How To Clean Your Hobbit Stove
It’s that time of year again – summer is gradually coming to an end and you are starting to think about getting in the logs for winter to fuel your small stove. But before you light your first fire of the season, we recommend you give your Hobbit Stove a well deserved clean! Keeping up the small maintenance bits like emptying the ash tray and riddling the centre grate throughout the autumn and winter months is important, but we advise giving your stove a thorough deep clean once a year before the start of the cold season again, to enable your stove to continue to work as efficiently and effectively as possible!
We will take you through our step by step guide on how to clean your stove and your glass, including taking all the internal pieces out and then putting them back in. Also, the best way to clean your glass.
What you will need:
- Stove brush or vacuum with a brush attachment.
- Ash shovel.
- Multi-tool
- Metal bucket or ash container.
- Paper towel or soft cloth
- Small bowl of water
- Hoover
- Old sheet to place all the internal pieces on
Step 1: Safety first.
Before you begin cleaning, ensure that your wood burning stove has completely cooled down. Attempting to work on a hot stove can result in burns or other injuries. It’s best to wait at least several hours after the fire has been extinguished before setting to.
Step 2: Riddle your Centre Grate and remove ashes.
Using your Multi-tool riddle the centre grate to get as much ash through as possible. Remove your coal bars, then using an ash shovel, carefully scoop out any ashes that have accumulated in the firebox.
Place the ashes in a metal bucket or a container designated for this purpose. Remember to never dispose of hot ashes in a combustible container, as they can pose a fire hazard. Once that’s done, take the container outside to ensure the ashes are completely cooled.
Wood ash is a very effective addition to your compost bin!
Step 3: Clean the glass door.
You can use a fireplace glass cleaner to remove any soot or stains. Spray the cleaner directly onto the surface and wipe it away with a lint-free cloth until the glass is clear. This approach is good for dealing with any particularly stubborn stains that are difficult to remove.
Alternatively, for a cheaper and more environmentally friendly option, we would recommend dipping some kitchen roll or newspaper into a little water before dipping it into the ashes of the fire. This is slightly abrasive and can be used to clear most build-ups on the glass.
You may need to replace your glass as it might be too stained to clean.
Step 4: Remove internal parts to clean and inspect them.
Firstly, remove your side bricks by raising the baffle up. Now is the time to check if you have any damage or large cracks in your bricks, small thing cracks are fine. Then remove the baffle, again check for any sign of significant damage or warping. Take out the centre grate by lifting it from below by sticking your hand in where the ash pan sits, whilst pushing in the riddling control. Rotate anti-clockwise to free the riddling arm. Then remove both doors.
Step 5: Clean the inside and internal parts.
Use a stove brush or vacuum with a brush attachment to remove any remaining ash and debris from the firebox. Pay close attention to crevices and corners where ash tends to accumulate. If you have a rear exit in your stove, make sure to get the hoover right into the hole. Hoover the door lugs also! Then hoover all of the internal parts you have removed.
Step 6: Put everything back together!
Starting with the doors, then the centre grate, baffle, two bricks, coal bars and ash pan.
