Like any household appliance the more care and attention you give it the longer and more efficiently it lasts, and a wood-burning stove is no different. With proper and regular maintenance you can give your stove a long and happy life, while allowing you to get the most out of it.
With this in mind, I have compiled a few tips into this post that will help keep your wood-burning stove in good working order.
Clean the glass
Nowadays, most stoves come fitted with an airwash system that keeps the glass clean. Be sure to check out for this feature if you haven’t already bought a stove. If your stove doesn’t have this feature, clean the glass on your stove with a specialist cleaning product designed for use on stoves, or similarly you can use a newspaper steeped in malt vinegar.
Empty the ashpan
After awhile ashes can start to build up in the ashpan. If these hot ashes come into contact with the lower side of the grate it can cause the grate to distort and lose it’s shape. I advise you empty the ashes out of your stoves ashpan to avoid these problems.
Check for rust
A problem that probably won’t occur very often with modern stoves, but just incase you do see any rust it is better to act quickly to nip it in the bud. You can use wire wool to rub the rusted area then just re-apply the stove paint to get your stove looking in tip-top condition.
Check rope seals
Stoves come equipped with specialist heat resistant firerope around the door of the stove. This forms a seal and prevents excess air from getting into the stove, and also ensures the door is closed properly. With general wear and tear this rope can become worn
Clean the baffle / throat plate
It is common for soot and other waste to gather on or around the throat plate. This can make your stove less efficient that it should be as it blocks the flue. These are flammable materials and they can pose a fire risk, so it is also potentially dangerous. You can prevent this from happening by ideally cleaning the baffle plate once a week.
Leave the door ajar when out of use
If your stoves going to be out of action for more than a few days (summer months for example), leave the door slightly open. This can help stop corrosion as it allows air to flow through the system.
Get chimney swept
After a lot of use creosote and other waste materials can build-up in your chimney and can potentially cause a chimney fire. Getting in touch with a chimney sweep at least twice a year will prevent this from happening and will improve the overall efficiency of your wood-burning stove.