One of the main dangers of wood burning is the excessive build up of creosote in chimneys and stove pipes. Creosote is a gummy, foul smelling, corrosive and extremely combustible substance that, if no precautions are taken, will coat the insides of everything it passes through. It is formed when volatile gases given off in the burning process combine and condense on their way out of the chimney. The gases leave the burning wood with the smoke. If the smoke is cooled below 250 degrees F, the gases liquefy, combine, and solidify, forming creosote. Creosote takes several forms, all bad. As a liquid, it can run down the insides of pipes and chimneys, oozing out of any openings. It can form a hard layer coating the insides of pipes and chimney liners. It can form into a fluffy substance that plugs pipes and breaks off and falls down, filling low spots in piping. It is the cause of most chimney fires and the main reason chimneys and pipes have to be cleaned and inspected periodically.

To fire a stove properly, a thermometer is essential. The most common type is a magnetic that you would place right on the door.

Creosote build up is pretty sneaky. You may not notice it at first but it tends to feed on itself. As it builds up, it restricts the flow in the chimney and/or stove pipes. This slows the smoke on its way out, allowing more time for it to cool and for the creosote to condense and deposit itself thus further restricting the flow. You should burn your stove hot for a half an hour every other night or so. What that will do is burn out the creosote buildup in your pipes.  You should also have your pipes cleaned annually. Whether you climb up on the roof and do it yourself or hire a professional chimney sweep, is up to you. Either way, it’s best to do it in the spring. Creosote is corrosive and it pays to remove it as soon as possible. The moist summer weather can cause creosote smells in the house so, best to get it done as soon as the heating season is over. If you hire a sweep, he or she is apt to be more readily available in the spring than in the fall and might even offer a discount for off season.

Failure to follow these maintenance procedures could well result in a massive chimney fire. This is a truly frightening possibility. People who have experienced them say they are accompanied by a great roar and sparks and flames shooting out of the chimney. The best way I know of to fight them is to completely close off all air to the stove. For this to work you have to maintain your door gaskets, dampers etc. Once you have done that, call 911 and get out of the house!

There are only two ways to prevent creosote formation in chimneys. You can either keep the chimney above 250 degree F all the way out the top or, you can burn up the gases that form the creosote in the stove before they reach the chimney. Modern stoves do the latter and capture the heat produced by essentially burning the smoke. This is true of stoves with catalytic converters and non-cat stoves that burn gases by recirculation them. Either way, less smoke means less creosote. Burn the smoke and you burn the gases. No gases, no creosote.

The wood you burn has a lot to do with creosote. All firewood contains water in some degree. How much it contains is important. Wood dried outside, stacked where the wind would blow through it.  The moisture content should be 15-20% by my moisture meter. All the water contained in the wood is turned to saturated steam as the wood burns. It enters the stack as steam and water droplets at a temp. Of around 212 degree F. This is considerably cooler than the condensation point of the creosote gasses, 250 degrees. Thus, the presence of the steam cools the chimney, the gases condense and creosote is formed. This is true whether you burn hard or soft wood. The moisture content is all that matters. You can’t eliminate it but, burning seasoned wood will keep it to a minimum  

Finally, the size and placement of the chimney, the chimney liner, the size of the flue, the length of the stove pipe and the size of the stove all factor into the creosote equation In summary, newer stoves and properly lined and insulated chimneys have done a lot to reduce the chances of excess creosote buildup, but there is no substitute for experience and education concerning this potentially dangerous substance.

The fireplaces that are made of sheet metal and have metal round chimneys are known by various names such as:
1. Pre-fab or Prefabricated metal fireplaces.
2. Zero-Clearance or ZC or “0” clearance fireplaces.
3. “Builder Boxes” or similar terms which denote their popularity with home building contractors.
Since their invention about 50 years ago, metal fireplaces have become common place in newly built homes – in fact, so much so that 100% masonry fireplaces now account for only a small fraction of the construction market. The ease with which they can be installed as well as the lower costs involved have made them a fixture in tens of millions of N. American homes. Many of these fireplaces have aged and are often in need of upgrading.

