Ash drawer and ash grate

Empty and clean the ash drawer regularly according to your heating habits.
NB! The coals in the ash can be hot for up to 24 hours after heating.
The ash heap in the drawer must not block the openings in the ash grate.
Ash is a very good fertilizer for plants, because it contains a lot of different minerals.
 

Glass

Your door glass will stay clean longer if you:

• Use dry wood
• Adjust the incoming air flow during combustion as needed
• Use the combustion temperature as optimally as possible.
• The chimney draft is correct.
• The amount of wood corresponds to the specified amount.

Gradual sooting of the glass is completely normal. Clean the inside of the glass regularly with the appropriate cleaning products to prevent soot particles from burning in (after approximately 8-12 hours of burning).

Cleaning and maintenance

The fireplace and air outlet openings should be cleaned regularly. Make sure your chimney is in working order after a long period of non-use.

• It is most optimal to use the fireplace with the door closed.
• Heating with the door open is only permitted if a fireplace with a corresponding design has been ordered and all the accompanying circumstances have been taken into account.
• The fireplace may only be used with the door open under supervision, as there is always a risk that sparks or smaller embers may fly out.
• Use only dry and non-resinous wood for burning.
• Do not use devices that create negative pressure on the same floor (for example, an air purifier in the kitchen). There is a risk that this may cause smoke to enter the living spaces.

Combustion air – circulating air – fresh air

• The openings that provide access to combustion air must be open and must not be adjusted yourself.
• During burning, the convection grates of the fireplace must be open to prevent heat accumulation.
• Ensure that there are no flammable materials within 80cm of the fireplace mouth.
• Flammable objects must also not be placed within 5cm of the fireplace insert casing, as there is a risk that the surfaces may heat up to 85 degrees.
• Please note that the burning fireplace insert can become very hot. The glass in front of the fireplace mouth can heat up to 300 degrees. To avoid burns, always use a special glove or a handle made of non-heating material.

DO NOT BURN:

• wet wood or bark debris;
• chipboard or laminate, whether coated or uncoated;
• paper, cardboard and old clothes;
• plastic and foam materials;
• construction lumber, wood treated with wood preservatives;
• any solid or liquid material that is not wood.

The most important factor for burning a fire in a fireplace is draft (pressure). This depends on the outside temperatures and therefore also on the seasons. As a rule, draft in the chimney is worse when winter changes to spring and when summer changes to autumn, because that is when the temperatures outside are higher. In this case, lighting the fireplace may be difficult and you may also notice stronger smoke coming in.

WHAT TO DO?

• Empty the ash drawer and put it back in its place
• Since the draft is weaker, start building the fire with a larger amount of wood to reach a higher temperature faster and create better draft.
• The combustion air damper must be opened to the maximum. This is necessary to ensure as much air as possible for combustion and to stabilize the draft. Do not leave the damper open longer than necessary, as the purpose of a fireplace is not to burn a lot of wood in a short time (the opposite is true for a stove).
• The ash drawer should be emptied regularly to prevent the accumulation of large embers on the ash grate, which can block the draft.

HOW TO STORE FIREWOOD CORRECTLY?

Firewood should be stored in a dry and weather-protected place, this ensures clean and efficient combustion and also saves fuel.

Firing wet wood is not only inefficient and damages the chimney, but it also produces a lot of soot, which pollutes the environment.

We have a few good tips for storing firewood:

• Firewood should be stored split (ready-to-use), then it will dry much faster
• Firewood should not be stored on the ground, as this accelerates rotting and makes it useless as fuel. For example, use pallets or impregnated logs.
• Firewood must be protected from direct rain or snow (cover with a tarpaulin). Firewood must not be completely covered, as this prevents moisture from escaping.

The exact residual moisture in wood can be determined with a hydrometer (sold, for example, at Oomipoe). The residual moisture of firewood should not exceed 20%.

WE BALANCE OUR CO2 BALANCE

The greenhouse effect, warming seas, climate change – all these are familiar topics that are increasingly heard in our ears, which requires every person to act responsibly to save our planet, especially in areas such as energy and heat production.

Wood does not owe nature anything. Wood is stored solar radiation – it consists of sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. Sunlight is chemically linked to the life cycle of wood, where it is converted into lignin and cellulose, which are released when burned.

Wood only releases as much carbon dioxide as it absorbs from the air during its life. It doesn’t matter whether the wood burns or decomposes in nature – the amount of carbon dioxide released is always the same. New trees absorb the carbon dioxide that is released when trees burn – all this together forms a naturally closed carbon cycle.

Conclusion: When wood burns, nature is in balance.

STEP 1: A WORKING CHIMNEY

The chimney makes it possible. The chimney is the “engine” of every fireplace and therefore the most important prerequisite for spending comfortable evenings by the fire. Even if your existing house does not have a chimney, you do not necessarily have to give up the fireplace. Later installation of a modular chimney is easy and generally always possible.

