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"You want to make sure that your wood stove is in good shape.
You want to make sure it is sound, that there aren't any cracks," said Grencer. "If it is lined with fire brick, you want to make sure that all the bricks are in one piece."
SOUTH PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- Many people use wood stoves as their primary source of heat. Taking a few minutes to inspect and clean your stove and chimney can help prevent chimney fires.
Experts suggest inspecting you chimney at the beginning of the heating season to look for any creosote build up, and cleaning the chimney before burning. "If there is a house in your neighborhood and it has got that chimney that is constantly belching out smoke, that means that stove is not working properly or is one of the older stoves," said Tim Grencer, a heating expert with Jotul.
"You want to make sure that your wood stove is in good shape. You want to make sure it is sound, that there aren't any cracks," said Grencer. "If it is lined with fire brick, you want to make sure that all the bricks are in one piece."
While he normally does not suggest people remove all the ash from their stove, he says cleaning it out at the beginning of the heating season is a good way to check the stove for any problems. He says fire is not the only danger of a malfunctioning wood stove.
"People are very aware of something called carbon monoxide, that is produced when you burn a wood stove," said Grencer. "But if it is properly installed and the integrity of the wood stove is as it should be, then that is all going out the chimney."
He also recommends people check the seal on the door to the stove and the door on the ash pan as well. "To seal the door against the stove there is a gasket, well, this gasket material is pliable and the way that we check this gasket material to make sure that it is working properly is we insert the dollar bill, close the door and then pull on the dollar bill. If there is tension, that means the gasket is working properly."
Grencer says burning with dry, seasoned wood makes stoves burn more efficiently and wet wood leads to more build up of creosote in the chimney. If you would like more safety information and heating tips, you can find it by clicking here.
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