Burning smokeless fuel in a stove

grahamc2003

suki1964 wrote: »

You are burning what the chimney sweep pulls out of your chimney?

Phurnacite which is the smokeless eggs is a mix of anthracite dust and cement

Yeah, I'm burning the soot which I got from the chimney my oil-fired Aga uses. Burnt about a bucket full up to now. It's mainly pure carbon, the ultimate smokeless fuel. Very close to anthracite powder, except there's a small amount of hydrocarbons left in that.

Soot is only an element of the fuel which didn't get burnt first time round. Having said that, you've got to know what your doing to burn it successfully - probably best not to get lots of soot dust in the air near a hot fire.

If you have some soot deposited on the stove glass (due to poor burning), then if the fire gets hot enough, it'll burn off the carbon deposits leaving the glass very clean - so anyone who does that is already burning the same stuff as me, and the same stuff deposited up chimneys.

What do sweeps do with the large amount of soot they collect?

suki1964

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Yeah, I'm burning the soot which I got from the chimney my oil-fired Aga uses. Burnt about a bucket full up to now. It's mainly pure carbon, the ultimate smokeless fuel. Very close to anthracite powder, except there's a small amount of hydrocarbons left in that.

Soot is only an element of the fuel which didn't get burnt first time round. Having said that, you've got to know what your doing to burn it successfully - probably best not to get lots of soot dust in the air near a hot fire.

If you have some soot deposited on the stove glass (due to poor burning), then if the fire gets hot enough, it'll burn off the carbon deposits leaving the glass very clean - so anyone who does that is already burning the same stuff as me, and the same stuff deposited up chimneys.

What do sweeps do with the large amount of soot they collect?

Got to love these forums, learn something new everyday :rotfl:

Seriously I don't get soot and never knew you could burn it. I had in my mind the stuff of chimney fires

Still, I've burned heat logs made of fag butts before so I guess anything goes :Dy

grahamc2003

suki1964 wrote: »

Got to love these forums, learn something new everyday :rotfl:

Seriously I don't get soot and never knew you could burn it. I had in my mind the stuff of chimney fires

Still, I've burned heat logs made of fag butts before so I guess anything goes :Dy

Well you certainly don't have an oil fired Aga then.

Not sure why you're rolling on the floor laughing. It's not that funny is it? Can't see the humour myself at all in fact.

suki1964

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Well you certainly don't have an oil fired Aga then.

Not sure why you're rolling on the floor laughing. It's not that funny is it? Can't see the humour myself at all in fact.

I wasn't laughing at you, rather myself

And no, couldn't afford to run an aga

grahamc2003

Everyone says chimney fires are caused by soot, but I don't think they can be - it certainly wouldn't produce the flames or smoke you see gushing out the top when a chimney fire is going on. Must be the tar I reckon, which would likely produce both the flames and the smoke. Once the tar is burning though, then I expect any soot up there would also start smouldering and producing enough heat to do serious damage. With a stove though, you can easily starve a chimney fire of oxygen if the worst happens (that assumes the stove has no leaks and has been fitted correctly).

rustyboy21

Leif wrote: »

It is Brazier multipurpose smokeless fuel.

As an aside, I discovered a local post office, in a nearby small village, with large bags of kindling for £4, much cheaper than elsewhere. So that should help get it going. And a local tree surgeon does a huge pile of wood for £70, and I think I prefer wood. It is cleaner to handle.

You are welcome to 2 100 year old pear trees and a 100 year old Elderflower tree, if you want to come to Lancashire and cut them down and take them away.

Don't want another September/October being on the neighbours hit list for the kids throwing pears at everyones windows !:eek:

muckybutt

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Everyone says chimney fires are caused by soot, but I don't think they can be - it certainly wouldn't produce the flames or smoke you see gushing out the top when a chimney fire is going on. Must be the tar I reckon, which would likely produce both the flames and the smoke. Once the tar is burning though, then I expect any soot up there would also start smouldering and producing enough heat to do serious damage. With a stove though, you can easily starve a chimney fire of oxygen if the worst happens (that assumes the stove has no leaks and has been fitted correctly).

Soot - tar - creosote, the three main causes of chimney fires FACT

Tar and creosote fires are very hot and relatively short lived, where as a soot fire will be a slowish burn which can burn for days unless it starts to fall in which case it flashes over as it becomes explosive to some degree with it being a dust.

Cant say ive ever heard of anyone burning it - thats a new one on me, if you want free fuel then come visit me in Yorkshire as ive copious amounts of the stuff, like me the majority of sweeps will get rid of it at the dump, builders sometimes ask for it to weather wash new brickwork and gardeners often ask for it to rot down for compost

grahamc2003

muckybutt wrote: »

Soot - tar - creosote, the three main causes of chimney fires FACT

While I agree that soot, tar and creosote will burn in a chimney fire, I disagree that all three can cause a chimney fire. The conditions to ignite soot for example just wouldn't be met unless the tar (or creosote) were there to ignite it.

I too have googled 'burning soot' and there seems to be no pages where anyone has tried burning it in a stove. (Almost every other google search on the weirdest and most obscure topics usually throws up thousands of references). Seems to me to be a massive waste of a valuable resource. To make artificial anthracite, all that needs to be done is add 5% hydrocarbon impurities to the soot, then form nuggets from it. That way, the nuggets would burn with a flame for a while, which I expect most people want. (Carbon usually burns without a flame).

Can't think why this isn't done, can anyone else?

muckybutt

grahamc2003 wrote: »

While I agree that soot, tar and creosote will burn in a chimney fire, I disagree that all three can cause a chimney fire. The conditions to ignite soot for example just wouldn't be met unless the tar (or creosote) were there to ignite it.

Ohhh I can assure you soot burns all by its self, ive actually swept chimneys in the past and found fires smouldering away especially on ledges etc and the fire hasnt been lit for weeks, no signs of tar or creosote.

You'll normally find the soot will actually catch fire BEFORE the tar and creosote if indeed there is any, the tar and creosote deposits are at the upper end of the chimney as that is where the flue gas is at its coolest, it will be stuck to the chimney lining be it brick or clay, the soot then sticks on top of it, this eventually will get to a point where its all "fluffy" and anything even small embers will ignite it, paper is a very common cause for starting chimney fires. Lower down the chimney the tar and creosote is minimal as its warmer. The deposits occur as flue gasses condense in the cooler air, turning the smoke / unburnt fuel into a liquid ( condensate ).

When tar / creosote ignites then you know about it, though more often than not you wont ! the temps involved with these types of fire get well into the upper 100's f, take one of my customers that burnt of all things old railway sleepers, " they burn great " was the young ladies response. The resulting chimney fire she had blew the plaster off the chimney breast on the ground floor and first floor, it also glazed the brick over inside the chimney, many of the bricks exploded and cracked.

So you see there are different ways to get chimney fires.

Leif

rustyboy21 wrote: »

You are welcome to 2 100 year old pear trees and a 100 year old Elderflower tree, if you want to come to Lancashire and cut them down and take them away.

Don't want another September/October being on the neighbours hit list for the kids throwing pears at everyones windows !:eek:

Thank you but I am 'darn sarf'.