Stove Owners Guide

The information provided will help you get the most heat, efficiency and usability from your stove and prevent future problems.

Suitable Fuel

It is essential that you burn a suitable, quality fuel on your stove to aid successful burning and prevent damage. Wood burning stoves as you would expect are suitable for burning only wood, whilst on a multifuel stove you can burn wood or smokeless fuels.

Wood:
80% of wood-burning stove problems arise from using wet wood. Wood fuel must have a moisture content below 20% which is usually only achieved when it is seasoned for at least 12 - 18 months, hardwood may need longer. Oak produces the highest heat content. Investing in a log store will enable you to buy cheaper unseasoned wood and dry it yourself. Dried kiln wood is also a great option. Recently a number of compressed wood fuels have become available. These generally burn well with very little ash.

Smokeless fuels:
Anthracite, Taybrite and coke burn hot and slowly, ideal for keeping your stove burning through the night. Pet coke and regular bitumous house coal are not recommended as they can burn too fiercely which will eventually damage your stove i.e. distaught grate bars & baffle plates. Although cheaper to buy the cost on replacing new spares will be more than what you will save if burning a good smokeless fuel.

How to light your stove

There are many different methods of lighting your stove which may be successful. We favour the Euroheat stoves method, which is described below.

• Open all air vents on your stove.
• Place firelighters or newspaper on the base or grate.
• Arrange kindling in a pyramid
• Light the firelighters or newspaper
• Allow kindling to burn for approximately 15 minutes for a layer of embers to form on the base of the firebox
• Place 2 - 3 small logs, no more than 100mm diameter, again in a pyramid. Allow a couple of minutes for the logs to ignite.
• When the stove temperature has reached between 300 - 400 degrees more fuel can be added.
• The air vents can then be closed down to suit the temperature you wish the fire to burn.

Trouble Shooting

Despite recent improvements in technology, the basic principles behind a wood or multifuel stove remain simple, therefore many perceived problems with stoves can be down to how its used, which of course can be simply rectified.

Smoke is coming into the room

The usual reasons for smoke or fumes escaping into the room are related to a problem with the flue or chimney. This could be because of insufficient draught, blockage in the chimney, down draught or insufficient air supply. The other main reason is the quality of fuel being burned.

Solutions: If present check your air vent is still clear. Have your chimney swept. Consider an alternative cowl such as an anti-downdraught or spinning model.

The glass is going black on my stove?

The air wash system on a stove works by means of warm air being channelled down in front of the glass from the top or side of the stove. This barrier of warm air pushes the fire and products of combustion away from the glass keeping it clean. If the stove is not running at the correct temperature the warm air will not circulate effectively.

Solutions: Create a sufficiently large fire to give a suitable stove temperature. Keep the airwash control open. Do not open the stove door unless you need to reload fuel as the heat will escape. Use a suitable fuel.

The fire is burning well but not much heat?

This will be caused by burning poor fuel. Unseasoned wood contains a lot of moisture which will just produce steam and not heat.

Solutions: If you have a multifuel stove, try burning a large fire of anthracite or taybrite. If you have a wood stove, try burning a fire with kiln dried or compressed logs. This should determine whether the fuel is the problem.

The grate bars and baffle have warped?

This is caused by over firing or again burning poor quality or inappropriate fuel. Over firing is caused by allowing too much air into the firebox or putting too much fuel on resulting in the firebox overheating.

Guarantee

Check your user manual to find out the length of guarantee. It will be a minimum of 12 months, although some manufacturers offer longer.

Your guarantee will cover the main construction of your stove, such as the body and the doors. Consumable parts such as the grate, firebricks, baffle and glass are not covered by your guarantee as their lifespan is dependant on the use of the stove. Take care not to throw your fuel into the firebox which might break the bricks, or to leave any logs resting over the front log retainer as they may break the glass when the door is closed. Over firing is the main cause of damaged grates and baffles.

Stove Accessories

Stove Maintenance

To achieve the optimum performance and efficiency from your stove, it should be serviced annually. A typical service should include inspection and were required replacement of rope seals, firebricks, baffles and flue joints.

More importantly your chimney or flue should be cleaned at this point and again later in the year if the stove is used regularly and burning mainly wood.

All stove accessories and maintenance products are available to purchase from our showroom or by mail order

To book your annual stove service or chimney sweep contact us on 01745 582254