Many people will install a wood burning stove, and completely overlook the maintenance that is involved. It is so important to get your chimney inspected to prevent fires.
To put it simply, a general saying goes “a clean chimney doesn't catch fire”. Don’t quote us but that is 99% of the case, and supported by industry experts.
Recent research found that one of the main causes of chimney fire is the build up of something called creosote.
Creosote is a highly flammable, dark brown substance that is the by-product of a fire (example smoke) formed by condensing inside a cool chimney.
When burning a fire, eventually the temperature inside of the chimney flue will heat up, and when it gets too high, and the creosote thick enough this is what catches fire.
So how can you minimise creosote build-up? The main thing is to only burn seasoned hardwood that has been dried for at least six months, and most importantly has a moisture content of less than 20%.
This can easily be tested with a wood moisture meter.
It is important to always keep the damper open when burning too, to ensure an adequate airflow.
It is also important to remember that if your chimney liner is uninsulated it’s industry recommend that you insulate your liner with either wrapping a heat-resistant insulation blanket.
Positioned around the liner or pouring an insulation mix like “vermiculite” into the space between the liner and flue, this prevents flue temperatures from getting too cool. Stopping the by product to condense and form creosote.
Thus most importantly preventing a fire.
