Do chimney cleaning logs work?

[/pine]

The chemicals found in "maintenance logs" and granular additives are actually quite beneficial in keeping buildup in wood burning flues to a minimum...They do not replace a brush but they absolutely can help reduce creosote buildup...

Creosote forms when moisture in the wood is vaporized and then condenses as it cools going up the pipe...the colder the ambient air surrounding the pipe the faster it condenses ..There are three forms that the creosote will take on...

Creosote first forms as a tar like substance...continued heat will harden this into sooty substance that can be removed with a brush...burning a combination of copper sulfate,manganese acetate and TSP will further reduce the hardened gunk into loser soot that discourages further buildup over top...

left unchecked layers of the second phase of creosote will build up over top and will become what is called "glaze"...this material is like epoxy...it cannot be removed with a brush or other mechanical methods...it must be broken down chemically first...best left to a professional sweep...
So as much as you want to scoff at and be skeptical of burning chemicals or treated logs etc...the (chemical) facts are what they are...
Granted, not all treatments are created equal...you usually get what you pay for...but the right chemicals do help...

The ideal key to preventing creosote is by not burning wood with a moisture content of more than 10%-15% throughout...

 

[Ford850]

I'll go a bit sideways here. While I do NOT believe any of the logs or treatments can remove any substantial amounts of creosote, I do believe some of the products help slow the build up or maybe change the creosote so it's easier to clean. I researched on some good wood burner sites, and found some faithful users of Creosote Destroyer made by Meeco. I get it on Amazon. It's a powdery mix that I buy in small 5lb plastic pails. They last me more than a couple years. You just add a couple tablespoons of this mix to a medium fire, every few fires or so.
All I can say is that after I started using it 5 years or so ago, I noticed my flue is much easier to clean and the buildup is a fraction of what it used to be. It could be I burn hotter fires now, or that this new product helps reduce the buildup, or both. All I know is that it is cheap insurance and easy to use.

 

[buckbros]

I'll go a bit sideways here. While I do NOT believe any of the logs or treatments can remove any substantial amounts of creosote, I do believe some of the products help slow the build up or maybe change the creosote so it's easier to clean. I researched on some good wood burner sites, and found some faithful users of Creosote Destroyer made by Meeco. I get it on Amazon. It's a powdery mix that I buy in small 5lb plastic pails. They last me more than a couple years. You just add a couple tablespoons of this mix to a medium fire, every few fires or so.
All I can say is that after I started using it 5 years or so ago, I noticed my flue is much easier to clean and the buildup is a fraction of what it used to be. It could be I burn hotter fires now, or that this new product helps reduce the buildup, or both. All I know is that it is cheap insurance and easy to use.

I have to agree with this. I've heated with wood for quite some time. I clean my chimney with a brush & since I started to use this I have found my chimney has less build up & is much easier to sweep.

 

[Egon]

The logs or powders do have an effect on the type of deposit left.

Aluminum cans in a hot fire also help.

Sarcastic replies may be based on a lack of empirical observations.

 

[oosik]

Thirty five years ago when we burned wood here - I tried two of those special logs. They were wrapped in paper and I just threw one in the fire and the second log - the following day. I checked my chimney - they had done nothing, that I could determine. I never did have much creosote but I still brushed my chimney annually.

However - that was 35 years ago and things could, and probably have, changed in that time.

 

[Deere Dude]

We have a small woodstove snaked into the fireplace opening with stainless tubing and we burn about a quarter cord of wood a year, That wood is kiln dried hardwood cutoffs plus those pressed hardwood blocks commercially available. We burn the stove hot and I have burned wood for decades at a much greater rate when I lived in the north. Maybe 8 cords a year so I know the drill.

Considering such little use, does anyone know if one of those logs that supposedly burns creosote would work in my situation? Sure would be easy.


As a secondary question, how often do you think I should move the stove and shake out whatever has fallen down the chimney or pipe? Or do I even need to bother?

At a quarter chord a year of dry oak and burning hot I would only check it every 5 years for a baseline and adjust from there. I am thinking most carbon attacks the pipe when starting fires or shutting them down.

 

[sixdogs]

At a quarter chord a year of dry oak and burning hot I would only check it every 5 years for a baseline and adjust from there. I am thinking most carbon attacks the pipe when starting fires or shutting them down.

I'm the OP and must have stated something wrong. I have a new masonry chimney lined with flue tiles but it's a fireplace. So, I put a small woodstove in the fireplace opening and used a piece of stainless flex tubing to connect the outlet of the stove into the chimney. Then you seal with fiberglass and it works real well. So, the only stainless portion is a few feet long and merely connects the stove to the chimney.

 

[The Deerslayer]

Sixdogs-
I have been burning wood as our primary heat source in our woodstove for many years. On average I burn up to 4 cords of well seasoned hardwoods.
I clean the chimney myself at the end of every season.

I started using the granule product by Rutland a few years ago. Add a small cup to a hot fire once every week or so. I have definitely noticed a difference in the consistency and quantity of the ash when cleaning the chimney. Enough so that I continue to use the product. Have never used the creosote remover logs, so I cannot speak with any experience on those.

I would suggest checking/cleaning the pipe connection to the stove at the end of each season and see how it looks for a couple season before not doing each year.
Just a thought on those compressed wood bricks...I had a buddy who used them in his woodstove and found they burned so hot that they damaged his stove so badly he had to replace it.

 

[sixdogs]

Thanks for the tip, Deerslayer. I will pay attention.

 

[FTG-05]

I'm the OP and must have stated something wrong. I have a new masonry chimney lined with flue tiles but it's a fireplace. So, I put a small woodstove in the fireplace opening and used a piece of stainless flex tubing to connect the outlet of the stove into the chimney. Then you seal with fiberglass and it works real well. So, the only stainless portion is a few feet long and merely connects the stove to the chimney.

Sounds like the definition of a "slammer" chimney installation.

Per NFPA 211 regs, that hasn't been allowed for decades. Virtually perfect conditions for creosote formation and a potentially deadly chimney fire.

Sweep's Library - Unlined Masonry Fireplace Chimneys

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If you're going to burn wood for home heating, do yourself and your family a favor and do it right, which means following your stove insert's installation directions and NFPA 211.