Is the maintenance connected with a pellet or wood-burning stove obligatory?

If you are wondering how to clean a stove, let’s start with an important premise.
All stove installation, cleaning and maintenance procedures should be carried out with the flame out, the appliance completely cold and with the electrical cable on the appliance and/or on any accessories installed on it, disconnected.
This is an essential condition and should be checked before carrying out any kind of operation. Once this is clear, let’s start with cleaning the stove.
If your stove doesn’t have an “automatic cleaning” button or if you’re not completely satisfied with the cleaning, here are the main operations you can perform in order to clean the stove:

Choosing the best wood or pellets

The choice of material used for combustion is the fundamental basis for quick and easy cleaning. Correctly seasoned wood ensures optimum combustion and also prevents the build-up of residues and encrustation, both on the glass and inside the chimney flue. The same is true for pellets: if you choose certified quality pellets, the benefits are assured. You don’t know how to choose the best ones? Don’t worry, we’ve thought of everything: read these guides for choosing the best wood and best pellets.

Cleaning the glass (wood and pellets) – Recommended frequency: every day

Do you love watching the fire burn? This small pleasure will be denied if the glass becomes blacked by soot. It’s not just a question of aesthetics: cleaning the glass regularly and correctly helps preserve the integrity of the seals. This prevents excess fuel consumption caused by increased air flow into the combustion chamber. Read about the most effective and quickest methods for cleaning the glass.

Cleaning the firebox and ash tray – Recommended frequency: every 1-2 days

If you use the stove all day, a build up of combustion residues is inevitable. If you neglect the cleaning, it may affect the smooth functioning of your appliance.

1. A wood-burning stove normally requires daily cleaning of the firebox. Empty the ash tray regularly and remove any encrustation from the firebox grille.
2. The frequency for cleaning a pellet stove depends on the type of pellets you use and the number of hours per days the stove operates for. Inside a pellet stove there should be very little unburnt material and the ash tray should be emptied every two days (where present). Clean the combustion chamber once a week and check the condition of the brazier and brazier support every day, removing any impurities from the holes. Warning: don’t put unburnt pellets back into the reservoir.

In both cases, use a dedicated ash vacuum to remove the ash. Normal vacuum cleaners don’t have suitable ash filtering systems. Ash is extremely fine and would end up depositing itself on your furniture.

There are other operations that you can do on your own at least once a year:

1. Check the area behind the cladding panels (as long as there are NO electrical components or moving electro-mechanical parts) both on wood-burning stoves and pellet stoves
2. Clean the back panel (pellet stoves only)
3. Check the remote control batteries are working (where present)

Cleaning the Majolica cladding – Recommended frequency: as required

Considering the function of the cladding and its normal usage, it should be sufficient to clean the Majolica cladding with a soft, dry cloth. At most you can use cleaning products designed for ceramics, as long as they aren’t aggressive or abrasive.

Cleaning the parts in painted metal – Recommended frequency: as required

Use a soft damp cloth to clean the parts in painted metal. Do not use alcohol, diluents, benzines, acetones or other degreasing or abrasive substances, they could ruin the stove.

Disposing of the ash

Ash from natural (untreated) wood, created by combustion inside a stove or fireplace, is comprised mainly of calcium, silicon, potassium and magnesium oxides. What does this mean?
It means that, once you’ve made sure the embers are completely extinguished by leaving them in a metal container for at least 24 hours, you can decide whether to use the ash:

1. as a plant fertiliser
2. for polishing silver and steel
3. for melting snow and ice instead of using salt

At worst you can dispose of it in the organic waste bin (compost), making sure there are no inorganic/foreign bodies.

Extraordinary maintenance for pellet and wood-burning stoves required by law

Different from ordinary cleaning, extraordinary maintenance of pellet and wood-burning stoves is required by law. But what is it exactly and who should do it?
Once a year, normally at the end of the winter season, when the heating system can “rest” a little, it is necessary to call a registered technician to carry out annual extraordinary maintenance.
This is a procedure required by law which includes several fundamental operations such as:

• cleaning the chimney flue
• the external air inlet and the combustion air duct
• inspecting the seals
• sealing any cracks
• removing any residues from the internal parts of the stove
• fume emission check
• electro-mechanical components check

After having carried out all the necessary checks, the technician should restore all the initial connections (air inlets, power and water supply, smoke extraction system); he should also switch on the device to check it is operating correctly and correctly expelling fumes. The frequency of extraordinary maintenance is usually set out by the stove or fireplace manufacturer, and is shown in the user and maintenance manuals provided with the appliances.

Where these instructions are not available, you can follow the table below, which sets out the frequency for maintenance based on the type of appliance and its power expressed in Kilowatts.

The inspection and maintenance report

The maintenance of pellet and wood-burning stoves – which is required by law, remember – can only be performed by a registered technician.

This specialist, after having inspected the system, should issue an inspection and maintenance report to the owner, who must confirm in writing that they have received it.
The inspection and maintenance report should indicate, amongst other things, the following elements:

1. general situation encountered
2. anomalies found that could not be eliminated and that are hazardous to the health of the user and/or home/building
3. components that have been tampered with, replaced or installed
4. operations carried out
5. various observations and recommendations
6. details of the technician and business that carried out the checks

Useful tips for the ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of the stove

How to carry out maintenance on a pellet stove? Or a wood-burning stove?
Consider the cleaning of your wood-burning or pellet stove as an investment. In addition to ensuring the long life of your appliance, it will also save you money and heat your home safely.
Stove maintenance is basically divided into two parts:

• ordinary maintenance
• extraordinary maintenance

You can carry out the ordinary maintenance of your pellet or wood-burning stove yourself with a few quick and simple daily actions. In general, everything you need to do is written in detail in the instruction manual provided with your stove, or you can follow the tips we’ve given you in this article.

Usually once a year, however, you are required to carry out extraordinary maintenance on your pellet or wood-burning stove. This is also detailed in the instruction manual for your appliance.

Differently from ordinary maintenance, this should be carried out by a specialised technician: only they are authorised to scrupulously check the correct operation of the stove. After having thoroughly inspected the appliance, the technician is required to issue an inspection and maintenance report, which summarises all the operations carried out.

Follow these simple tips and use trained and competent technicians and you can enjoy the warmth of your stove all winter.