UKC

We've not long moved into a house with a really nice wood burner. I've never owned one before so I haven't a clue as to what sort of maintainance is required - specifically the flue. Any advice from the more experienced welcome.

In reply to GrahamD: I'm no expert but i've had one for a while. Make sure you have a good seal where the flue joins the stove and again where it goes up in to the chimney. Normally it's done by a liberal application of a sort of putty you can get from any hardware shop but it can crack and come off after a while.

Check the seal is intact around the door, normally rope or cord that can be replaced or glued back in place.

I have had mine for about ten years and tend to find that the more I use it the better it works. I think the key to these things is the chimney and if it has been set up properly you should be ok.

In reply to GrahamD: The place that installed mine said sweep the chimney and clean out the inside once a year. They come out and do the lot in one visit.

It may be worth getting a sweep out to give you an opinion on the chimney.

In reply to GrahamD: one thing you have to be very careful about ,and which the folk who sell them dont often mention is the flue,if you just have an old brick flue and you burn certain types of wood in the stove ,you can get a build up of resin in the flue and the chimney stack,,when this gets hot and it gets red hot it can crack the brickwork,,I have seen cracks big enough to get your fingers in..this costs lots of money to put right ...

In reply to GrahamD: it's probably also worth getting the flue swept or checked. As mine needs it once a year with moderate use over winter.

Also, my bro moved into a house and the flue hadn't been set up correctly, which was found out by the sweep and then needed fixing (stove flue just went straight into chimmney and then no liner)

In reply to GrahamD:

Agree about the flue seal - mine needs doing.

I have a multi fuel one so I tend to run it mahoosively hot using coal every now and then to burn off some of he crap inside, then use seasoned logs the rest of the time.

Try to make sure you use the right sort of wood, as anything green or unseasoned can generate resins which will glog and as another poster said, ignite.

If you get a big one like mine you can immolate an entire person in one evening. The only gve away is the white smoke but I just told the people opposite I was electing a pope.

In reply to GrahamD:

All of the above, and definitely install a liner if you don't already have one.

Two questions for the others - how do you keep your glass clean (no matter how much I clean it, within minutes of lighting a fire, it seems sooty again...but then maybe that's because I light it with newspaper and the ink comes off?)

Also, I need to replace the rope seals. Any tips for getting the old rope off cleanly?

In reply to Nic:

My stove has a doohickey that adjusts the circulation, so if buring coal the air is taken from uderneath and with wood it takes ot from the back so creates a rolling burn. that rolling burn is useful for vaporising the clag on the door glass. to do this I use coal on the wood setting. I am sure if you have a wood only stove cranking it up nice and hot should do the trick.

In reply to GrahamD: also be prepared now to be continually looking for, picking up, cutting, chopping and debating the best stacking techniques for wood...

In reply to GrahamD:

I was brought up with the chimney being swept as an annual event.

On the local BBC news a couple of months back a fire service spokesman suggested FOUR times a year.

http://guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk/safety_fire.php
These guys suggest 2-3 times a year for a wood fire.

I'll stick with a thorough annual clean.

In reply to all...

Sounds as though getting it swept (once winter finishes ) makes sense. What prompted the question was card through the door from the sweep that presumably the previous owner used. I'll give them a call.

In reply to GrahamD: our house insurance requires you to have it cleaned once a year, many sweeps give a certificate for that purpose..

In reply to GrahamD: or just a new guy canvassing for business now winter is nearly over (did we get a spring?)

In reply to GrahamD:

We have one of the scandinavian style woodburners. My experience is use seasoned wood, get a moisture meter and probe the stuff BEFORE it is offloaded. If it is high tell em to clear off!

Last winter we only burned about 2.5 cubic meters so as we started with 4ish we have a good start for next year. Running out in the cold winter of 2010/11 was a painful experience and trying to get more in during feb 2011 was awful, the stuff was crap and the prices had gone up.

We find that once a year is enough for sweeping, our fire burns clean and hot if fed decent stuff.