Since we use our Kozi wood stove almost 24/7 during the winter, it needs maintenance and cleaning about every two months. We've been good about going on the porch roof and cleaning out the outer section of the pipe, but I'm embarrassed to say that we haven't cleaned the inside section since the beginning of the fire season last fall.
The first hint that creosote is building up in the chimney pipe is smoke coming out of the fire box door when it is opened. So when this happened again last week, we picked a fair day to let the fire die out to do the deed. As you can see in the first picture, tapping the pipe dislodged so much creosote that it filled the smoke shelf and pipe connector. 
First we took down the inside pipe and removed the creosote adhering to the inside walls. A little newspaper on the floor helped keep the mess contained. When everything was done, here is what I saw. It seemed like quite a bit, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised after so much use over the winter and early spring.
Last time we cleaned the pipe we noticed a small amount of smoke coming out through a joint in the pipe near the ceiling. We decided to seal the problematic junction with some Rutland "Seal it Right" to provide a better draft up and out of the chimney. If you would like more information on this subject, I found a good article by The Gas Man at Epinions.com. So far it has remained sealed with no further problems.
Chimney cleaning involves some disassembly both indoors and out, but it doesn't take long and the results provide for safer and more enjoyable fires. Play the video clip below to take a look at ours.
And yes, that is the USC Band playing Tusk (a personal favourite for Wayne) in the background. -- Margy
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