STOVE CLEANING QUESTION

[JotulOwner]

I just cleaned my chimney and what I could reach from the top of the stove with the pipe off. Is further cleaning of the stove (by taking anything apart) necessary or do the stove deposits burn off regularly? A few months back I had the system "professionally" cleaned and he didn't do any more than clean the pipe and what could easily be reached in the stove. I know that doesn't mean a thing which is why I am asking the people I believe will have the right answer.

Thanks
Art

 

[atvdave]

You really need to clean all the chimney. Soot will build up all the way to the top. Your rain cap also needs a good scrubbing from time to time as well.

A simple chimney brush will work fine. I tried out a new type of chimney cleaning device and posted my review in the link, however a chimney brush will work just fine and for less money.


https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/31911/

 

[JotulOwner]

[quote author="JotulOwner" date="1230427769"]I just cleaned my chimney and what I could reach from the top of the stove with the pipe off. Is further cleaning of the stove (by taking anything apart) necessary or do the stove deposits burn off regularly? A few months back I had the system "professionally" cleaned and he didn't do any more than clean the pipe and what could easily be reached in the stove. I know that doesn't mean a thing which is why I am asking the people I believe will have the right answer.

Thanks. I did clean my entire chimney, but I wasn't sure if cleaning the easily accessible parts of the stove was enough or if I need to disassemble any part of the stove to clean it.

 

[LLigetfa]

I like to clean the inside of the stove especially above the smoke shelf to improve efficiency, not as a safety concern. A thick layer of ash and soot act as insulation, reducing heat transfer. I also like to inspect the stove for unusual corrosion.

 

[atvdave]

Sorry.. I misread the post.

I don't clean my fire box parts but they really don't have any build up on them. Maybe one day I'll get a mirror and inspect the secondary burn parts

 

[LLigetfa]

My stove has an OAK and as such very cold air comes into the burn chamber after first passing through the double-wall cavity. The result of that is that a startup fire condenses on it and while it does later burn off, it leaves behind a granular coating of ash.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

In the firebox, I don't have any buildup. I do get some ash above the firebox, and do my best to knock it off when I think of it. I generally forget when I'm cleaning the chimney since I really want to get the stove back up and running. I pull all my pipe when I clean the chimney.

Matt