1. Welcome Hearth.com Guests and Visitors - Please enjoy our forums!
    Hearth.com GOLD Sponsors who help bring the site content to you:
    Jotul Cast Iron Stoves
    Woodstock Soapstone Stoves
    Hearth and Home (QuadraFire and Harman Stoves)
  1. Boom Stick Feeling the Heat

    joined: Oct 26, 2011
    283 posts
    Capital Region, NY
    Last year I got a lot of great advice on my new insert...helped a lot. Now as 2nd season approaches I have some more 1st time questions. I took all the fire bricks out this summer and vacuumed out the insert as best I could. Replaced (obviously) the bricks and consider myself good to go in that regard. I still need to sweep my chimney liner which I will do before my 1st burn. does anything else need to happen to the interior of the insert besides a good brick removal and cleaning?
    #1

    Helpful Sponsor Ads!



    blacktail likes this.
  2. Wood Duck Minister of Fire

    joined: Feb 26, 2009
    3,774 posts
    Central PA
    Cleaning the flue is important, but I don't think it is necessary to clean the inside of the stove. It is nice to inspect the inside to look for damage, cracks, etc., but it is going to get ashy as soon as you use it, so no need to vacuum in my opinion. I have never removed my bricks.
    Scotty Overkill likes this.
  3. blacktail Feeling the Heat

    joined: Sep 18, 2011
    393 posts
    Western WA
    As long as the chimney is clean and the firebox isn't stuffed with ash, it should be ready to rock.
    Even though I have a decent amount of experience with wood heat, I just recently passed the one year mark with my own stove in my own house. I cleaned the chimney last spring, burned some junk mail in it a few times during the summer, and have a decent fire going now.
    Between your avatar and your signature, it looks like we have hobbies and stove manufacturers in common.
    Boom Stick likes this.
  4. Scotty Overkill firewood hoarder

    joined: Sep 24, 2011
    7,169 posts
    central PA
    I only ever remove my bricks if I'm replacing a brick. The ash that gets in-between the bricks helps keep them tight together, and seals the firebox even better IMHO. I do, however, take out the baffles several times each season to clean the fly ash that gets on top of them. The big thing I do on my stove is take off any shields to inspect the firebox for cracks, etc. I also take off the blower motor, take it outside and blow all the dust out of it with the compressor, and lube the bearings with a drop of oil. This year, for the first time in 5 years, I did blow out the primary and secondary tubes with a compressor (shop vac in the other hand), MAN WERE THEY EVER FULL OF ASH!) I'm sure that will help the secondaries balance out, they weren't working as good as they used to, and I'm glad I cleaned them out.
  5. MTMike New Member

    I'm also getting ready to start my fall readiness to start my second season. I am going to remove the baffles and brush the flue and inspect everything while I'm at it. Also plan to clean the blower motor
  6. CT-Mike Feeling the Heat

    joined: Mar 22, 2008
    496 posts
    New England
    Never hurts to do the dollar bill test to check the door gasket.
  7. Boom Stick Feeling the Heat

    joined: Oct 26, 2011
    283 posts
    Capital Region, NY
    I am dying to steelhead fish out west. Gonna make it happen one day. Luckily, I live fairly close to a steelhead and salmon fishery on a Lake Ontario tributary. Nothing is better than dead of winter steelhead fishing. IMHO.
  8. Beer Belly Minister of Fire

    joined: Oct 26, 2011
    891 posts
    Connecticut
    I would have cleaned the Chimney first, then the inside of the stove. Got mine all set, and decided I'm not burning questionable wood this year, if I have to, I'll burn Bio-Bricks till next year, then I'm set. We just sweep our stove out, haven't had a need to replace any bricks, did you have some that we're damaged ???....or is this something that needs to be done periodically and I'm missing out ???

Share This Page