What are the real dangers of burning green/wet firewood? I had a good hot
bed of coals going in my wood stove, and I stuck in what turned out to be a
couple of green chunks of wood (was not intentional). They quickly burst
into flame and burned fairly well, though a bit slower then the dry stuff.
Are there conditions, such as a hot established fire, where you can burn
green/wet wood, if it burns quickly and well?

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...
What are the real dangers of burning green/wet firewood? I had a good hot
bed of coals going in my wood stove, and I stuck in what turned out to be
a couple of green chunks of wood (was not intentional). They quickly burst
into flame and burned fairly well, though a bit slower then the dry stuff.
Are there conditions, such as a hot established fire, where you can burn
green/wet wood, if it burns quickly and well?

Smoldering fires generate more creosote:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for35/for35.htm

Ook wrote:
What are the real dangers of burning green/wet firewood? I had a good
hot bed of coals going in my wood stove, and I stuck in what turned
out to be a couple of green chunks of wood (was not intentional).
They quickly burst into flame and burned fairly well, though a bit
slower then the dry stuff. Are there conditions, such as a hot
established fire, where you can burn green/wet wood, if it burns
quickly and well?



Wet or unseasoned wood greatly increases the accumulation of creosote.
The large amount of moisture from burning wet wood condenses in the
chimney and adds to creosote formation as well as the acrid odor. The
periodic use of a good liquid or powder chimney cleaner which is sprayed
on the burning wood is essential to the wood burner. This type of
product will not elminiate the need to clean your chimney or the
formation of creosote, but it will make the cleaning task much easier.

Creosote - Creosote can be defined as a combustible deposit in the
venting system which begins as condensed wood smoke including tar fogs
and vapors. Creosote is a by-product of incomplete combustion. If a fuel
is fully burned there will be no smoke and, therefore, no creosote.
Creosote will be hard brown or black and form either curly, flaky
deposits or bubbly deposits in the venting system. Creosote is flammable.


The reply is quoted from both http://hearth.com/what/guidelines.html and
http://www.rutland.com/info/creoedit.htm

Creosote is flammable.

As anyone who has ever had a chimney fire will attest to ;)

I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot. Then
I started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake
totally although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney fire.
After a few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but
probably should have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30
feet and airplanes were avoiding the area. :-)]

Charles Schuler wrote:
Creosote is flammable.

As anyone who has ever had a chimney fire will attest to ;)

"Stubby" wrote in message
...

I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot. Then
I started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake
totally although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney fire.
After a few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but
probably should have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30
feet and airplanes were avoiding the area. :-)]

Modern building codes for woodstove steel chimneys
require that they withstand temperatures of 2000 Fahr.
Normal burning is in the range 200-500 and creosote
fires in chimneys commonly exceed 1000 Fahr. If you
are sure your chimney is OK, some firemen recommend
a chimney fire as the fastest way to clean it. The sound
is terrifying but seldom lasts more than 10 minutes. The
main danger is more probably sparks on the roof than
overheating interior structures -- but only if you are sure
your chimney is in good condition, double-walled, etc.

We had two such fires in 12 years and this is what
the firemen told us. They did not mind being called out
although both times they arrived long after the chimney
fire had exhausted itself.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

"Stubby" wrote in message
...
I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot. Then I
started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake totally
although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney fire. After a
few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but probably should
have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30 feet and airplanes
were avoiding the area. :-)]

Laughing ... that's pretty much what I experienced ... saw it myself ... it
was like 4th of July above my roof. The roaring sound tipped me off, so I
went outside to look. Luckily, it was raining that night so I didn't need
to worry about secondary fires.

The bad news was that my ceramic flu liner cracked :(

"Don Phillipson" wrote in message
...
"Stubby" wrote in message
...

I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot. Then
I started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake
totally although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney fire.
After a few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but
probably should have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30
feet and airplanes were avoiding the area. :-)]

Modern building codes for woodstove steel chimneys
require that they withstand temperatures of 2000 Fahr.
Normal burning is in the range 200-500 and creosote
fires in chimneys commonly exceed 1000 Fahr. If you
are sure your chimney is OK, some firemen recommend
a chimney fire as the fastest way to clean it. The sound
is terrifying but seldom lasts more than 10 minutes. The
main danger is more probably sparks on the roof than
overheating interior structures -- but only if you are sure
your chimney is in good condition, double-walled, etc.


Some firemen recommend a chimney fire to clean it? I don't think that's a
good idea.

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
...
What are the real dangers of burning green/wet firewood? I had a good hot
bed of coals going in my wood stove, and I stuck in what turned out to be
a
couple of green chunks of wood (was not intentional). They quickly burst
into flame and burned fairly well, though a bit slower then the dry stuff.
Are there conditions, such as a hot established fire, where you can burn
green/wet wood, if it burns quickly and well?


The wet wood takes a lot of the energy of the fire to evaporate the
water in the wood before it will burn. The result is much less heat
from burning it. Let it dry first. As others said, creosote problems
will be higher also.

