When I got out of bed this morning, it was 46o outside. A fire would be overkill, but really nice.

Summer maintenance needs to be done before using the wood stove, so I’m going up on the roof.

Sparky seems to know that his leash is wrapped around the base of my ladder.  If he sees a rabbit, my routine task turns into me being stranded on the roof.

I need to inspect and sweep the chimney.

It’s pretty easy.  Twist off the cap, and use a stiff brush to clean the wire mesh.  The residue is brittle, and takes about 30 seconds to clean.

A flashlight is clipped on to the end of the pole, and lowered into the flue to see how much creosote has built up.

It looks really good.  On a bad year, there is a half-inch thick build up. 

Run the brush down the flue, and scrub it around a bit.

For completeness, the flue is inspected afterward.

When I was teaching, the stove was choked down at night and while I was at work.  It only burning good and hot in the evening.  Running cool causes creosote build up.  In my retirement, the fire is burning hot all day, so the build up is minor.

Once per year, the chimney is inspected and swept.  The whole operation takes about 10 minutes, and reassures me that everything is safe.  I clean the gutters while I’m up there.