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Hot take: Crested butte out here in Colorado changed a ton in just 5 years since I last swept their chimneys
I went back to do a whole row of houses I hadn't touched since 2019, and the creosote buildup was way lighter and flakier than before. Folks swapped out their old wood stoves for those high-efficiency EPA models after the county pushed rebates. Has anyone else noticed a big shift in soot quality when neighborhoods upgrade their burning setups?
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rowan2622mo ago
You mentioned the creosote being way lighter and flakier after folks switched to those high-efficiency EPA models - that tracks with what I've seen in a few towns that pushed rebates hard. Those new stoves burn so much hotter that you get way less of that sticky, tar-like buildup, but I've also noticed people don't always adjust their damper settings right for them. If the burn is too lean, you can still get a thin layer of powdery soot that flakes off easy but can clog up the pipe fast if they don't clean it regularly.
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lisa_ross162mo ago
Oh wow yeah that's a really good point about the damper settings. I've been wondering about that too because I see a lot of folks with those new stoves who just set them once and forget about it. Do you think the rebate programs should include mandatory follow-up checkups or something to help people dial in their dampers after the first season? Idk maybe it's just me but it seems like that thin powdery soot could be just as dangerous if it builds up fast enough and nobody catches it.
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