How do I get Help with my Wood Burning Stove?
Quick Answer: If you experience a problem with your wood burning stove, Ambience will do its best to help.
Before requesting assistance there are a few basic checks you should carry out to help identify the cause of the problem.
What should I do before calling for assistance?
Before requesting a service visit, please consider the following:
- Is the wood properly seasoned and dry?
- Is the stove being operated according to the manufacturer's instructions?
- Is the firebox excessively full of ash?
- Are the air controls being used correctly?
- Is the chimney or flue due for cleaning?
- Has the flue tee piece been inspected and cleaned?
- Has anything changed with the chimney, flue or surrounding installation?
- Has the stove reached its normal operating temperature?
- Have any changes or modifications been made to the stove, flue or original installation?
- What were the weather conditions when the problem occurred? Was it particularly windy, raining heavily or unusually cold?
- Does the problem still occur when the weather conditions change? For example, if the stove experiences blow-back during strong winds but operates normally when the weather is calm, this information is important when diagnosing the issue.
Many operating issues can be resolved by correcting the fuel, airflow, cleaning or operating conditions.
What information should I provide?
When reporting a problem, please provide as much accurate information as possible. Photographs and videos can often be extremely useful in helping us understand the issue before arranging a visit.
Please provide:
- A clear description of the problem.
- What the stove was doing when the problem occurred.
- Photographs of the stove and firebox.
- Photographs of the chimney or flue installation, where relevant.
- The type of wood being used.
- Details of the weather conditions at the time, particularly if the issue involves smoke, draught or blow-back.
- Details of any changes made to the stove, chimney, flue or original installation.
- The make and model of the stove and its serial number, if available. Please also provide any relevant installation or purchase order details.
Honest and accurate information is essential to resolving issues quickly. Missing or incomplete details can delay diagnosis and may hinder our ability to provide the correct solution.
Providing this information often allows us to diagnose the issue more quickly and may even avoid the need for a site visit.
Service call-outs and chargeable visits
We are always happy to assist if you experience any issues with your wood burning stove. We will do our best to provide advice by telephone, email or WhatsApp before arranging a visit.
However, if a site visit is requested and our engineer determines that the issue has arisen as a result of misuse, lack of routine cleaning, failure to follow the manufacturer's instructions or guidance provided by us, unsuitable fuel, over-firing or lack of appropriate maintenance, the visit any replacement parts will be chargeable.
Examples include but are not limited to:
- Burning wet or unsuitable wood.
- Failure to clean the stove or remove excessive ash.
- Failure to have the chimney or flue properly maintained.
- Failure to inspect and clean the flue tee piece.
- Operating the stove contrary to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Over-firing or repeatedly operating outside the recommended parameters.
- Tinkering with, altering or changing any setup outside the original installation.
- Modifications to the stove or installation without prior approval.
- Failure to carry out recommended servicing or maintenance.
For this reason, we kindly ask customers to carry out the basic checks before requesting a call-out.
Where a genuine fault exists with the appliance or installation, we will advise accordingly and support you through the appropriate repair process.
What to do next
If you need further assistance with your wood burning stove, please get in touch with our showroom staff.