The first order of business is to determine if your fireplace is prefab or masonry. You can identify which type of fireplace you have by looking up with a flashlight toward the damper area from inside the home – wear safety glasses to avoid dust and particles! A factory-built fireplace will have a round damper and a round pipe, usually 7-11” in internal diameter. The damper plate on a masonry fireplace is usually rectangular and approx. 6” x 24”. You may also be able to ID your fireplace by looking at the exterior of your home. A masonry fireplace will should have an orange clay liner, which is often visible at the chimney top – from outside the home. Another hint is to look at the outdoor enclosure around your fireplace and chimney. If it is covered with siding like the rest of the home, you almost definitely have a prefab. If, on the other hand, the exterior is solid brick which extends down to the ground, it is probably a masonry chimney. Another hint is the presence of large visible louvers and black metal facing on the front of the fireplace opening – this usually means a prefab. If in doubt, give us a call and we can inspect it for you.  Either way you look at it a masonry fireplace or pre-fab box is very inefficient and needs to be addressed.  We have many options to assist with turning that fireplace into an efficient wood burning or gas burning fireplace that will give you the looks as well as heat.

First, all modern stove gaskets are made of fiberglass. Fiberglass gasket is available in many sizes, and density. The combination of thickness and density will depend on the application on the product. A frequently opened door may need a larger, more-dense gasket for a better seal and durability. A glass gasket, for example is typically not large or dense because it is not required to be large, nor is the gasket disturbed very often.

1. First, clean the groove by stripping out the existing gasket material. If you are lucky, it will peel off easily. If not, see Step #2.
2. OK, if that didn’t work well. So, put on your mask and goggles, grab your screwdriver and ball peen, and start tapping away at the gasket and glue in the same manner you would use a wood chisel.
3. After completing this fun task, check the groove. It should be uniform in shape. If you are dealing with a cast iron door, sometimes the glue has the same grayish color as the casting and blends in. Run your finger along the groove. If you feel a bump or irregularity, then you have some remaining glue. Chip it away.
4. Now, take your shop vacuum out and clean away all of the debris before you begin to install new gasket.
5. Before you apply the glue, take the gasket and lay it into the groove. Leave a little extra hanging out, and cut the gasket. This will make the installing part a little easier.
6. Now, apply the glue to the groove, and don’t be cheap with the material!
7. After that’s done, run your finger through the goop and be sure to spread the glue evenly through the groove, taking special care to get the sides of the groove covered with glue.
8. Now, if the doors gasket runs in a circle, in other words there are no open ends, start placing the gasket into the glue-laden groove in the middle somewhere on the door. Do not start in the corner as the gasket may come out prematurely when started in a corner. A little bit of masking tape on the ends of the gasket helps prevent the gasket end from fraying.
9. As you place the gasket down, do not stretch the gasket as it will decrease the diameter of the gasket. Take a clean gasket and stretch it out. See how it gets skinnier? Now, push it closer together. See how it gets fatter? If you make the gasket skinnier, it defeats the purpose of re-gasketing. Just lay the gasket down, and give the gasket a tap down as you go along. When you get to the end, cut to size and place a little masking tape on the end to prevent fraying.
10. Allow the glue to set up, and then place the door on the stove. You may have to readjust the latching mechanism, as your new gasket is thicker than the worn out older gasket. Take your dead blow hammer and give the door a tap around the perimeter.
11. Now, open the door, slide a dollar bill between the door and stove body, and close the door. Now, try and pull the paper out. If it does not pull out easy, you have a tight seal. Do this around the perimeter of the door. You may need to adjust the latching mechanism.
12. If you’ve adjusted the mechanism, yet there’s a place on the door where the dollar bill still pulls out easily, then mark that spot with some chalk on the outside of the door. Pull the door off because you’ll need to buildup that area.

Why did this happen? Because all metal expands and contracts. Sometimes, it does not contract to the original location. That’s the purpose and reason for gaskets—-to make up this distance, maintain the seal, and give the operator control over the amount of air entering the stove.

