The safest installation available for a woodstove insert is one that is lined to the top.  Reasons to line a woodstove insert to the top include:

1.) Easy cleaning, you do not need to move your stove ever again for cleanings.

2) Cost effective.  Average cleaning per year is $70.00 compared to 200.00 with Charles Kit.

3) Exhaust gases stay hot the full length of the chimney causing a cyclone effect for exhaust.

4) Air tight weather tight from top to bottom.

5) NFPA 211 code states that this type of installation will be mandatory by 2005.

CREOSOTE (STAGE 3 Glaze)

When you burn wood in your fireplace or wood stove, it creates many gases.  If the temperature is not hot enough, or if there is insufficient air for combustion, these gases will not burn completely and may cause creosote to form on the cool surfaces inside your flue.

Creosote is liquid when it initially forms, but further heating drives off moisture and volatile liquids, thus making it tacky.  Eventually it could form a hard glaze coating the flue.  If not removed periodically, large quantities of creosote and soot can accumulate and ignite.  Their ignition could create a high temperature chimney fire that may possibly last as long as 15-25 minutes.  That type of fire can subject the flue liner to temperatures above 2000°F.  A chimney fire burning that hot for that long, could cause structural damage to your chimney, or create a more serious fire that could completely destroy your home.  (During any chimney fire, the residue created, may curl or peel off the walls and block the flue passage.  You should ALWAYS have your fireplace inspected and cleaned after ANY chimney fire or suspected chimney fire no matter how small to ensure that the flue passage is not blocked, distorted, or otherwise damaged.)

YOU CAN NEVER ELIMINATE CREOSOTE ENTIRELY WHEN BURNING WOOD, BUT BURNING A HIGH TEMPERATURE FIRE TO ENSURE THAT THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GASES ARE BURNED OFF BEFORE ENTERING THE FLUE CAN MINIMIZE IT.  However, you should NEVER BURN A FIRE THAT PRODUCES FLAMES LARGE ENOUGH TO ENTER THE FLUE!  DOING SO CAN CAUSE A SERIOUS FIRE.  

Careful scraping or brushing to remove any creosote or soot particles that have accumulated in the flue can minimize the risk of a serious chimney fire.  THE RISK OF A CHIMNEY FIRE ALWAYS EXISTS FOR ANY CHIMNEY NO MATTER HOW OFTEN IT IS CLEANED; HOWEVER A CHIMNEY WITH CREOSOTE IS AT A MUCH HIGHER RISK.  INSPECTION OF CHIMNEY FLUES IS IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH HEATING SEASON.

How to Cure Your New Wood Stove

 1) Open damper door and by pass (if applicable).

 Crumple single sheets of newspaper into small loose balls and fill the bed of the stove with the crumpled balls.

 2) Add small pieces of kindling (very dry small pieces of wood, twigs, etc.  No leaves, or pine needles) on top of the newspaper balls.

 3) Light the paper balls with a match.  DO NOT USE FLAMMABLE AGENTS SUCH AS GASOLINE OR KEROSENE to ignite the balls.

 4) Once the paper balls and kindling are established, add 2 small 1/8” to 1/4” logs to the fire.

 5) Once the logs are established, close the stove door and allow the fire to burn out completely.

 Let the stove cool down entirely, then repeat steps one through six THREE times, always allowing the stove to cool completely between repeats.

A Few words From Lopi (Woodstove makers)

About the Importance of Using Dry/Seasoned Wood

 The Drier the Better

The most common mistake made by wood-burners is using wet, green, or un-seasoned fuel.  Ask any experienced wood-burner, and they will tell you the importance of dry wood.  The reason is this:  wet, green, or un-seasoned wood still has water in it.  When the wood burns it must use its heat energy to evaporate the water.  This robs your home of heat (it also leads to greater smoke and creosote due to lesser firebox temperatures).  Dry wood usually has cracks in the grain.  It will also be lighter and when two pieces are knocked together a crisp “knock” will be heard, not a dull “thud.”  When burning green, wet, or un-seasoned wood you may notice difficulty in lighting, and water bubbling out of the grain when it becomes hot.

How to Dry and Store Wood

Aging is the only economical method for drying wood.  

