With autumn around the corner, now is the time to ensure your wood burning stove is prepared ahead of the colder months. Arada’s Director Jon Butterworth shares his top tips for how to properly maintain your stove so that it can continue to deliver performance and maximum efficiency every time.
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"Check these tips before using your stove this heating season for maximum performance and enjoyment."
Getting a professional chimney ‘health check’ will ensure that your flue pipe or chimney are clear and safe when you re-light your appliance in the colder months. The first piece of advice stove care is about home safety.
“The first thing to do is have your stove professionally serviced and swept. I’d advise having this done at least once a year, so aim to organise it at the start of autumn if you haven’t already had it done this year. This will result in your stove working efficiently and safely, whilst preventing the build-up of soot in the flue or chimney, which if not properly maintained can cause a fire.”
If you’re planning on sweeping your chimney on a yearly basis; as long as your stove is not in active use for a prolonged period you plan ahead during a warm springtime might also be a good time to have this done also.
Some homeowners might assume that a stove needs cleaning out after each use – however, when it comes to wood burning stoves, it can actually be more beneficial to leave some ash in place, as dry wood will burn a lot better on its cinders.
That’s not to say you should leave it months before cleaning out your stove, when a large pile of ash starts to appear, just clear away the top inch or so, before it starts to overflow and to avoid clogging and build up. Use a small wire brush is helpful to get at any difficult to reach areas inside such as when dusting off the roof of the firebox chamber.
"For the interior, clean the door glass of any residue by dipping a damp cloth in the wood ash and wiping it gently – there’s no need for any specific glass cleaning product. For any remaining cold ash or soot, this can be easily vacuumed.”
"...clean your door glass of any residue by dipping a damp cloth in the wood ash and wiping it gently."
The way your stove looks from the outside is also important, as even when not in use, it still provides a focal centrepiece all year around.
“Once your chimney is clear, the next thing to do is a proper clean. There is no need to give your stove a clean after every use. Give the exterior a wipe with a lint-free cloth or clean shoe brush, but avoid using water or a damp cloth."
Checking your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors is something that should be part of your ongoing home maintenance, regardless of whether you own a stove or not. That may also be an ideal time to clean your detectors, by gently using the soft brush attachment of a vacuum cleaner to remove any dust from the sensors.
UK Government Fire Safety regulations recommends that you test your alarms at least monthly. Bear in mind that since you’re actively burning fuels in the home, there’s more reason that ever to increase the frequency of this safety check.
If you have a battery-operated alarm, you should change the power source once a year, or for a longer life, invest in a 10-year alarm. It’s advised that after the 10 years you should replace older detectors with new devices.
Burning wet, unseasoned wood is ineffective, harmful and should be avoided at all costs. Wet wood burns poorly giving off little useful heat and creates excess smoke, damaging your flue and blackens the door glass.
Fortunately if you prefer the convenience of purchasing your wood log fuel from a reputable supplier there has been a ban on the retail sale of unseasoned wood in the UK (when purchased in less than 2 cubic metre volumes).
Look out for the ‘Ready to Burn’ logo on smaller pre-packed wood bags such as those available at convenience stores or garden centres, the symbol indicates that the wood is fully seasoned. The additional benefit of burning fully seasoned wood will mean that you need to use fewer logs to get the same amount of heat therefore saving you money in the process.
“Opt for seasoned wood that is properly dried, ensure it is brought into the home and allowed to dry before the arrival of the cooler wet months.”
For more information on the benefits of dry woods vs. wet wood, you can read more about it here.
Our stove bodies come with a lifetime guarantee, but some consumables will eventually suffer from wear and tear over time. Check some of the following items before using the stove ahead of the winter season for maximum performance and enjoyment.
Broken or split seals affect the air-tightness in the fire chamber, which can diminish the rate and quality of the burn and make the initial lighting of the fuel difficult. You should check that your stove door rope is still maintaining a tight seal by doing an easy test.
"Perform the paper test as this will indicate the health of your door seal. If the rope is frayed, or the seal split then you should replace it before the heating season. A stove door seal must do just that. Any air gap in the seal means that your stove cannot be burning fuel optimally".
If your stove does not pass the test you can read about how you can easily replace your door rope seal here.
Sometimes fire bricks can get be accidentally scraped or gouged during a lifetime of use or with some over-exuberant use of fireplace tools when adjusting lit wood logs in the fire chamber. Damage to liner bricks may eventually cause them to crack and then crumble - at which point they really should be replaced because the liner bricks can no longer protect the stove body and paint from damage under high temperatures. You can read more here about cracked or crumbling liners.
Just as with checking the integrity of the door rope seal above, any air gaps will also result in a huge deficit in your stoves performance and should be remedied. Similarly check that the glass clips are still retaining a tight grip on the door glass.
"Check for cracks in the glass and check glass clips and seals to see that they remain intact to ensure maximum efficiency.”
If a stove has any perforations or cracks in its door glass or other unintended air gaps then it should not be used until the offending components are replaced.
Here are some other things that you can for your stove outside of the heating season to help it continue to provide enjoyment when the nights have drawn in.
Check all moveable components such as air sliders at regular intervals to ensure that they have free movement. These moving components should be well lubricated with a water-repelling corrosion inhibitor during periods of prolonged non-use.
When you know you’re not going to be using the stove for weeks at a time leave the air inlets open to allow air movement through the stove by opening the primary air inlet control(s) to about half-way open or even leave the door ajar. This will allow a free flow of air through the appliance thus preventing moisture and condensation forming inside the stove and chimney. You can also refer to your stove user guide to find out you can remove its throat plate and store it in a dry place outside of the stove at the same time.
Our stove paints are tough, reliable and pretty, but sometimes accidents will happen. You can always purchase one of our touch up paints to hide any scratches or dings. The paints we use today also require no curing so your stove is ready to use quickly. Mask off any glass or adjacent areas and don’t forget to keep the room well-ventilated before applying any paint.
Getting hold of replacement liner bricks, door glass, rope seals, touch-up paint and so forth for your stove is straightforward.
First, identify the stove model that needs new parts then contact your nearest Arada retailer who will be happy to order spares in for you.
Alternatively you can visit our stove spares website where we have a huge range of authentic spare parts available for you to order online.
Ask your nearest retailer to put you in contact with a good chimney sweep.
If you require any replacement parts or accessories, you can visit our dedicated spares site www.aradastovesandspares.com.
Share this article: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Email22nd August 2022