There’s a couple of great tips covered in this video about burning your wood stove. Don’t ever clean all the ashes out of the firebox, always leave an inch to an inch and a half of ash bed inside the firebox. It’s easier to start the fire, it builds a temperature quicker and you’ll establish a coal bed a lot quicker. About once a year you want to check your door gasket, the rope around the inside that is a fiberglass weave gasket, and replace that once a year. If you let it go too long, it will compact over time and if it compacts too much, you’ll start bringing air in around the door feeding the fire and you won’t have as much control on your air control. So, in all wood stoves you need to replace that typically annually to semi-annually depending on how much use your door gets. The other tip is your chimney maintenance. It is critical that you have a professional chimney sweep inspect and clean your chimney at least once per season.
A big advantage of a wood stove is when the power goes out, the heat stays on. So, not only is it a backup heat, it will keep your family warm. It is also going to provide you with a great cooking surface and warming surface. That is a unique aspect to the Lopi stove, you have the direct cooktop that will run at about 600 degrees, so they recommend using a stand off like a cast-iron trivet before you put the pot on there. Things might burn a little quick in the bottom of the pan otherwise. Make sure to utilize all of the features and benefits your stove has to offer!
