Should I burn before I do an annual cleaning?

[dlstech]

I installed a new (1991 but was still brand new) Avalon stove last year and it burned great with no problems. I kept telling myself I'll do the annual cleaning in the late spring but I never did it and it's been sitting since. Well the temps are starting to drop bellow 60 now I'll need to start burning again in a few weeks. That means I need to do my annual cleaning.

Should I just take it apart and clean it out as is? Or would there be any benefit of burning on high for an hour or two and then cleaning it the next day? In my mind it just seems like it would help burn away any extra crap that might be in the vent. Might be a stupid question but I thought I'd ask.

 

[MCPO]

I installed a new (1991 but was still brand new) Avalon stove last year and it burned great with no problems. I kept telling myself I'll do the annual cleaning in the late spring but I never did it and it's been sitting since. Well the temps are starting to drop bellow 60 now I'll need to start burning again in a few weeks. That means I need to do my annual cleaning.

Should I just take it apart and clean it out as is? Or would there be any benefit of burning on high for an hour or two and then cleaning it the next day? In my mind it just seems like it would help burn away any extra crap that might be in the vent. Might be a stupid question but I thought I'd ask.

What makes you think any extra crap left in the vent will burn away with the next burn when the last burn didn`t do it?

 

[stovelark]

Nah, starting it again really shouldn't matter- I'd clean it and touch it up and be ready to go..

 

[funflyer]

Shouldn't make any difference on the ease of cleaning.

 

[alternativeheat]

It won't make any difference one way or other as long as it gets cleaned. But look what happened in the spring, you never got to it. Listen to this, it has To Get Done Eventually or it will just croak out on you one day. For the record I do mine in the fall, I might burn it a night or two before because cold air moved in or I might not. But don't just delay because of procrastination.

 

[Lake Girl]

No more putting it off ... get moving on it! How much did you burn last winter and how often was it cleaned? A good opportunity to ensure everything is clean and functional for the winter.

 

[BrotherBart]

Clean it before the burn. Don't throw any moisture up there before the cleaning. The reason I let mine sit and dry all summer before cleaning in September.

 

[alternativeheat]

There is a saying we use around the forum here, "when in doubt clean". It could be used now as well as for specific problems.

 

[bill3rail]

I just burned, scraped, vacuumed then vacuumed from the outside (My own takeoff on the Leaf Blower Trick).
The burn was to see that everything worked properly first.

Bill

 

[Jack Morrissey]

I would say burn before you clean to GET the moisture out...imo

 

[alternativeheat]

I cleaned my vertical for the annual fall brush out, didn't run the stove and the ash came down like it's usual powerdery self. I got a little more than some years this year, we didn't burn near the amount of pellets of previous years and I skipped the mid winter clean out. We burned some ashy pellets too. Still not that much though, I dropped 23 ft of vertical ash into a shopping bag and got maybe half the amount you would get of flour in a bag of flour. And most of that was in the clean out cap. But I did get some ash here and there all the way to the top of my vent this year, except maybe the last 4 ft or so. Glad I did it , I always do it in the fall anyway. 4" vent , it can go pretty much two tons and not be anything like the end of the world.