There’s a lot more that goes into wood burning stoves than just, well, burning wood. Every single choice made connected to it has a direct impact on its safety. Log burning stoves need to have the proper firewood and should be cleaned well.
Keeping Your Wood Stove in Tiptop Shape
Few things bring warmth to a home on a cold day the way a wood stove crackling fire does. However, beyond being cosy, they also have multiple benefits. This includes being good for the environment, cost-effective and efficient when it comes to your home being heated. Proper care plays a vital role in handling the powerful heat and the stove itself.
Read on for things you should know about wood stove maintenance:
Wood Stove Inspection and Cleaning
Some homes already have a wood stove in them; whether it’s a house rent or purchase situation, have the wood stove inspected. It has to be able to meet updated local codes, and, of course, it has to be safe to operate. Inspection can be done by a certified chimney sweep, who can also clean out your chimney before it’s used.
What should follow after the initial cleaning is an annual servicing. Although if it’s used quite often, the service may need to be done more than once throughout a year.
The Right Firewood
Between softwood and hardwood, the choice boils down to personal preference. Softwood includes the likes of cedar, fir and pine. Hardwood includes the likes of birch, maple and oak. The former is a great choice for hotter fires, but it burns rather quickly. The latter is so dense that the burning takes a while, with heat building gradually. That’s why when wood stoves are part of the conversation, hardwood tends to be ideal.
Creosote
Not to be confused with soot, creosote is a key part of conversations surrounding wood stoves. That’s because the black substance, which builds up in a chimney from incomplete fire combustion, is a safety hazard. When there’s too much of it, ventilation issues and chimney fires could happen. It has a tendency to harden through the years, eventually gaining the ability to catch on fire.
A wood stove thermometer added to your chimney can work wonders to help this along. It will allow you to maintain your fire within a safe range: one’s that not too low nor too hot.
Preventing creosote can include, but should not be limited to:
- Clean the wood stove regularly since creosote is a common tendency.
- Passing on low, smouldering fires and going with hot fires instead.
- Use the right wood.
Conclusion
Wood stoves are a great item for any home to have, but they require more than just any wood being tossed in to get a fire going. They bring warmth and have a generally positive effect on the environment, heat a home efficiently, plus it’s quite cost-efficient. Maintenance plays a key role in keeping it from becoming a fire hazard. This includes getting an inspection and an annual cleaning, choosing the right firewood and preventing creosote.
Looking for a wood stove in Scotland and the UK? Reach out to Stove Scotland today! We’re market experts with a comprehensive knowledge of stoves and fires in West Lothian.
