Hi, I'm into my 3rd month of heating with wood with an Ashley wood burner. It's been working well. I've used some of the Chimney cleaner stuff you sprinkle in the hot coals twice a week. I don't know if I'm making things worse or not.....but now suddenly I've got this terrible creosote build-up on the lower door (ash pan door) and a bit on the main door. In the last few days it's built up to the point that it's getting stuck! Yikes that can't be good. Have I not been getting the stove hot enough? Any thoughts? It's warm today - got up to 58 - so I'm letting the coals die down tonight until I can do something about it. Thanks Jill
While it might look ishy in your stove, the BIG issue is what the inside of your chimney looks like - the stove will be more or less ok. The chimney could be a disaster burning the whole house down. What type of chimney do you have? Smoldering low fires create a lot of smoke & creosote, esp in warm weather like you are talking about. I don't want to be an alarmist, but I would want to look at the chimney inside (you should have a cleanout at the bottom to look into with a mirror) before firing it up again. You could find nothing, everything A-ok - probably will. But, then again.... It's going to depend on what type & how dry your wood was, how often you burn a really hot fire, and so on - lots of info we don't know and you might be inexperienced to judge..... --->Paul
Is this an outdoor wood burner or an inside your house wood burner? If this is an outdoor wood burner (and it is similar to a central boiler) the creosote build up is normal. When the furnace does not run frequently, these things act like a big charcoal cooker and they creosote up but good. Wont do any harm and all the creosote will burn off next time the furnace fires up. Wood condition usually adds to the problem. Green, wet, softwoods, will all give you more creosote than bone dry hardwood. Regarding the chimney, the furnace should have a clean out door somewhere near the base of the chimney. Open it up and check the inside to make sure there is not a lot of ash. Any creosote in the chimney will burn off next time the furnace fires up. If this thing is inside your house disregard the above and call a chimney sweep to check on your chimney. Good Luck
Thank you both for the input. It is an indoor burner and I went to the local store today to pick up some of that creosote burner stuff. Plus - will be putting a call into the chimney sweep today. Appreciate the help jill
This is a problem with Ashley and other wood heaters that the owner has no control over the amount of air entering the firebox. The air entering these stoves are controlled by thermostats. When the air in the house gets warm, the stove automatically dampens down the air which causes the wood to smoulder and create creosote. If there is a buildup of creosote in the firebox, there is definitly a build up in the chimney. I'm glad that you're having the chimney cleaned.
