Most non-catalytic wood stoves have baffles to promote complete combustion of creosote and extract every last ounce of heat from your firewood before sending the stove’s exhaust up the chimney. Constant exposure to very high temperatures and corrosive gases from the fire causes wood stove baffles to fail sooner or later. When then happens, you’ll have to take on the chore of wood stove baffle replacement.

Make baffle inspection part of your wood stove maintenance routine. If your stove is in constant use, or you burn a lot of green firewood, you’ll be cleaning your chimney once a month. Take this opportunity to let the fire go out so the stove can cool down. While it’s cold, inspect the stove baffle for cracks and warping. Get to know the construction of your particular stove’s baffle system so you don’t have to learn it on the fly when the baffle fails.

Typical wood stove baffle construction consists of a large plate suspended in place somewhere above the flame. The baffle can be made of cast iron, stainless steel, or occasionally a fireproof synthetic fiber. It works by diverting the exhaust from the fire into a secondary chamber, where the trapped heat raises temperatures high enough to burn off much of the creosote in the smoke. This secondary burn chamber also sends additional heat into your home. Stoves with baffles are much more efficient than ones without them.

Just about all baffles are factory replacement parts. If you have a manual for your wood stove, looking up the replacement part number is easy, and frequently the manufacturer will include a diagram that will help you figure out the steps for replacing it. If you don’t have a manual, then the manufacturer’s web site might have diagrams and part numbers. If that doesn’t work, call or visit a dealer for your brand and get some help with identifying the part and finding out how much a replacement costs. $150 is a frequently quoted number for baffle replacements on popular brands of wood stoves.

Removing the baffle is going to be a frustrating job, because the mounting screws holding it in place are probably fused to their sockets from corrosion and high heat. Drilling them out after the bolts break would be a straightforward job if it were easy to get to them, but you’ll be working inside a small chamber with limited room to hold your tools.

When you’re ready to start the job, put quilts down on the floor to protect both the floor and the stove’s finish, or take the stove out to your shop and work there. Clean out the stove down to bare bricks so you can tip it at the best angle to reach the baffle mounts without making a big mess. If the bricks aren’t fastened down, remove them and set them aside to they don’t break when you start tipping the stove. Remove the door and any other parts that could come loose while you’re working. Plan to get dirty while you do this job.

One word of caution: many wood stove baffles have a ceramic fiber blanket fused to the metal plate. The fibers can hurt you if you inhale them, so manufacturers recommend that you not try to work on these stoves yourself. You can find out whether your stove is one of these models by consulting your owner’s manual, or by contacting a dealer or the manufacturer. If you insist on replacing one of these baffles yourself, treat this stuff the same way you would asbestos. That means full body protection and an industrial-quality respiratory mask.

Wood stove glass replacement becomes necessary when the panel becomes cracked. This can happen due to thermal breakdown, but that takes years of use. The more likely scenario is that the panel breaks due to impact, or stress due to tightening the mounting screws too tightly.

What to do when your wood stove glass breaks? A common misconception is that you need wood stove tempered glass, but in reality this is the type found on glass fireplace doors or a glass fireplace screen. It’s stronger than ordinary glass, but it’s not made for constant exposure to high temperatures and close contact with flame. Tempered glass for wood stove is a misnomer.

Wood stove replacement glass is actually not glass at all. It’s a transparent ceramic panel that looks like glass but performs like ceramic. Look for trade names like neoceram and Pyroceram III. Neoceram is 3/16 inches thick. It has a slight amber tint and can withstand temperatures up to 1,600 degrees F. This is far more than the tempered glass fire screens you would use in a fireplace.

Glass replacement for a wood stove is an easy operation but requires concentration, just like any other job involving expensive, breakable material. First you’ll need to order the replacement panel. A dealer for your brand of wood stove is the first place you should look for this, since you know you’ll be getting a perfect fit if you go this route. If you can’t find a dealership, there are sites online that promise an exact match for your old ceramic glass panel if you give exact measurements. These sites can even match curved panels and special cuts by working from a drawing or diagram.

When you have your replacement panel, remove the wood stove door lay it next to the new panel on a large work table with plenty of good lighting. Put down some old towels for padding so you don’t crack the new glass. Carefully remove the old panel and set it aside. If your model has a gasket between the panel and the door, inspect it and decide whether to replace it. This item is a dealer part, but it’s set up for easy replacement. Most of them come with a built-in adhesive strip. You simply peel off the backing and press it into place.

Now comes the part that requires concentration. Lay the replacement panel over the gasket and install each screw but don’t tighten them yet. When all of the screws are in place and tightened just enough to touch the panel, begin tightening them one turn at a time. Work in pairs by starting with the two across from each other closest to the center of the panel. Move to the next two across from each other. Always tighten the screws in pairs across from each other, and never tighten them more than one turn at a time. Less is more with this part of the job. What you want to avoid is getting one screw too tight and then snapping the new glass panel in two when you move to another screw and tighten it. Check the glass for movement as you tighten and stop as soon as it’s securely in place.

Reinstall the stove door, and your wood stove glass replacement operation is complete.

If you have wood stove glass on your stove at home, then you probably already know that it looks absolutely gorgeous when the glass is clean. You’ve also probably learned that it looks pretty bad when the glass gets coated with soot. Unfortunately, this can happen fast. Owners of wood stoves with glass doors report having to use wood stove glass cleaner once a week at minimum to make it possible to see the fire inside their woodstove. If you burn softwood or set the draft too tight, you can easily smoke up the glass within hours after you clean it, which can be frustrating to say the least.

