First year burning. How often to clean?

You need to sweep as often as you need to sweep. You won't know unless you look. The worst part is usually near the top where it is coldest, and the worst times of year are fall and spring when it is warm out (because you burn lower then).

Get up there and at least look into the flue with a flashlight once a week at first. You will quickly get a handle on how often you actually need to inspect and sweep. Remember that it gets worse when you use wetter fuel and when you run the stove lower, so whatever you are doing in the winter may not be enough in the spring.

With my setup, sweeping does not take much more time than inspecting, so I just sweep every time I go up there whether or not it looks like it needs it.

Very few people, if anyone, clean inside the firebox. If there is creosote there and it catches fire, that is what we call free heat.

That is a small amount of crud, so whatever amount of time you are doing between sweepings is just fine.

shortys7777 said:

Did my first cleaning. Got just over 4oz. How do people clean the back part of their stoves? The secondary bars are kind of in the way. Should I buy a different brush for it? View attachment 236911 View attachment 236912

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Depends on the stove. I pull the baffle assembly apart and take down so I can clean the baffles and brush down the walls and top. Creosote is supposed to be a pretty good insulator so too much would inhibit heat transfer.

My first year burning i cleaned it once a month also, stove was new to me, my wood wasnt the driest and i have a short chimney so i was cautious. The next year it was every other month as i gained knowledge, confidence and my wood got drier. This year i have cleaned it once so far and saw that i could of waited another month to do it. I may do it once more this winter yet since it only takes about 20 minutes and is real easy. I'll probably get to the point where im doing it once mid season just for peace of mind. Just have to learn your stove, chimney and wood and you'll know what it needs after awhile.

I sweep every two years and still get hardly anything, not suggesting newer burners do that though. I check it periodically just in case.