First-Timer: Homebuyer, Woodstove Owner, Hearth Member, etc.

[PaulDale905]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I bought our first home in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. We are very happy.

The previous owner installed and operated a Napoleon Series 1450 Woodstove (broken link removed to https://napoleonfireplaces.com/products/independence-wood-stove/)
and we look forward to a happy and healthy reciprocal relationship with the stove through the years.

I welcome any advice for a newcomer (i.e. cleaning, caring, operating, etc.). I realize as I write this, this may be an overwhelmingly big question so I'll try to narrow my hopes a bit more.

I want to ensure the stove is clean and ready for use in the next few weeks or so. Can you provide some guidance for that please? I need to purchase some tools and I would like to know where to buy them and what to buy. Any advice, big or small, is very much appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Very truly yours,

Paul Dale from Philadelphia

 

[Simonkenton]

You have to get extremely dry firewood. It needs to air dry for 2 or 3 years. Get a moisture meter at Lowes to measure moisture content.
Needs to be below 20 percent.
Hardwood like oak for burning, pine for kindling.

Also, do yourself a favor and get a case of Supercedar. This is for starting the stove, makes lighting the stove so much easier. Cheap.

 

[Mike M.]

I ran a 1450 for a few years, they are a nice stove and very durable. Check out your top firebox baffling. The stove should have Vortex baffles (2) if not I would suggest you buy them. You really have to be careful with these when loading not to bump the baffles. Some type of shovel is nice to rake coals forward. I just bend standard ones. Enjoy your unit, my experience is they like to run a little hot.

Sent from my SM-G900R6 using Tapatalk

 

[begreen]

The Nappy is a good heater if fed dry wood and if it has good strong draft. It will need at least a 16ft flue system, preferably straight up.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Have your chimney inspected and make sure its clean. You don't want to start off on the wrong foot.

I can't stress the need for dry wood enough. It'll be the difference between frustration and an enjoyable experience.

 

[bholler]

I agree Iwould have it inspected and cleaned by a pro atleast the first time. Pay attention and ask questions about what they are doing and why. Then you can figure out if it is something you think you can handle. And I know of a good sweep in your area as well if you are interested. The owner is president of the pa guild and his sons work for him now all good guys.

 

[bholler]

I also lived in mt airy for 7 years