How often should a wood stove be professionally serviced?
Leicester is wood-heat country, so treat the schedule seriously: at least once a year, and a mid-season chimney check for the many homes that burn daily. Out on these large rural lots, propane is the pricey option and some remote properties have limited electrical capacity — so a wood stove that needs no power is often the primary heat, and it earns its creosote fast.
Heat that doesn't need a wire
On Leicester's rural properties — Sandy Mush, Turkey Creek, the Newfound Road valleys — a wood stove is genuinely off-grid heat, which matters where electrical capacity is thin and the power goes out in storms. A stove carrying the house all winter burns a lot of wood, and creosote climbs with the burn hours; a hard-run flue can hit sweeping-thickness by midwinter. That's the case for two touchpoints: a thorough late-summer service and a quick look at the flue partway through the cold. Waiting on the yearly date with a stove that runs every night is a gamble on the one thing you can't see.
Cold hollows, longer fires
Cold-air drainage runs Leicester's rural valleys five to eight degrees colder than Asheville on clear winter nights, which stretches the burning season and the creosote right along with it. Our service keeps the stove burning efficiently through that long stretch — door gasket sealed, firebrick and baffle sound, catalytic combustor in tune — so you're not feeding it extra wood to make up for a lazy, dirty burn. Burning wetter wood to stretch the pile only speeds the buildup. Call (828) 545-0525.
Close to the shop
For all its rural feel, Leicester is only 15 minutes west of our Asheville showroom, so mid-season checks and repairs are an easy trip. If a stove's finally worn out, we permit the replacement through Buncombe County and handle the whole install ourselves.
Fireplace help in Leicester
We install and service fireplaces throughout Leicester and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes west from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- How often should a wood stove chimney be swept?
- What routine maintenance does a wood-burning fireplace need each year?
- When should the firebrick in a wood stove be replaced?
- How do I know when wood stove door gaskets need replacing?
- How do I clean and maintain a catalytic combustor, and when does it need replacement?