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Chimney Sweeping advice and safety

Save money. Burn right.
These videos should help you be as efficient as possible when using your stove.

Firewood labelled as Ready to Burn has a moisture content of 20% or less.
Ready to Burn logs and briquettes burn more efficiently than unseasoned, green wood and reduce environmental impact. Ready to Burn wood is not only better for your appliance and chimney but will also reduce maintenance and fuel costs.

Using dry, Ready to Burn wood, logs & briquettes improves the efficiency of any appliance. It is a simple step to reduce your impact on the environment. Wet wood creates smoke and particulates that are harmful to your health and the environment. It will also damage your stove and chimney and is an inefficient way to heat your home.
Ecodesign is a European-wide programme to lower emissions. It is due to come into force in the UK in 2022 and SIA member manufacturers have been producing stoves that meet the lower emissions limits since 2017.
In order to qualify for the SIA Ecodesign Ready label a stove or fireplace has to have been independently tested by an approved laboratory and meet the emissions criteria set out within the Ecodesign regulation.
Some of the manufacturers that produce such ecodesign ready appliances are Arada, Contura, Pure Vision, Fireline, Hunter Stoves and ACR.

Top tips for a safer chimney

Firefighters deal with up to 7000 chimney fires in the UK every year. Most chimney fires are preventable. Regular inspection and cleaning of chimney flues will help prevent fires within chimneys.
To keep yourself and your family safe from fire you should take care to have your chimney swept regularly, depending upon what fuel you burn, before the colder winter months set in and you begin to use your fire and chimneys again.
If the worst should happen, a smoke alarm can give you the extra time you need to escape in a house fire - make sure you test yours regularly every Tuesday, or as i like to say ‘TEST IT TUESDAY!’ And that includes Carbon monoxide alarms too!

The most common causes of chimney fires are:

• Improper appliance sizing
• Burning unseasoned wet wood
• Infrequent sweeping and cleaning
• Overnight burning or smouldering wood for long periods in wood stoves

Most common causes of chimney fires

Tips to reduce the risk of chimney fire

• Chimneys must be swept on a regular basis this can be as much as three times in the burning season (winter) but at least once per season regardless of fuel type.

• All wood burned must have a moisture content of no more than 17 percent.

• It is important to purchase the correct size appliance for your room, an appliance which is too large will never be used hot enough to ignite all of the fuel within the wood and unburned fuel will pass up the chimney as smoke and condense within the flue as extremely flammable creosote.

To minimise creosote production in a wood stove these steps can be followed:

  • Once the fuel load has been ignited and the flue has been heated to its operating temperature, the stoves air supply should be adjusted to limit the amount of air to avoid over firing and excessive heat loss up the chimney. They should, however, be open enough to maintain moderate flaming combustion in the fire box. (The flames should fill the entire window or fire box without being sucked up the chimney).
  • To determine if this is maintained the condition of the fire should be checked through any glass panels and the density of the smoke as it exits the flue at the top should also be checked.
  • An internal probe type thermometer located within the flue can be used to ascertain if flue temperatures are of a sufficient temperature or if they are excessive, magnetic flue temperature thermometers can also be utilised to this end.
  • It is important when using a multi fuel stove that you control the burning of the appliance by the air inlets provided for this purpose not using any dampers which could obstruct the safe passage of exhaust from being able to exit the appliance.

Remember a blocked flue can kill and the exclusion of air will put out a fire. All chimneys and flue-ways should be cleaned and checked during the summer months to ensure they are free from debris and in full working order before the heating season. A blocked or defective chimney can cause both chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisonings so it's very important to employ a professional qualified Chimney Sweep such as those certified by NACS.

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