This invention relates to a creosote and soot removing composition, and more particularly to a chloride salt-based creosote and soot removing composition having markedly reduced corrosive effect on ferrous metals.
Wood burning stoves have made a dramatic rebirth of use in the home. People are now using these stoves, which are known as "air-tight stoves" to supplement if not heat their homes totally during the winter months. Recent literature discloses that at least seven percent of all homes in the United States have wood burning stoves and that the use is rising constantly.
In these air-tight stoves, the fire is not visible when the stove doors are closed. The fire is regulated generally by a damper in the rear of the stove. A stove user will normally start a fast burning fire with a flame height of six to eight inches. The flame is then permitted to die down after about one hour to a slow burning type combustion to sustain heat output with lower fuel consumption. This low flame condition favors creosote formation.
Creosote is a tar-like material that builds up on stove pipes, and if allowed to go unchecked, can cause several problems. First, after creosote formation a stove may not perform correctly. Second, creosote deposits can eventually build up to the point where they will ignite and cause a chimney fire. Improvements in the design of these stoves have done little to prevent the formation of creosote within the stove flue pipes.
In view of the potentially dangerous conditions which may be created by the proper home use of an air-stove, it is highly desirable to provide ways to reduce the formation of creosote. One such effective way is by the use of a creosote removing material. Creosote removing materials are generally added to a stove fire during use.
The most effective soot removing materials are based upon chloride salts, such as sodium chloride and other metallic chlorides, such as zinc, tin and copper. When an additional metallic chloride is used in combination with sodium chloride, the presence of the additional metal chlorides increases the soot removing effect and promotes more effective soot removal. However, sodium chloride and the other metallic chlorides are quite corrosive to the ferrous materials commonly used in flue pipes of typical air-tight stoves. The metallic chlorides produce progressive pit-type corrosion on iron based metal pipes. Even stainless steel duct work is pitted and severly corroded by use of metallic chloride-based soot and creosote removers. The pit-type corrosion is caused by small electrochemical cells formed on the surface of the metal.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an effective metallic chloride-based composition which is effective for removing both creosote and soot, yet which will not cause the severe corrosive effect on metal surfaces generally associated with this type of soot removing material.