STEP 2: CONTACT a specialist – he knows what is important!

Please note that the chimney must meet fire safety requirements and Estonian legislation also requires regular chimney cleaning. Therefore, we recommend that you talk to a specialist before connecting the fireplace to the chimney.
If Eesti Kindlustus’ analysis of the causes of fires shows that 33% of fires are caused by incorrectly installed chimneys and flues. Incorrectly installed metal flues are the most common cause of damage.

When burning resinous wood, it can often happen that sparks are carried into the chimney. They can ignite the soot layer on the chimney walls (this usually does not happen if the chimney is cleaned regularly). If the chimney is burning, you can tell by seeing flames and sparks rising from the chimney, smoke and an unpleasant smell in the room, and the chimney walls heating up.

In such a situation, the most important thing is to behave correctly. Report it immediately to the fire department and also inform your chimney sweep, remove all flammable objects from the vicinity of the chimney. According to experts’ warnings, never try to put out the fire yourself with water, because in chimney fires the temperature can rise to 1300°C, at which point water evaporates instantly. 10 liters of water turns into 17 cubic meters of steam, the volume of which can burst the chimney.

3. STEP CHOOSE THE RIGHT HEAT RATING

Fireplaces and stoves differ not only in appearance and design, but also in the technical characteristics provided with the fireplace. This plays an important role in choosing a fireplace or stove with the right parameters. When choosing a fireplace or stove, it is worth following the parameters (kw) specified by the manufacturer to achieve the right temperature in the room. In general, it can be assumed that 1 kW heats 10 m² of space. However, for passive and low-energy buildings, the energy consumption is significantly lower and 1 kW is sufficient to heat 15 to 20 m².

 4. AMM ensure access to OUTDOOR AIR for the fireplace to function

 Access to outside air to the fireplace is very important, because oxygen is used to burn fire in the fireplace. If oxygen access to the room is limited, the fireplace will not function as it should. First, it is more difficult to light a fire, and the fireplace glass can also become sooty many times faster.

For this reason, it is recommended to connect the fireplace to an outside air pipe. If it is a fireplace insert, many fireplace inserts already have a special connection nozzle under the fireplace.

Prefabricated fireplaces can also be connected directly to the outside air.

STEP 5: Follow the FIRE SAFETY Act

Since 1 January 2012, Section 9 of the Fire Safety Act has been in force, which stipulates that a solid fuel-fired stove, fireplace, cooker or other solid fuel-fired heating device (hereinafter referred to as a stove, fireplace or cooker), as well as a chimney and connecting flue, may be built or installed as an economic activity by a potter who holds a potter’s professional certificate. (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/130122011039)

With a professional certificate potters can be found on the Kutsekoda Foundation website

http://www.kutsekoda.ee/ by entering the word “pottsepp” in the search.

A person without a potter’s certificate can build or install a stove, fireplace or cooker, as well as a chimney and connecting flue in a detached house, summer house, garden house, farm building and small building for their own use, following the requirements for building a heating system.

When building/installing a heating system, the building project or heating system project must be followed, on the basis of which the local government’s building permit or written consent for the construction/installation of the heating system has been obtained.

The requirements for the construction/installation of a heating system are presented in the standard EVS 812-3 Fire safety of buildings. Part 3: Heating systems. The standards are available (for a fee) at www.evs.ee, and can also be viewed at your local rescue service.

The glass is sootyling heavily, quickly and unevenly

If this did not happen immediately after installing the fireplace, please answer the following questions:

• Are you using the right heating material and technology? (see. correct heating)
• Is it spring or autumn? (see. correct heating)
• Is there a sudden change in weather conditions (the chimney does not draw)?
• Are there any obstacles near the ash drawer and grate?
• Is the access of combustion air ensured?
• Is the access of external combustion air ensured and unhindered?
• Does the glass sootylize quickly, for example within half an hour? (some sooting is completely normal)
• Check the gasket!

It is difficult to light and keep the fire burning

If this did not happen immediately after installing the fireplace, please answer the following questions:

• Are you using the right fuel and technology?
• Is it spring or autumn?
• Is there a sudden change in weather conditions (no chimney draft)?
• Are there any obstacles near the ash drawer and grate?
• Is the access of combustion air ensured?
• Is the access of external combustion air ensured and unhindered?

Fast burning or high wood consumption

If this did not happen immediately after installing the stove, please answer the following questions questions:

• Did you reduce the combustion air supply? (damper to the left)
• Are you using harder wood with a maximum residual moisture of 15-20% after starting the fire?
• Is the fireplace insert door completely closed?
• Are you filling the fireplace according to the recommended quantities?