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[slimjim]

It had access doors for cleaning but keeping up with cleaning was a real bear because the conventional boiler created so much creosote in the smoke, in my opinion it was not worth the effort.

[dirtdigger]

If I'm understanding this concept, your boiler didn't burn hot enough long enough to create a clean enough burn to keep the creasote from building up in your makeshift heat exchanger, or am I totally wrong on this?

If that's the case how low can exhaust temps go before creasote becomes a problem with any boiler?

[slimjim]

The exhaust temps on a conventional boiler should be at least 400 degrees to not create creosote, that being said it takes far higher stack temps to burn off the creosote formed when the boiler starts it's burn cycle where the stack temps are down around the water temp itself so each cycle adds more creosote building it up in the heat exchanger, It's a vicious cycle!

[dirtdigger]

So the hotter burn cycle temps will burn up the creasote so when it cools the air going through the heat exchanger it won't be an issue afterwards, is that the jest of it, whereas on a wood boiler such as wood doctor which doesn't have as hot of burn temps, it never burns them off and its always a problem and the reason for a short stack in the first place??

[yoderheating]

 Slim really hits the nail on the head here. Conventional furnaces are going to produce a certain amount of creosote because of burn temps. A gasser can burn off the creosote and then because of that capture more heat from the exhaust. Stack temps are one of the ways to find out how efficient a furnace is. Any reliable manufacture is testing based on stack temps.