Cleaning & Maintaining Your Stove
Annual cleanings are part of the expert advice on the care and maintenance of the pellet stove. This is because the pellet stove receives constant application during the heating season. In fact, proper and regular maintenance are necessary for keeping their operation very efficient. The design of the stove will depend on how often the pellet will require cleaning as well as the grade of burned fuel.
Since not all the pellets are designed equally, the high priced pellets burned hotter, and it is clean as compared to the inexpensive pellets. It is likely that the stove supplier will recommend a certain brand. But, you need to do a bit of experimenting. It is better to buy a few bags of only one brand and try using them. This can be done until you find the right pellets which heat satisfactorily and doesn’t leave clinker residue and too much harsh. The top-fed stove needs high-quality pellets. On the other hand, the bottom fed –stove needs will use pellets of very low quality.
Annual Servicing
The size of the hopper will depend on how often you add the pellets as well as the way you will run the stove. A pellet stove which has a smaller hopper needs to be filled two times a day. In addition to that, a large capacity is hopper will run hot for four to five days before refilling.
Before every heating season, you need to have a qualified pellet chimney or stove expert who will be in a position of inspecting and if necessary cleaning the pellet stove flue. If you want to buy a new pellet stove, you need to inquire about the service from a contract.
In addition to the annual servicing, the pellets stove also require regular maintenance which will be mostly a matter of cleaning. The service will even take approximately 15 minutes. The job ca a special ash vacuum is a tool which makes the job to be relatively easier. It is important to take note that you need to you don’t need to use a conventional vacuum cleaner as the suit, and ash will ruin it.
The following are some few facts which you need to perform on a weekly basis during the heating season:
The ash trap should be emptied, or the drawer should be situated behind the fire chamber.
You need to look for the clinkers which form as a result of the melting and hardening of ashes. In fact, the clinkers will impede the air flow and upset the proper mixing of fuel.
On the inside of the stove, check for a build up of soot. Nevertheless, the soot should be cleaned off the wire brush. However, you should not use the glass doors.
As advised, you need to clean the heat exchangers by following the owner’s manual
As advised, you need to clean the heat exchangers by following the owner’s manual
If the flame is dark or orange instead of being white or bright yellow, you need to call a service professional
The fuel hopper and the anger tube should be completely emptied on the occasion that the pellet debris or sawdust doesn’t build up, and it will block the feeding system
The unused pellets should be emptied from both the stove and the feeding system at the ending of the heating season since the moisture will cause rust which will damage the stove. At the beginning of the next season, fresh pellets will be easier to start. Therefore, you need to have a professional who will come out and do the cleaning of the vent.