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Multi Fuel Stove Maintenance |
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By brush sweeping, we recommend you use the
services of a registered and trained professional sweep. The professional
sweeps will use polypropylene or nylon brushes which give the flue a more
thorough cleaning than the handyman brush bought at building supplies. The
body of approved sweeps in Northern Ireland is the NIACS( Northern Ireland
Association of Chimney Sweeps) You will find listings in the yellow pages, or
check out www. niacs.co.uk online. All of these sweeps will have been trained
to deal with the problems multi fuel stoves can pose, and will use the
correct equipment and procedures to clean the flue. Many of the sweeps in the
NIACS have attended seminars and conferences around the world keeping abreast
of all relevant information and products associated with solid fuel, gas and
oil appliances. A major problem we have touched upon in the
second paragraph is condensation. For many years, professional sweeps new
this crust formation was still present even after brush sweeping. It can take
a concrete form, that if impossible to remove conventionally. We also have
encountered a hard shiny glaze deposit of a toffee like substance called
creosote. In the last few years some of the professional sweeps acquired equipment which flails chains around at high
speed. These chains are in turn lowered down the flue and the crust and glaze
removed, right down to the bare flue liner again. It is recommended that
multi fuel stoves have the chimney flailed (also known as reamed or descaled)
every 5 years when using solid fuel. Open fires with high output back boilers
should also be cleaned this way every five years also, to reduce the risk of
serious chimney fire. Every two years we recommend that the rope
seals and glass channel seals be replaced. This allows the user to have
control over the burning rate, due to the rope becoming loose, or repeatedly
crushed to a point where it will no longer make an airtight seal. The glass
should also be removed, cleaned and replaced when dry and the screws or bolts
holding the glass supports be oiled and tightened. It is also advisable to
loosen these screws or nuts by half a turn to prevent them from seizing into
the door frame when heated. If you find that the vitreous pipe coming from
the stove is coming loose because the fire cement used has crumbled, it is
also a good idea to remove all this
old fire cement and use a temperature resistant silicone which will allow the
expansion and contraction of the flue pipe without crumbling. Finally if you have not already had one
fitted, be sure to fit a Critter Guard to the chimney to prevent birds
entering and possibly build nests. The cover will also protect against rain
which can cause a premature cooling of flue gasses, reducing the efficiency
of the flue. |
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For many years now Multi Fuel stoves have
become increasingly more popular. After the initial smell and perhaps slight haze like smoke as the paint
cured off your new stove, it is likely you’re delighted, as most people are, with their investment. Although
efficient to run, they have some underlying problems from a chimney and flue function point of view, for
which we have produced this leaflet dealing with Cleaning and maintenance
issues. We have found through 15 years of working with
these products that, as you might expect, when you give a homeowner the
chance to economise, they will...no one blames you. Unfortunately the flue
will only work correctly when the fire is burnt high, creating enough heat to
carry the combustion products up the flue and escape. It actually stands to
sense that if you burn something slowly, you will not produce enough heat to
take the smoke fully through the flue, and we now have to deal with
condensation. With stoves and especially wood burning stoves this creates a
tar and creosote build up. When allowed to build up this crusty substance is
a serious fire hazard. With open fires, where you have no real control over
the burning rate, although still a problem, this crust doesn’t
build up as quickly as a slow burning appliance. A back boiler in a fireplace
would be the only reason this crust build up would form as
quickly, as the cold water through the boiler cools the flue gases before
they get into the chimney. Your flue should be brush swept at least twice
per year when it is used often. When burning wood or bituminous household)
coal it may need to swept a little more often, however it is fair to say a
lot of homes don’t use there appliances for the greater part of 4 or 5
months, during the warmer months, therefore we suggest you normally split the
burning season and have the chimney swept before you
start to light the appliance after the idle season and again during the
winter burn. |
