Stove Maintenance – How to Prolong the Life of Your Stove.

Choosing the right stove for your home is a crucial decision, but it doesn't end there. Proper maintenance, whether you have a wood burning, gas, electric or multi-fuel fire, stove maintenance is just as important as the initial investment to ensure your home stays warm and safe.

Routinely clean your chimney
Maintaining the safe operation of your wood burning or multi-fuel stove requires regular cleaning of the chimney. This not only prevents carbon monoxide poisoning, reduces the risk of chimney fires, but also ensures that smoke is flowing in the appropriate direction, protecting the inhabitants of your home.

Make sure to use dry firewood.

When burning wood on your stove, always try to opt for dry firewood. Burning wood with a moisture content over 20% creates more smoke, ultimately resulting in more build-up of tar and acidic residue in the chimney. More build up means that there is a higher risk of chimney fires and damage to the flue. This therefore means that the chimney needs to be swept more often. Not only is burning wet wood bad for your stove, but the heat output will also be much lower, and the efficiency of the burn will be decreased.

Service regularly

Your stove must be serviced regularly to ensure safety for those living or entering your home. This is an extremely important part of stove maintenance, to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

Every year there are around 30 accidental deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning in England and Wales and some of these could be prevented simply by servicing your stove.

Empty the ash pan.

While a small amount of ash in the ash pan can aid in a better burning fire, it is important to regularly empty the ash pan to prevent damage. If the ash piles too high and comes into contact with the grate of your stove, it can cause melting and distortion of its shape. Additionally, an excessive amount of ash in the ash tray can impede air flow and harm your stove.

Check the seals.

On your stove you should notice that there are rope seals around the door. This specialist heat-resistant rope acts as a barrier so that excess air doesn’t get let into the stove. Ensuring the seals are in good condition will help the fire to function more efficiently, saving money. An easy way to check if you need to replace the rope seals in your stove is by trapping a piece of paper in the door. If it is held firmly by the door, your rope seals are still in good working condition. However, if the paper slips out easily, it’s time to replace the seals.

Let air flow through during periods of no use.

When your stove isn’t being used for extended periods of time, it is a good idea to leave the door slightly open to let air flow through. This will help to stop corrosion, which occurs when your stove is out of use, due to no air movement. If the air inside the stove is high in moisture content, this makes the problem even worse.

 Now that you are equipped with the knowledge on how to properly maintain your stove, feel free to explore our wide range, just click here.

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