver bullets" ( empty coors light cans ) in the firebox on a regular basis. Honestly, I don't know if it works or not but it makes me feel more comfortable sleeping at night. Plus, I do clean my flue every year.

[Farmerwilly2]

It all makes sense now. Aluminum cans have only been on the market for about 30 years, about the same time frame the global warming weenies have been blubbering about. Seems obvious to me that cans cause soot to be scoured from flues, falling to earth and causing delusions of warming worry and falling skies. I'm saddened *sniff* by the implications.

[canfossi]

Interesting! So if I use the woodstove everyday, do I put a new aluminum can in each day? Thanks Chris

[Beeman]

Makes you wonder what happens to the aluminum or does it magically become good for you?

[Shepherd]

I had heard that firefighters often suggest throwing aluminum pie pans in the fire... any firefighters out there?

[Cindy in KY]

I clean our cookstove pipe every day. I just pop it inside and then go up the ladder and pop it out there. It falls into the firebox. It is always dry and flaky unless I forget to burn a can or two, then it is sticky. I bend the can before I put it in there. I burn aluminum pie pans too. I know it works. I would say 1 or 2 cans a day.

I am burning old barnwood, about 50 years old, so I know my wood is not green! But our big cookstove will get very hot if we don't keep it on low, so we do get buildup in the pipe.

[OkieDavid]

Why am I sitting here picturing a hand full of environmental compliance personnel at the <insert your local environmentally polluting, cancer causing evil factory of choice here> factory sitting around in a meeting trying to explain to the CEO- "but sir...we have NO idea how aluminum oxide is showing up in our air quality monitoring data....we have tried explaing to the EPA that we don't even use aluminum in any of our processes".....

we all live down stream....or in this case downwind

David

[Two Cents Worth]

So a six pack a day will keep the chimney sweep away.

I've got a co-worker that will love to hear that. Expect he'll increase his drinking just so he will have the cans to use and still plenty to recycle.

[Highground]

Well, I think I'll put a full six pack in mine and see if I can clean my pipes and steam clean the stove at the same time.

[Cabin Fever]

Here's my theory on the subject. To get aluminum to burn, the fire has to be extremely hot. The melting point of aluminum is about 1200ºF. I doubt if anyone burns there stove at this temp....at least for very long.

So let's say your planning on an "all night burn." You fill the woodstove up with large logs and turn the air controls and/or damper way down for a slow burn. You know this is a recipe for creosote production, so you throw some aluminum cans in the woodstove too, just for good measure on accounta you heard that cans will "clean" your stove.

Next morning, the aluminum cans are still in the woodstove....it never got hot enough to oxidize the cans. The inside of the woodstove is kinda of black and shiny. So, you follow the advice of most experienced wood burners and start a very hot fire and let it roar for 30 minutes to an hour to get rid of the creosote. During this hot burn the aluminum cans also disappear! The inside of the woodstove is all clean, the black is gone. OMG, the aluminum cans cleaned my woodstove! No, I'm afraid not, the roaring hot burn cleaned your woodstove.

[kuriakos]

Just don't use it in place of cleaning the flue at least once every year.

[Rockin'B]

Too much fuss for me. I clean my flue with a brush once or twice a year and run a hot burn a couple times a day.
I don't think I'll try burning aluminum. I don't know what aluminum does, but metals gasified isn't my idea of a good thing and I'm not sure it's necessary.