Lost a full weekend on a single stubborn creosote log jam in a 100-year-old flue from a house in Columbus

Spent 8 hours Saturday and another 5 Sunday breaking through what I thought was a minor blockage, and I still had to come back Monday with a rotary kit - has anyone else had that kind of fight with old masonry?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_patel4d ago

Yeah I read somewhere those old flues have narrower bends that cook creosote in hard.

shane_martinez444d ago

I dunno man, I've seen plenty of old chimneys that ran fine for decades with tighter bends... feels like one of those things people blow way out of proportion. Unless you're burning green wood or packing the firebox full of trash, creosote buildup is more about how you use the stove than the flue design. My grandpa had a 1920s model that was all wonky angles and he never had a chimney fire. Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like modern marketing just wants you to upgrade everything. If your draft is decent and you burn dry wood, I bet you're fine.