lazy mans way of cleaning stove pipes

[steff bugielski]

This really worked well. We had a flue fire last year and noticed how clean the chimney was after wards. These pipes were all gunked up and the brushes were doing little on them so one two three the job was done.

[ladycat]

Hmm, that's one way to do it!

[toni48]

Nice and clean!!!

[Beeman]

A few flu fires and you won't have to clean the house either.

[PyroDon]

in my mothers home she has a masonary fireplace fully bricked .
she burns green and seasoned wood so yes there is some build up in the flu
for the 40 Plus years shes lived there shes done a controlled flue burn.
she waits until we have 3-4 inches of wet snow on the roof then puts paper on the fire to make a high flame to ignite the build up .
it sounds like a jet taking off for a few seconds .
It may not be the safest method but it is a method that has been used by many .
I personally wouldnt suggest it with a metal pipe flue . the pipes will warp and burn trough rather quickly . thin metal isnt designed to withstand the heat of a blow torch which is exactly what a flue fire becomes .

[momanto]

We Also Have Masonry/brick Lined Chimney For Our Fireplace. Just For Fun At Least Once A Season We Have A Rip-roaring Newspaper Fire And Do Get That Jet Sound. Little Did We Know We Are Cleaning The Chimney At The Same Time. It Has Long Been Closed For The Summer To Keep Birds Out, Or I Would Have Dgs Get Up There And Check It Out.


We Do Check It Out Before The New Season Of Fireplace Use Each Year

Mom.

[Cabin Fever]

I like the "Tim the Toolman" method of cleaning the stovepipes. I have found that rapping the sides of singlewall stovepipe with a rubber mallet is usually all it takes to knock stubborn creosote deposits off the interior of stovepipes.

[Itilley]

We were told to run a real nice hot fire once or two a week and that would take care of it. It seems to work well. Also, I was told by an oldtimer to put potatoe peelings in the fire to cut down on the creosote build up.

We had a chimmney clean last month and all they got out was about a half pail full.

RenieB

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by Itilley

I was told by an oldtimer to put potatoe peelings in the fire to cut down on the creosote build up.

I've heard that an aluminum coke can in the fire does the same thing.

[haypoint]

Ask a Chemist if the oxidization of aluminum desolves creosote. Frayed knot.
While you are at it, see if water and starch (potato pealings) gives of anything becides steam and carbon. If any of that stuff worked, the chimney brush folks would be out of a job.
The reason the stove pipe gives off that jet plane sound is because it is operating like a simple jet engine. The combustion of creosote and the resulting air draw turns your pipe into a blow torch. Cleaning creosote out of your stove pipe is like checking for a propane leak with a lighter.
While you and the family are enjoying this exciting process, be sure to turn out the lights. Then you'll be able to see the red glow of the pipe and the puffs of flame that shoot out the seams and connectors. Turn it into a learning experience for the kids, " OK, Johnny, when the pipe turns red, hot hot is it? Suzie, at what temperature does steel turn from a solid to a liquid? Billy, at what temperature does wood spontainously combust and what is the air temperature a foot from the pipe?"
You wouldn't think of sand blasting any metal as thin as stove pipe steel, yet you'd gamble that the self-induced blow torch won't burn a hole in the pipe and burn your trailer down?
For those of you that are using a masonery chimney, let's discuss the construction of your chimney. The old ones have brick around a ceramic liner. Newer ones are concrete block sections. The liner is kiln fired clay, in 30 inch sections. There isn't any lock or connector between sections. Creosote can enter any of these seams and get behind the liner. A chimney fire will often cause the liners to crack because of the rapid changes in size within the chimney. Creosote leaks into these cracks, too. It is not uncommon for a section of a liner to dislodge and fall to the base of the chimney. Then, creosote builsds up behind all the liner sections below the missing piece. So while you are "jet cleaning" the inside of your chimney, you are super-heating both sides of the liner, snapping the sections into pieces, while exposing the concrete and morter to temperatures way beyond their design capacity.
When we make choices in life, some people ask WWJD (what would Jesus do?). In the case of intentioonal chimney fires, perhaps we should ask, WWOIAD (what would our insurance agent do).
Real homesteaders don't burn damp firewood.

[haypoint]

