IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Ards Fireplaces would like to thank you for your purchase. We hope you enjoy many long years of service and heat from your new stove/fireplace. Please ensure you read this fact sheet to get the best from your stove or fireplace for many years.


Fuel

The fuel you use to burn in your stove or fireplace is essentially the most important thing you choose. It will make a massive difference on the life span of your stove and also the heat output. The wrong fuel will crackle glaze or discolour the glass. It will ruin and rot chimneys and can cause chimney fires. They will invalidate warranties and can crack or warp your stove as well as quickly disintegrate grates and stove internals.
For a long life service from your purchase choose your fuel carefully. Only burn well seasoned logs. Buy a moisture meter and only burn logs below 20 per cent moisture level. The only other fuels we recommend are very high quality smokeless fuel. Your local coal supplier can advise you on the best choice but beware of imitations. The wrong coal can invalidate all your warranties so be careful. Don’t forget that you need to feed your stove or fireplace with a lot of fuel to get out heat. (It will take approx 1 kg of dry logs to get 4 kilowatts of heat. This equates to approximately 80 pence per hour for 5 kilowatts).


Building control

To meet current building control regulations, any new heat source will be subject to a Building Notice. This means any new stove, fireplace or gas appliance may need to be approved by Building Control. We pride ourselves in that all our fitting is done to meet Building Control regulations. It is up to you as the home owner to apply for a Building control notice if applicable. We are happy to advise you and help you fill in the paper work and provide you with the correct certificates but it is your responsibility to contact Building control. Building notices usually cost only £60 payable to your local council.


Lighting your stove.

This may sound a very simple task but it has baffled even some of our more experienced customers. A stove requires a totally different approach when starting a fire. The most important part of lighting a stove or fireplace is to warm the flue. Failure to do this correctly is the most common cause of problems. If you are having a problem with your stove we can offer a call out service to help solve an issue you are having. We charge £40 for this call out which is fully refundable if the fault is with our fitting or a fault with the products. Repairs or products may be chargeable. We have put a charge for this service as we have found that almost all problems that our customers have reported are down to not warming the flue correctly or using the wrong fuel. To light a fire correctly after cleaning the grate and glass, place a fire-lighter on the grate and light it. Next using small dry kindling place four or five sticks in a criss cross pile with plenty of spacing and let them catch fire. After they are almost totally burnt add some more kindling but be careful not to smother the fire. What you want is lots of flame with very little fuel. After this kindling is burning strongly slowly start to add larger kindling or small dry logs but don’t totally cover the flame. Having lots of flame is key to warming your flue. Too much fuel creates smoke which can actually block the flue. Like everything practice makes perfect.


Chimneys

All chimneys are subject to weather conditions, height, surrounding trees, buildings, external factors etc. Smoke and gases from your fire will always take the easiest route. A warm chimney will always create a natural updraught or suction pulling the smoke up the chimney, but external factors may create a pressure difference forcing the smoke out into the room. We try to design all chimneys so that this will not happen but if it is a factor in your home we can try to advise and help solve this problem. This service and products will be chargeable.


Stoves explained

A stove is essentially a steel box with a door. All the manufactures design the internals to slow the gasses down in order for the heat not to go straight up the chimney. This design will dictate the efficiency of your stove but it will not stop the stove from working. If your stove is not working it is not normally the fault of the stove but the flue is usually the problem. A service including sweeping the flue usually solves most problems. Building control insist on sweeping any chimney at least once a year but we recommend probably every 6 months depending on usage. Stove internals including glass, rope, bricks, baffles etc. are NOT covered under any warranty. These are what we call as wear parts. The kinder you are to your stove the longer these will last. Use the correct fuel and be gentle when refuelling and the internals will last longer but they will need replaced eventually. You will need to remember your stove make and model to order replacement parts. Stove manufactures provide a kilowatt rating for their stoves. This figure is based on laboratory test results and can vary depending on the fuel usage and chimney conditions etc. Often the numbers quoted are based on refuelling every 45 minutes with very high quality fuel in perfect chimney conditions. Your chimney, the weather and your fuel may differ and produce different results and produce less heat. Choosing the size of stove for the room is your personal choice. We can advise you on what kilowatt rating is required but the style and size of your stove is your personal choice. We can not be held responsible if the stove you have picked is not large enough or is too big for your room, after all its your choice. We do ensure that whatever the stove that it is fitted correctly. If you notice or think that something is not right with the fitting please contact us immediately.

Insufficient heat from your stove is normally caused by user error or incorrect fuel. If your are having problems with insufficient heat try using compressed wood briquettes. These ensure that the moisture level of the wood is correct and normally give out adequate heat. After the stove is going well, load the stove full with the briquettes and make sure the air controls are opened fully. With plenty of fuel and plenty of air your stove should now start to gain heat. Once your stove is warm enough you can begin to close the air controls but do not close these until your stove is up to heat.
Take time to read the manufactures instructions and follow them.


Maintenance

It is vital you keep your stove serviced and your chimney swept to enjoy the stove at its best. We would recommend that your chimney is swept every six months. Your stove and flue pipe should be serviced annually by a qualified engineer. You should keep a record of all servicing and sweeping. Failure to do this may result in invalidating your warranty. Your Carbon Monoxide alarm should be checked regularly and replaced when required.

Please keep this information safe for future reference. Following the manufactures instructions and these simple guidelines will ensure many years of enjoying your stove.


 

Thank you

Ards Fireplaces
02891 827117