Pulled a 3 year old creosote log out of a flue in Philly yesterday

A customer called me in because their fireplace was smoking bad, so I ran a camera up and found this massive chunk of glazed creosote blocking about 40% of the 8 inch liner. Took me 45 minutes with a rotary tool to break it all free, but the draft difference after was night and day. Anybody else run into glazed creosote that built up faster than normal?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbaraw161mo ago

Have you checked what kind of wood they're burning? I've seen that glazed creosote buildup way faster when people burn a lot of pine or construction scraps. Honestly, that stuff is a nightmare to break out, sounds like you did solid work with that rotary tool. Might be worth telling the homeowner to switch to seasoned hardwood and keep their flue temp up with a hot fire now and then. Tbh, most people don't realize how much their fuel choice messes with their chimney.

craig.tessa1mo ago

Right? People swear by pine because it's cheap but man that glazed creosote is like trying to chip away at a rock. I once had a homeowner who burned nothing but pallet wood and old fence boards, I spent like 4 hours scraping that chimney and still had to go back with the rotary tool. Made me feel like a total idiot when I realized most of the mess was preventable. Now I tell people if you're gonna burn softwood at least mix it with some good oak or ash to keep the fire hot enough to burn off the junk before it cakes on.