Fall is coming, and soon you will be relying on your pellet stove to fill your home with the heat you need to get through the winter comfortably. But as with any heating appliance, your pellet stove requires annual professional maintenance to ensure that it is operating as efficiently and as safely as it should. The professional from the Blue Sky Chimney Sweeps can help.
Why Do Pellet Stoves Need an Annual Cleaning & Inspection?
While pellet stoves burn cleaner than traditional wood fireplaces, ash and other flammable and restrictive byproducts can still buildup over time. Because of this, all venting components of the pellet stoves should be cleaned and inspected before each fall. An annual inspection and cleaning will reveal any blockages or problem already with the stove and venting system before you sit down to enjoy the first fire of the season. Without an annual inspection and cleaning, blockages and fault stove components can lead to a fire, a smoke problem, or stove failure.
What Does a Professional Pellet Stove Cleaning Involve?
When a technician comes to perform the annual cleaning and inspection of your pellet stove, he or she will inspect and clean the many components of your stove, starting with the exhaust system. We’ll check for any blockages or buildup and evaluate the system to make sure the stove is venting properly.
Our technicians will also clean and inspect the pellet stove’s other crucial elements, including the auger, motor, hopper, switches, blowers, and seals, and wiring. Additionally, we’ll lubricate the stove’s fans and motors, and reseal the venting system, if necessary. We’ll even check the stove settings and make sure that all mechanical and electrical components are still working properly.
What Else Needs to be Done to Maintain a Pellet Stove?
Keeping your pellet stove working properly and looking great starts with being diligent about regular maintenance throughout the cold weather months when it sees the most use. Some things you can do between annual inspections and cleanings include:
- Regularly empty the stove’s ash trap
- Regularly clean the heat exchanger and glass
- Allow the auger tube and fuel hopper to completely empty out from time to time. This will help prevent the buildup of sawdust and debris.