Bob

On Sun, 29 Oct 2006 16:40:17 -0500, "Don Phillipson"
wrote:

"Stubby" wrote in message
...

I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot. Then
I started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake
totally although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney fire.
After a few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but
probably should have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30
feet and airplanes were avoiding the area. :-)]

Modern building codes for woodstove steel chimneys
require that they withstand temperatures of 2000 Fahr.
Normal burning is in the range 200-500 and creosote
fires in chimneys commonly exceed 1000 Fahr. If you
are sure your chimney is OK, some firemen recommend
a chimney fire as the fastest way to clean it. The sound
is terrifying but seldom lasts more than 10 minutes. The
main danger is more probably sparks on the roof than
overheating interior structures -- but only if you are sure
your chimney is in good condition, double-walled, etc.

We had two such fires in 12 years and this is what
the firemen told us. They did not mind being called out
although both times they arrived long after the chimney
fire had exhausted itself.

If you *DO* have a chimney fire, you shouldn't
burn in that stove/fireplace again until
someone inspects the chimney.

And no, you shouldn't ever start a chimney
fire on purpose.

Are you the mean man who burned Santa a couple years back? You should
be ashamed.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Stubby" wrote in message
...
I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot.
Then
I started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake
totally although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney
fire.
After a few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but
probably should have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30
feet and airplanes were avoiding the area. :-)]

Charles Schuler wrote:
Creosote is flammable.

As anyone who has ever had a chimney fire will attest to ;)

I've heard different ways to extinguish chimney fires. Dry chem powder
extinguishers seem to be the most reccomended. Leaves an incredible
mess, though. Better than losing the entire house.

I've wondered if a water mist (garden sprayer) would fill the chimney
with steam, while not severely cooling the chimney.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Charles Schuler" wrote in message
. ..

"Stubby" wrote in message
...
I did nearly 30 years ago. The little box stove was very hot.
Then I
started hearing the airflow. It got loud and I cut the air intake
totally
although I wasn't totally sure that I was having a chimney fire.
After a
few minutes it stopped. I didn't call the Fire Dept but probably
should
have. [Neighbors told me flames were shooting up 30 feet and
airplanes
were avoiding the area. :-)]

Laughing ... that's pretty much what I experienced ... saw it myself
.... it
was like 4th of July above my roof. The roaring sound tipped me off,
so I
went outside to look. Luckily, it was raining that night so I didn't
need
to worry about secondary fires.

The bad news was that my ceramic flu liner cracked :(

And no, you shouldn't ever start a chimney
fire on purpose.



How would you start one? Not that I want to know how to start one, but
rather how to avoid starting one. When I startup my stove, there are some
good flames entering the chimney from the stove until I get the fire going
and close the air intakes down.

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
news

And no, you shouldn't ever start a chimney
fire on purpose.



How would you start one? Not that I want to know how to start one, but
rather how to avoid starting one. When I startup my stove, there are some
good flames entering the chimney from the stove until I get the fire going
and close the air intakes down.

You can start a chimney fire, if there is a coating of creosote to support
it. If you want to find out, load your stove with hot burning stuff and
give it all the air that you can (not recommended).

It is an urban myth ... start a chimney fire once a year as a self-cleaning
method. Not recommended!

Chimney fires can start secondary fires and damage chimneys.

"Charles Schuler" wrote in message
. ..

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
news

And no, you shouldn't ever start a chimney
fire on purpose.



How would you start one? Not that I want to know how to start one, but
rather how to avoid starting one. When I startup my stove, there are some
good flames entering the chimney from the stove until I get the fire
going and close the air intakes down.

You can start a chimney fire, if there is a coating of creosote to support
it. If you want to find out, load your stove with hot burning stuff and
give it all the air that you can (not recommended).

It is an urban myth ... start a chimney fire once a year as a
self-cleaning method. Not recommended!

Chimney fires can start secondary fires and damage chimneys.


LOL, I wasn't considering starting one. I was just wondering when it is more
likely to happen, and if there is anything that can be done to prevent it
other then periodic cleaning and don't over fire the stove.

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
LOL, I wasn't considering starting one. I was just wondering when it is
more likely to happen, and if there is anything that can be done to
prevent it other then periodic cleaning and don't over fire the stove.


Over firing can certainly start one, but a hot fire can prevent a chimney
fire. The hotter the interior of the chimney, the less likely the creosote
is to condense on the sides of it. Twice a day I'd crank up the stove to
help keep it clean. In mild weather, the stove may tend to burn very slow
and that is when you get the buildup. Then the weather turns cold, you
crank up the fire and too hot can ignite what is already in the liner.
Avoid smoldering fires, especially with green wood.

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 16:30:57 -0800, "Ook" Ook Don't send me any
freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin'
spam wrote:


And no, you shouldn't ever start a chimney
fire on purpose.



How would you start one? Not that I want to know how to start one, but
rather how to avoid starting one. When I startup my stove, there are some
good flames entering the chimney from the stove until I get the fire going
and close the air intakes down.


