Creosote Buster Chimney Cleaning Safety Fire Log, Large, for Fireplaces and Wood Stoves (1-Pack)

Smells good and burn for long time I like it

They advertise to use once a Season or every 40 fires. I heat with wood. The woodstove and fireplace are always burning. I figure that is the equivalent of a couple fires a day. I basically use one, once a month. I prefer not to be home. I do not smell it, but sometimes it will leave a weird taste in my mouth. Add it before walking the dog. When I get back it is burnt. Not sure if they do anything, but gives me peace of mind. Being a Seasonal item, I buy a bunch each Spring, when it goes on Sale.

No, there is still creosote buildup in our fireplace

I tried this today since it was a chilly morning. I got a good hot fire going than tossed this log in. Do not remove the paper. It burned completely in about 45 minutes. Some people mentioned an odor, but I could detect no odor whatsoever. So far, I can't really tell any difference yet, but the cleaning action continues for the next several fires. I will start to use these on a regular basis, I consider t cheap insurance. Good product, I would recommend.

I've used Pine Mountain's 4lb. creosote buster fire wax logs a few times since we don't use the fireplace often enough to justify a chimney sweeping each year. This "wax" log contains no wax even though the word wax is in the name (huh?). The log is made of all natural ingredients and claims to reduce creosote buildup in fireplaces, wood stoves, and pellet stoves. It's easy enough to use - once your fire is rolling along nicely, just toss the log on top and let it burn. I do question how effectively this product works given the manufacturer recommends cleaning the chimney at least once a year, but they may need to say that to protect themselves. I suspect these logs do have an impact (even if minimal) and it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.

We normally use our fireplace between November and March and burn a couple of fires a week. Since the Creosote Buster is intended to be used every 40 fires or so, I decided to try it out as an alternative to a chimney sweep since we don't burn 'oily' wood like pine logs and our fire logs are well seasoned. I was pretty disappointed in the results and couldn't see many visible signs that it had worked except for a very strong tar/smoke odor that permeated our home on the morning after we had used it. Since I was up on the roof doing some work on the gutters, I decided to be a little more 'scientific' in my review and took some "before and after" pictures of the underside of our spark guard and inside the chimney flue. The underneath of the spark guard lid had the expected build up of small clusters of soot and shiny creosote deposits as did the interior of the flue. We followed the instructions and built a fire and then put the creosote log on the fire once the fire had established itself. When it was burning, there was no odor and no sign of any smoke however on the morning after we had used it, there was a very strong tar/smoke odor in the house and I could even smell it outside in the garden (presumably from the chimney). When I examined the spark guard and chimney flue on the following morning after we'd use the creosote log, I really couldn't see any difference, other than the strong smell of tar/smoke. In fairness to the product, it is a few years since we have had the chimney swept so it may be that we have too much build up of deposits for it to be effective. The instructions also indicate that the product will continue the process or reducing the build up of creosote for 3-4 fires after it has been used so presumably the chemical that it coats the inside of the chimney flue with has some residual impact and we may not be giving it long enough to work properly. Having used it once and filled the house with a very acrid odor, I'm loathed to try it again and will probably stick to having the chimney and fireplace mechanically cleaned out by a chimney sweep every once in a while.

This Creosote Buster log says that it will clean your chimney of creosote, by making it flake off through a chemical reaction. As the directions indicate, I started a fire, and let the fire burn for 30 minutes. Then I put the Creosote Buster log onto the fire. It started to burn, slowly, and it burned for about 45 minutes. I had noted and photographed the amount of creosote — black, shiny material, deposited on the back of the fireplace, beforehand. The detailed instructions, on the paper wrapping the log which you burn, say that the creosote-removing action will continue for the next several fires you make. Looking at photos of the back of the fireplace before and after the Creosote Buster fire and four subsequent fires, I see that about 1/4 of the creosote flaked off of the back of the fireplace after the first fire, leaving just the brick surface. More flaked off after the second fire. A bit more flaked off after the third and fourth fires, leaving about 1/3 of the fireplace back without creosote, as noted in the photo below. This took place particularly where the flame from the Creosote Buster was. Perhaps within the chimney flue, a more concentrated area than the fireplace, this flaking action was accentuated. The Creoste Buster is easy to use and seems to work somewhat at least.

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

It didn’t clean my fireplace very well

I can't attest to how well it cleaned the chimney, but the log burnt well and it was a very pretty fire.