Ask a Chemist if the oxidization of aluminum dissolves creosote. Frayed knot.
While you are at it, see if water and starch (potato peelings) gives of anything besides steam and carbon. If any of that stuff worked, the chimney brush folks would be out of a job.
The reason the stove pipe gives off that jet plane sound is because it is operating like a simple jet engine. The combustion of creosote and the resulting air draw turns your pipe into a blow torch. Cleaning creosote out of your stove pipe is like checking for a propane leak with a lighter.
While you and the family are enjoying this exciting process, be sure to turn out the lights. Then you'll be able to see the red glow of the pipe and the puffs of flame that shoot out the seams and connectors. Turn it into a learning experience for the kids, " OK, Johnny, when the pipe turns red, hot hot is it? Suzie, at what temperature does steel turn from a solid to a liquid? Billy, at what temperature does wood spontaneously combust and what is the air temperature a foot from the pipe?"
You wouldn't think of sand blasting any metal as thin as stove pipe steel, yet you'd gamble that the self-induced blow torch won't burn a hole in the pipe and burn your trailer down?
For those of you that are using a masonry chimney, let's discuss the construction of your chimney. The old ones have brick around a ceramic liner. Newer ones are concrete block sections. The liner is kiln fired clay, in 30 inch sections. There isn't any lock or connector between sections. Creosote can enter any of these seams and get behind the liner. A chimney fire will often cause the liners to crack because of the rapid changes in size within the chimney. Creosote leaks into these cracks, too. It is not uncommon for a section of a liner to dislodge and fall to the base of the chimney. Then, creosote builds up behind all the liner sections below the missing piece. So while you are "jet cleaning" the inside of your chimney, you are super-heating both sides of the liner, snapping the sections into pieces, while exposing the concrete and mortar to temperatures way beyond their design capacity.
When we make choices in life, some people ask WWJD (what would Jesus do?). In the case of intentional chimney fires, perhaps we should ask, WWOIAD (what would our insurance agent do).
Real homesteaders don't burn damp firewood.

[tamilee]

Hey There Steff;
I'll give it a go and see how my stovepipes turn out. Sure beats the heck out of wire brushing and scraping.
tamilee

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by haypoint

Ask a Chemist if the oxidization of aluminum dissolves creosote. Frayed knot.
While you are at it, see if water and starch (potato peelings) gives of anything besides steam and carbon. If any of that stuff worked, the chimney brush folks would be out of a job.
The reason the stove pipe gives off that jet plane sound is because it is operating like a simple jet engine. The combustion of creosote and the resulting air draw turns your pipe into a blow torch. Cleaning creosote out of your stove pipe is like checking for a propane leak with a lighter.
While you and the family are enjoying this exciting process, be sure to turn out the lights. Then you'll be able to see the red glow of the pipe and the puffs of flame that shoot out the seams and connectors. Turn it into a learning experience for the kids, " OK, Johnny, when the pipe turns red, hot hot is it? Suzie, at what temperature does steel turn from a solid to a liquid? Billy, at what temperature does wood spontaneously combust and what is the air temperature a foot from the pipe?"
You wouldn't think of sand blasting any metal as thin as stove pipe steel, yet you'd gamble that the self-induced blow torch won't burn a hole in the pipe and burn your trailer down?
For those of you that are using a masonry chimney, let's discuss the construction of your chimney. The old ones have brick around a ceramic liner. Newer ones are concrete block sections. The liner is kiln fired clay, in 30 inch sections. There isn't any lock or connector between sections. Creosote can enter any of these seams and get behind the liner. A chimney fire will often cause the liners to crack because of the rapid changes in size within the chimney. Creosote leaks into these cracks, too. It is not uncommon for a section of a liner to dislodge and fall to the base of the chimney. Then, creosote builds up behind all the liner sections below the missing piece. So while you are "jet cleaning" the inside of your chimney, you are super-heating both sides of the liner, snapping the sections into pieces, while exposing the concrete and mortar to temperatures way beyond their design capacity.
When we make choices in life, some people ask WWJD (what would Jesus do?). In the case of intentional chimney fires, perhaps we should ask, WWOIAD (what would our insurance agent do).
Real homesteaders don't burn damp firewood.

Now you know why we don't teach science in US schools. Takes all of the fun out and leaves nothing but work.

[neolady]

Top notch post there Haypoint and right on the money!!

[Rocky Fields]

Hey.

Using a torch on metal can weaken it, so it might wear out quicker or crack later on. You'd have to know about heat treating to use the torch wisely...

"Old" chimneys have stone with NO liner unless they were retro fitted. Visit some houses in the Oley Valley, PA and you'll see houses that are 250 years old that still don't have them...

RF

[Oldcountryboy]

Am I the only one who climbs up on the roof and runs a long chain down inside the flue? Swirrel it around and around for about a minute and "Presto", I have a clean chimney! Been doing it this way for years and have never had a major suet buildup or fire.

[scorpian5]

if its not stainless just buy enough parts so you have two sets and use one while you take the time to Properlyclean the other

[steff bugielski]

First off the pipe was on the ground so no chance of burning anything down.
Second the wood last year must of been green, we have never had this much build up before. the brush was getting all the loose stuff but the pipes were sticky, not anymore.
We did not leave the torch in place for very long. The creosote caught fire rather quickly and burned slowly for a few minutes. You know it is ready when the gunk on the pipe puffs up like a paper wasp nest.

[Mare Owner]

My DH just buys a few new pieces of stove pipe every year. That's the REAL lazy man's way of cleaning it - Not cleaning!

When I was a kid we had a woodstove and brick chimney and every year my Dad would put some bricks in a sack and lower it down to "scrub" the chimney out.

[Farmerwilly2]

We open the dampers, coax 4-5 cats into the oven with a can of tuna, close the oven door all but a 1/2" crack, and let schamus clancy the wonder hound bark in front of the oven. By the time you can climb to the roof and take the cap off the flue each cat has made several passes. I've learned to jump back after loosening the last screw holding the cap in place and get out of the way. I guess you can't call it a lazy way of cleaning it since you do have to catch a oven full of cats first.