"The Good Fuel Guide is the essential handbook for getting the most out of your fireplace or stove. It includes information on operating and maintaining your fire, looking after your chimney and choosing the right fuels.  Selecting the right fuel and burning it in the right way is essential for safety and efficiency. The Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps (The UK’s best trained sweeps) have teamed up nationwide with CPL Distribution (The UK’s largest distributer of solid fuel) to create “The Good Fuel Guide” to raise awareness and safety in the solid fuel industry. This great little handbook is full of loads of information on solid fuels, selecting the correct fuel for your fire or appliance, a list of HETAS approved fuels, lighting and operating your fire or appliance safely and efficiently and proper maintenance intervals for your appliance & chimney. When you book a service with 'The Master Sweep' or 'Survey & Sweep' not only are you guaranteed a service of the highest standards available but you will also receive a free copy of this very useful handbook along with a voucher for 20% off your first order with CPL Distribution.
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 The recommended sweeping/servicing frequency for closed appliances burning wood is up to four times annually and if burning smokeless fuels twice annually as a minimum. Strange as it may seem you can actually have more build up in the chimney from fewer fires. The reason for this is that each time the fire is lit the flue is cold, which will cause the gasses to cool more quickly in the flue and increase the deposits on the liner. When a chimney has warmed over a few days use and is used regularly the chimney never fully cools down so the gasses exit quicker reducing build up in the liner. I have seen cases where a stove has only been used 10 times over the winter but has more build up in it than a stove that’s had 100 fires. Also it is not advisable to leave deposits in stainless steel liners as soot is very acidic and starts to disintegrate the steel quite quickly. This can greatly reduce the useful life of the liner resulting in expensive repairs. I would never advise leaving a stove for a year even if it has had little use, it is surprising how quickly things can build up! Here is a short video that is worth a watch to demonstrate what can happen. I hope that’s helpful! Iain. Iain explains why it is important to have your Aga, Rayburn (or similar) Flue regularly swept. Although there may be very little soot, sometimes none at all, a lot of fluff/dust/pet hair etc. gets drawn into the flue and collects around the edges of the flue and liner. If left unchecked this can significantly reduce the draw and therefore the performance of the appliance. Also it is worth noting that your Gas or Oil service engineer will usually only check for draw with a smoke match and not inspect or sweep the flue. The flue may pass the test but failure could still be imminent. This means that investigation of the flue will only happen once the problem is so bad that the chimney/flue has stopped working effectively. |
The Master SweepIain Stevens 
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November 2012
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