1) Make sure the wood is split into quarters and is no longer than 18 inches (Hint: if you cut trees in summer, leave the leaves on for a week, this will draw moisture from the wood to dry it quicker).

2) Stack the wood in loose piles that are covered and off the ground (this is to allow air to pass over each piece of wood, thus promoting faster drying).  If no shelter is built, place CLEAR polyethylene plastic over the wood (at an angle to allow moisture to run off).  Let dry for at least ONE YEAR.

3) Store the wood in a dry location, preferably outside to prevent insects and dirt from entering the home.  When needed, move small loads inside where the added heat will promote further drying

Simple Technique for Building a Fire

WHENEVER YOU ARE DEALING WITH A CONTROLLED FIRE, THE POTENTIAL FOR IT TO BECOME OUT OF CONTROL OR DANGEROUS ALWAYS EXISTS.  THE STEPS AND POINTS TO REMEMBER LISTED BELOW ARE INTENDED TO BE USED AS A GUIDE ONLY.  BY FOLLOWING THESE GUIDELINES, WE CAN NOT ASSURE THAT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A CHIMNEY FIRE, OR OUT OF CONTROL FIRE, BUT YOUR CHANCES OF ONE OCCURRING CAN BE REDUCED.

Standard Method

1) Open damper door and by pass (if applicable).

2) Crumple single sheets of newspaper into small loose balls and place in bottom of stove.

3) Add small pieces of kindling (very dry small pieces of wood, twigs, etc.  No leaves, or pine needles) on top of the newspaper balls.

4) Using a long match, light the newspapers.  When the kindling is established, add a small 1/8” to 1/4” log to the fire.

5) When the small 1/8” to ¼” log is established, place three medium to small split logs to the fire.  (Make sure you leave some space between the logs to allow for proper airflow.)

6) Stoke the fire as needed.

Points to Remember for Fire Building:

1) Never “over load” the fire by adding to much wood at first.  Only add one medium or two small logs at a time when stoking the fire.  A hot slow burning fire is best.

2) Never allow flames from the fire to enter the flue system.

3) NEVER USE FLAMMABLE AGENTS SUCH AS GASOLINE OR KEROSENE TO IGNITE A FIRE.

4) Only use the newsprint from the newspaper for lighting fires.  Avoid using the multicolored, shinny advertisement sections.

5) Never burn: furniture, Christmas trees, garbage, aerosol cans, batteries, firecrackers, or other same such items in your fireplace or stove.

6) Avoid using, wet, unseasoned, and evergreen/pine woods in your fireplace or stove.

7) Never allow any item to over hang the fireplace mantle, or place items on top of a wood stove when it is in use, or before the fire is completely extinguished and cool.

8) Always burn your stove at the temperature recommended by its manufacture.  (This information will be listed in your owners manual.)

9) Make sure you have an accurate thermometer installed on your stove (NOT the stove pipe), and that you know how to read it.

10) Always use common sense.

Catalytic:

Pros:   

 1) Clean burning           

Cons:

 1) Constantly tending to stove (must engage and disengage at certain temperatures.)

2) Burn restrictions:

a) No color print paper (news ads, Christmas paper, news print)

b) No “Color Cones” or flame color modifiers.

c) No accelerants to start fire

d) No cardboard.

3) Annual cleaning of the Catalytic devise required.

4) Every three to five years the catalytic devise must be replaced (average cost $200-$500 depending on stove type and size.)

5) Catalytic devise is located just before the exhaust collar causing a lot of heat loss up the chimney flue.

6) Due to new technology, this is becoming obsolete.  (Approximately only 15% of stoves today contain the catalytic device.)

Non-Catalytic:

Pros:

1) User friendly, no engaging or disengaging required           

2) No Burn restrictions       

3) No yearly inspection for the catalytic devise  

4) Replacement cost of air tubes $30 to $40 depending on size and type of stove    

5) Burns gas and smoke inside the firebox causing less heat loss up the chimney pipe.    

6) Clean burning.  Meets or exceeds EPA standards.  (Avalon and Lopi stoves are the cleanest non-catalytic burning stoves world wide.  They exceed the Oregon standards which are the toughest in the world for EPA.)

Cons:

We couldn’t think of a thing!

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