Now is the Time to Inspect Woodstoves and Fireplaces

A lot of people are concerned about the increases in propane and natural gas prices, so they are looking at wood burning again. The problem is a lot of people are pulling out stoves they bought over 25 years ago and that can create some issues. Anything made after 1980 has been required to have safety testing and labeling. If they are installed and maintained properly they are as safe as any other type of heating. But those are big ifs because if it is installed by someone other than a professional or with parts from someone who only knows the price of the items, then you might have some serious issues - improper installation, improper clearances and pieces that fit together wrong, etc. So, in general, if you don't know what you are doing you need a professional.

The good thing about wood burning is that if you've got a leak you will smell or see smoke. However, if a chimney is not installed properly or not cleaned at least once a year, you will have conditions that might lead to a flue fire. Flue fires can do a lot of damage including losing the house. Creosote, a byproduct of wood burning, builds up in the flue and is highly flammable, so cleaning is essential for safety. You can have it done by a professional or do it yourself. It is not that difficult. The way I look at it there is no real excuse for a flue fire. If you clean your chimney at least once a year you won't have one. Most people let it go for years and years and they have quite a build up of highly flammable materials. That is when chimneys shake apart. If you have it inside the house you've got problems. So a little bit of maintenance goes a long way.

The other thing is items made before 1980 that don't have the safety test tag on them may or may not have construction problems. In addition to that, stoves made after 1990 have to meet EPA pollution specifications. A good byproduct is that those stoves burn 90 percent of the creosote gases that the earlier stoves didn't. So the new stoves make much less creosote thereby drastically reducing the possibility of a flue fire. If someone is resurrecting an old stove, I would rather they give me a call, so I could tell them if it is a good idea or not.

As to fireplaces, there are a lot of older homes where there is not a clay tile or stainless steel liner inside of the brick. That is a fire waiting to happen. If you are not sure, get it inspected either by me or by some other professional. If there is something wrong with it, don't find out the hard way. We are not talking a lot of money for an inspection. You want to be safe. And the time to have it done is at the end of summer and not at the end of fall. Fall is our busiest time.

Finally, let's talk about wood. The difference in creosote production has nothing to do with hard or soft wood per say. It has more to do with seasoning. Rule of thumb is use wood cut last year and not this year. The greener the wood, the more creosote is produced. So try to find dead trees to cut up instead of live ones.