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professional in your area.
If you live in a climate with warm, humid summer weather, your stove may collect moisture from warm, moist,
chimney downdrafts during the summer. If this happens, you may get smoky smells in your home. One way to reduce
the likelihood of this happening is to block the flue exit in the stove with fiberglass insulation at the end of the heating
season. This will help prevent downdrafts and humidity from entering the stove. (You’ll have to be careful to remember
to remove the insulation before you light the stove again in the fall!). Some prefer to place a tray of kitty litter or baking
soda in the firebox to reduce moisture and odors.
Creosote Formation and Need for Removal
When wood is burned too slowly, it produces tar and other organic vapors, which combine with expelled moisture to
form creosote. The creosote vapors condense in the relatively cool chimney flue of a slow burning fire. As a result,
creosote residue accumulates on the flue lining. When ignited, this creosote makes an extremely hot and dangerous fire.
The chimney connector and chimney should be inspected at least once every two months during the heating season to
determine if creosote buildup has occurred. If creosote has accumulated it should be removed to reduce the risk of a
chimney fire. Cleaning the combustor regularly will also greatly reduce creosote buildup. Under certain conditions,
creosote can form rapidly.
The most likely conditions for creosote to occur are: (1) when a large number of small pieces of wood are added to a
hot bed of coals and the damper is then completely closed; (2) extremely long, smoldering fires, and; (3) burning wet or
green wood.
Lack of combustion air and smoldering fires usually result in dense smoke and low stack temperatures in the
chimney connector and the chimney. Wet or green wood can also produce dense smoke and excessive water vapor,
which can quickly lead to creosote buildup.
Creosote will accumulate faster in exterior chimneys than interior chimneys because of colder outside temperatures.
There are three stages of creosote build-up. The first is a flaky, crystal like accumulation which can be removed with a
brush. The second is a tar like coating. The third is a hard, glossy enamel like coating that is difficult to penetrate. If
your chimney is heavily coated with tar or enamel like creosote, we recommend that you consult with an experienced
chimney sweep about removal and prevention.
CREOSOTE PREVENTION: Without question, the best way to treat creosote is to prevent its accumulation. In order to
reduce the danger of accumulation, we recommend the following:
1. Burn only properly dried firewood. Dry wood burns hotter, cleaner, and expels less moisture to condense.
2. Use the catalytic combustor properly. It can reduce possible creosote accumulation by as much as 90% and
improve stove efficiency at the same time. Be sure to read the section on catalytic combustors on pages 18-21.
3. Never operate your stove for extended periods of time with the draft control completely closed. Both the wood
fire and the catalytic combustor need oxygen to burn efficiently.
4. Re-establish a hot fire, and reignite the combustor after every reloading by opening the primary air control for
about 10 minutes.
5. Check the catalytic combustor output. Use the thermometer provided with the stove to be sure that the catalytic
combustor is igniting properly when you kindle a fire or reload the stove. The temperatures on the stove top
should rise noticeably when the catalytic combustor is engaged.
6. Avoid long, smoldering fires. Again, the catalytic combustor is critical here. Hot firebox temperatures (with the
stove top thermometer in the 400-600
0
F range) will produce more complete combustion and maintain proper
catalytic activity.
23
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