You avoid starting one by inspecting your chimney at the beginning
of each season, and cleaning it when you start seeing a buildup of
creasote. If you you burn wet or otherwise crappy wood, or
indulge in short burns or banked fires, then inspect it once
a month, until you get a feel for how fast it builds up crap.

If you WANT to destroy your chimney and burn your house down,
then use your stove as a smudge-pot.. fill it with big chunks
of wet, resinous pine, and keep it just barely burning for
about an hour a day for two months. THen fill it with dry
birch splints and kindling and light the sucker off.

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:37:10 -0500, "Charles Schuler"
wrote:


"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message
news

And no, you shouldn't ever start a chimney
fire on purpose.



How would you start one? Not that I want to know how to start one, but
rather how to avoid starting one. When I startup my stove, there are some
good flames entering the chimney from the stove until I get the fire going
and close the air intakes down.

You can start a chimney fire, if there is a coating of creosote to support
it. If you want to find out, load your stove with hot burning stuff and
give it all the air that you can (not recommended).

It is an urban myth ... start a chimney fire once a year as a self-cleaning
method. Not recommended!

It's probably a misapprehension of the advice to burn long hot fires,
to warm the chimney enough to keep creasote from condensing there.

I dunno why you'd wanna do that, though, when you can scrape it
off with a wire brush and use it to treat your fence posts when
nobody's looking.

It's probably a misapprehension of the advice to burn long hot fires,
to warm the chimney enough to keep creasote from condensing there.

I dunno why you'd wanna do that, though, when you can scrape it
off with a wire brush and use it to treat your fence posts when
nobody's looking.

OK, here is another question. My chimney goes up about 6-7', and then bends.
Last year I had it inspected, and they inspected up to the bend only and
said that buildups only happen in the first 6 feet or so. Is this true? How
far up the chimney do I need to clean, how far up is creosote likely to
build up? I have a steel double layer 6" (I think it's 6") chimney.

On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 18:55:05 -0800, "Ook" Ook Don't send me any
freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin'
spam wrote:


It's probably a misapprehension of the advice to burn long hot fires,
to warm the chimney enough to keep creasote from condensing there.

I dunno why you'd wanna do that, though, when you can scrape it
off with a wire brush and use it to treat your fence posts when
nobody's looking.

OK, here is another question. My chimney goes up about 6-7', and then bends.
Last year I had it inspected, and they inspected up to the bend only and
said that buildups only happen in the first 6 feet or so. Is this true? How
far up the chimney do I need to clean, how far up is creosote likely to
build up? I have a steel double layer 6" (I think it's 6") chimney.


Buildup of creasote is only one of the things they
ought to be looking for. THey should also be looking
for damage, blockages, problems with the roof penetration,
etc. If there was no sign of creasote in the part
you can see I wouldn't worry much about it
for this year, but I'd definately choose a different
person/company for next year. Can *YOU* get up
on the roof and check it from the top?

"Ook" Ook Don't send me any freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the
Don't send me any freakin' spam wrote in message

OK, here is another question. My chimney goes up about 6-7', and then
bends. Last year I had it inspected, and they inspected up to the bend
only and said that buildups only happen in the first 6 feet or so. Is this
true? How far up the chimney do I need to clean, how far up is creosote
likely to build up? I have a steel double layer 6" (I think it's 6")
chimney.

They are most likely right, but no guarantees. The creosote will build up
where it condenses and hits the chimney wall. While it usually happens in
the first portion (from my limited experience) the actual answer depends on
the temperature of the fire, the temperature of the flue, the draw of the
flue and this varies along with the outside temperature.

In my case, I clean the entire chimney once a year, but I do the bottom five
feet about four times a year since it is very easy for me to do. Your house
will certainly be a bit different.

"Goedjn" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 18:55:05 -0800, "Ook" Ook Don't send me any
freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin'
spam wrote:


It's probably a misapprehension of the advice to burn long hot fires,
to warm the chimney enough to keep creasote from condensing there.

I dunno why you'd wanna do that, though, when you can scrape it
off with a wire brush and use it to treat your fence posts when
nobody's looking.

OK, here is another question. My chimney goes up about 6-7', and then
bends.
Last year I had it inspected, and they inspected up to the bend only and
said that buildups only happen in the first 6 feet or so. Is this true?
How
far up the chimney do I need to clean, how far up is creosote likely to
build up? I have a steel double layer 6" (I think it's 6") chimney.


Buildup of creasote is only one of the things they
ought to be looking for. THey should also be looking
for damage, blockages, problems with the roof penetration,
etc. If there was no sign of creasote in the part
you can see I wouldn't worry much about it
for this year, but I'd definately choose a different
person/company for next year. Can *YOU* get up
on the roof and check it from the top?




The chimney goes up through the ceiling of the front room into an unfinished
attic room. There it goes through two 45 degree bends before going through
the roof. I would have to take it apart there, and from there I can see all
the way to the top, and to the bottom. The roof is quite steep, I would not
be able to do it from the outside without proper safety equipment - which I
don't have. I'm burning mostly very dry pine, it sat for several years under
a tarp. I can almost split it with my hands, it's so dry.