What annual maintenance does a wood-burning insert need?

A cleaner burn in the valley bowl

Candler's Hominy Valley sits in a natural bowl that holds air, which is one reason clean-burning sealed appliances are attractive here — a modern wood insert burns far cleaner than the open, builder-grade fireboxes so many of the area's fast-growing subdivisions started with. But an insert only burns clean when it's maintained. A creosote-choked liner, a leaky gasket, or a poorly drafting flue all push it toward smoky, inefficient combustion. Our annual service — sweeping and inspecting the full stainless liner, sealing the door, checking the draft — is as much about keeping the smoke down as keeping the fire safe.

Everything we check

We sweep and inspect the entire liner, look over the cap and top-plate seal, check the firebrick for cracks, test the door and glass gaskets, vacuum cold ash, clean the glass, and dust the blower. Reaching the whole liner run often means easing the insert partway out of the opening — a proper professional visit to CSIA and NFPA standards, not a weekend chore.

Out on the rural properties toward Pisgah Highway, a wood insert also means heat you own outright, independent of the grid. Book late summer or early fall. Candler is about fifteen minutes west of our showroom. We pull the Buncombe County permit when needed and service all major wood brands. Call (828) 545-0525.