I've been burning for 5 years, never had a clinker till this season. I really didn't know what one was reading about them here last season. This may sound stupid, but could this be a problem with stove? The entire top of the wear plate gets covered. Just pulled one out 3 3/4 long, 2 1/2 in. wide and over 1/2 in. thick. I've burned Somerset, Pre-to-log, AWF, and Pennington Nature's Heat and they all seem to produce them to some extent.