13. While the glue is still wet, pull up on the gasket in that area. Take some smaller diameter gasket, cut it to length, place it in the groove, add a little cement on top of it, and push down the larger gasket on top of this new layer. 14. Do the dollar bill test again. If the seal is okay, congratulations! If not, you’ll need to keep building up the affected area until the seal is tight

By now almost everyone has heard of house fires that have occurred within the last few months….horrible tragedies that kill whole families that can be avoided…it’s not too late, call us to have your chimney or wood/pellet stove cleaned. A house fire is no joke and it can happen in a blink of an eye. Once creosote forms and becomes shiny the smallest spark can start a fire. You should have a cleaning at least once a year. We have been lucky with the weather so far, but when the temps drop and you want to heat with your wood/pellet stove or fireplace you want to be confident that it is safe!!! Don’t wait till the snow flies, give us a call

  
A Cord is A Cord is a Cord
1. Bulk firewood is usually sold by a measurement called a cord or fraction of a cord.” A cord is defined as 128 cubic feet when the wood is neatly stacked in a line or row as indicated in the diagram above. A standard “cord” would be 8 feet long by 4 feet wide by 4 feet high.
2. Be wary of measurement terms such as “rick,” “rack,” “face cord,” “pile,” or “truckload. These terms are prohibited in some states when advertising or selling firewood or stove wood. Since these terms cannot be defined exactly, it is in your best interest to purchase firewood that is measured by the true cord.
3. Fireplace or stove wood is defined as: any kindling logs, boards, timbers, or other wood. The logs may be whole or pre-split. They may be purchased seasoned (dried) or fresh-cut. If you are buying freshly cut (or “green”) wood, be sure to allow for 8-12 months minimum for proper drying.
4. In most states, sellers are required to provide buyers with an invoice which shows the seller’s name, address, phone number, price per cord, total amount, and the type of wood purchased.
5. It is a good idea to get references from your wood seller. Buyers should write down the license plate number of the wood delivery truck. The delivered wood should be stacked (by seller or you) in a cord or fraction of a cord. Measure the stack (width x height x length) and contact the seller immediately if you did not receive the quantity purchased. If you discover a problem with your purchase, it may be helpful to take a picture of the stacked wood.

We’re giving away Free flat screen TV’s with the purchase and installation of any Hampton wood insert, regency wood insert or Mendota gas fireplace.   Skip the lines this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and come down to Superior Stone and Fireplace for your free Flat screen tv to EVERYONE who purchases their fireplace this weekend ONLY.

Cut your oil bill in half and get a free flat screen tv!!!!!

Over 750K people in the state without power…once again and I see alot of people try ing to stay warm with their fireplaces…that’s just temporary it’s actually sucking what warmth there is out of your house and unless your going to stay up all night to keep feeding it…its going to be even more cold when it goes out…what are you waiting for..all of our customers with wood stove and wood insert not only have heat now when they are without power they can cook on it as well or boil water on top…dont be left in the dark or the cold anymore…give us a call

Oil went up $.33 yesterday…just in time for all of those oil deliveries that keep you and your family warm.  Stop the madness…Declare your energy Independence!!!  Visit our 6000 square foot showroom in Hamden right on Whitney Ave (RT 10) and educate yourself on the alternatives.  If you have a fireplace you’re losing 30% of that cost with the fireplace just sitting there. Do the math..wood, pellets, natural gas or even propane is less expensive by far than oil.  Time is ticking..what are you waiting for?

Do you find in the winter that your family is walking around your home in their winter coats?  That’s no way to save money on your heating bills!  We can help cut your oil bill in half by investing in a wood, pellet or gas stove.  By purchasing a wood or pellet stove you qualify for up to $300 tax credit!  For the month of October we are giving  $600 off any Regency/Hampton wood or pellet stove or inserts with the purchase of installation and piping.  STOP dumping thousands into your oil tank this season, stop by or give us a call.

Come visit us at the Home Show this weekend in Hartford at the new convention center….For this weekend only we are having a “Home Show Special” $600 off any Regency/Hampton wood stove w/piping and installation…Like I said this offer is ONLY good this weekend only either at our showroom in Hamden or at the homeshow…This offer is huge…plus you recieve upto $300 in a tax credit…come visit us at booth #2226..Fri 5-9, Sat 10-9 & Sun 10-5.