Best way to clean a Jotul Castine for winter

[sparksalot]

what is the best way to clean my chimney and stove for the winter...i usually disconnect the pipe from the stove and attach a bag around it..then i climb up my roof and shove the brush down several time until it is clean....then i vacum out the stove where the pipe goes in .....is this enough? am i missing a step? thanks.....

 

[Roospike]

what is the best way to clean my chimney and stove for the winter...i usually disconnect the pipe from the stove and attach a bag around it..then i climb up my roof and shove the brush down several time until it is clean....then i vacum out the stove where the pipe goes in .....is this enough? am i missing a step? thanks.....

Well that sounds about right so far. Now with your stove you need to check things over and do maintenance . Look over the parts inside your stove and out to make sure everything looks as it should. check over your burn chamber , air inlets , bricks , any packing material . Check any gaskets your stove may have. Take a dollar bill in the door gasket with the door shut to see if the dollar bill pulls our freely , put the dollar bill at different spots on your door to see if the whole gasket is a nice tight fit. Check over the gaskets to make sure you have no tears or breaks .

 

[suematteva]

Sounds like you are on the right track...Roospike is right on..depending on the age of your stove,,you may want to check with your dealer and ask if there is anything you may need to keep an eye on.

 

[sparksalot]

thanks i think you are on the right track to check with the dealer, they hardly gave me any information to begin with...the jotul manual is very limited in information as regards to cleaning

 

[Gooserider]

Sounds good on the chimney pipe, just want to make sure you get the stove collar on the stove as well - essentially follow the air and smoke flow through the stove and make sure that all passages are clean and free of fly ash, including any secondary air passages. I don't know the innards of your stove, but in general watch out for any fragile refractory materials or insulation packages, but if there are parts that should be removed to clean, do them, and generally clean any internal parts you can get at. A shop vacuum with an extension made from a soft flexible hose can be helpful in getting into crevices where fly ash can accumulate.

Check any gasketed seams to make sure they close properly (the Dollar bill test mentioned earlier) all the way around the doors, look for any signs of cracked cement at other seams and fix as needed, etc.

Gooserider