Here are some tips for cleaning wood stove glass:

*Practice good burning technique to minimize soot buildup on your wood stove glass. Avoid burning softwoods like pine and birch, because they not only put soot on the glass, but they build up creosote in your chimney, which increases the risk of a chimney fire. Poplar seems safer as long as it’s properly seasoned and burned hot. Avoid burning wet or freshly cut firewood of any type for the same reason. Also give your fire plenty of air when you first add a log to the firebox. Let it burn at full draft until the fresh log is on fire and burning by itself. Only then should you choke down the draft to slow the fire down.

*Try using wet ashes to scrub your glass wood stove doors. Wood stove owners report that this works like a charm. They’re cheap and there’s no lack of supply. Use a dampened newspaper as a scrubber so you can just throw it away afterward.

*A glass cleaner with a silicone additive will help you go longer between cleaning your wood stove glass doors. Users also report that it makes cleanup faster and easier.

*Although some users report good results with ammonia-based window cleaners, others report that it leaves a rainbow sheen on the glass that’s difficult if not impossible to remove. If you try this technique, test the cleaner in a non-conspicuous area of your woodstove glass before you do the whole thing.

*Other stove owners have had good results scraping the wood stove glass gently with a single edge razor blade. This can indeed leave scratches on the glass, so proceed with caution.

*The safest cleaning medium for wood stove glass is the one recommended by the manufacturer: good old dish soap and water with white vinegar added.

*Jotul wood stoves have a built-in airflow glass cleaner that minimizes the need for cleaning. If you don’t mind paying for a top of the line stove, this is probably the best solution to the problem.

If you heat your house with wood, you need to maintain your wood stove, just as you would a regular furnace. If anything, wood stoves need more maintenance than a gas or oil heater, because wood heat isn’t as clean as petroleum-based fuels. Here is some general advice for keeping your wood heater in peak operating condition.

Wood Stove Door Gasket Replacement
Nowadays it’s unusual for a wood burning stove to be manufactured with a gasketless door, although some older designs are made this way. If your stove has a gasket, it will probably be made of fiberglass or asbestos and look like thick rope. Thicknesses vary, so if in doubt, pull the old gasket out of the door and bring it with you when you shop for a replacement. Wood heaters with a separate ash pan door might need a separate replacement gasket for that, too.

Many woodburning stove manufacturers sell door gasket replacement kits online. If the kit doesn’t include stove gasket cement, you’ll need to purchase some; or if you can’t find any, use a good quality silicone caulk.

Gasket installation is fairly simple. Remove the old gasket, including removing the wood stove door if that makes the job easier. Clean out the gasket channel, first with a screwdriver, and then with coarse grade steel wool. Once the surface is clean, cut the gasket material to a length slightly longer than the perimeter of the door so you can tuck in the ends next to each other. Apply a bead of silicone or gasket cement along the channel and press the gasket into the cement. Allow it to dry, reinstall the stove door if you removed it earlier, and use the dollar bill test to see whether the seal is tight.

Many woodstoves are manufactured with clear ceramic doors so you can see the fire inside. These glass inserts need their gaskets replaced from time to time, although not as often as door gaskets. This type of gasket usually comes ready-made from the manufacturer and has a built-in adhesive strip that you press into place. Handle the glass inserts with care and be careful not to overtighten their fasteners, as they can crack under stress.

Adjusting the Wood Stove Door
A loose door on your woodstove means poor efficiency and increased buildup of soot. A clever way to test the tightness of the seal between the door and the stove body is to let the stove cool down and place a dollar bill along the door seal. Close the door with the bill sandwiched in between and try to pull it out. If you can slide it out easily, the door is loose, and you need to adjust the latch. If that doesn’t solve the problem, the door gasket probably needs replacing.

Painting Your Wood Stove
Most modern wood burning heaters are painted with a high temperature coating that needs to be touched up from time to time. Spray painting gives a superior finish over using a brush. Let the stove cool down fully, then mask off anything you want to proect from overspray. Use a paint made especially for woodstoves.

If you stove has a shiny surface, it has been enameled at the factory and can’t be repainted. You can still touch up nicks and chips using an exact color match from the manufacturer.

Check Your Wood Stove Firebrick
Many cast iron wood stoves are lined with firebrick to make them more efficient. Some modern designs use a low-density firebrick that’s certified by the EPA to perform better than conventional firebrick. If you have one or more cracked bricks, be sure to determine which type your stove has before you go shopping for a replacement.

Check the Wood Stove Baffles
Some wood stoves have a series of baffles inside the firebox to direct the heat through additional combustion chambers and increase efficiency. Baffles get constant exposure to fire and can fail over time, so you should inspect them regularly for cracks and warpage. If you need to replacement, consult your owner’s manual, and obtain the correct parts from a specialty store or the manufacturer.

Inspect the Catalytic Element
Catalytic elements make your stove burn cleaner, which keeps your chimney clean and your neighbors happy. These elements are made to last about six years with proper care. Maintenance consists of removing the unit from your wood stove and vacuuming it or brushing it gently. You should inspect it at that time for missing pieces or discoloration.