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Chimney sweep?

M

MattS

Nordic Pine
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I know I’ll get some sensible opinions here, how often do you get your chimney, or should I say flue swept? We have a wood burner, been in 4 years and it has just had its second sweep.

The post about DIY and paying for services made me think about this. When we bought the stove and all the paper work from the sweep suggests yearly sweeping. He said yesterday it was very clean and we only use decent wood.

So how often do you get yours swept?
 
Twice a year. Without fail.
If we had a chimney fire and had to make a claim on the insurance I believe they would not pay out if we could not provide proof of the chimney being swept twice a year. A french regulation perhaps.

We burn about 8 cubic metres of certified hardwoods from certified and sustainable forests. We buy green wood 18 months in advance. Moisture content is below 20%* by the time we burn, stove is lit daily, usually in the afternoon from October-ish to April-ish. In the depths of the coldest winter days it will be lit in the morning but only if no sun is forecast.

Sweep Costs us 55 euro, takes about 30 mins. Money well spent IMO. Why take the risk?

*just measured the stuff in the house at between 11 & 16%.
 
HETAS say twice a year.
Insurance companies work to this requirement too.

there is no legal requirement in the UK
 
Andy, I haven’t got through that much wood since I had the stove!

Dave, I knew HETAS say twice yearly…. And no legal requirement why I wanted to know what others do. However I didn’t know insurance companies work on twice a year. Is that definitely true? If you’re not using as only means of heating, we don’t put it on during summer months. So getting it swept at start of winter it wouldn’t have been used since the last sweep!
 
MattS":19o93r1q said:
Andy, I haven’t got through that much wood since I had the stove!

Dave, I knew HETAS say twice yearly…. And no legal requirement why I wanted to know what others do. However I didn’t know insurance companies work on twice a year. Is that definitely true? If you’re not using as only means of heating, we don’t put it on during summer months. So getting it swept at start of winter it wouldn’t have been used since the last sweep!
Click to expand...

HETAS make the recommendation, insurance company follows its. impossible for me to stipulate differently without reading every insurance companies policy, but I've believe most would follow it.

sweeping twice a year isn't just for removal of soot, your autumn sweep is also checking for birds nest and such.
spring sweep is soot clearing.
 
I have never seen this as a requirement in an insurance policy and to refuse a claim on those grounds would be very unlikely without reference to it. We have ours swept annually at the start of the season when we will use the log burner. However, I doubt we burn anything like the amount Andy does - closer to three cubic metres I would say.
 
sorry Matt, I gave you the advise I've been given and followed before I removed the damned thing.

parting shot.

"Your insurance company would expect you to sweep it on at least an annual basis. They usually take their lead from the Solid Fuel Association, who recommend that:

the chimney is swept once a year if you’re burning smokeless coal
twice a year if you’re burning bituminous coal
up to every three months if you’re burning wood
Home Insurance Company Specifications
Your insurance company will very likely have some specifications in their small print for that to be done. You should also notify your insurance company if you’re installing a real fire for the first time, because you’re adding to the risk and that may alter your policy – you might not be covered for it.

So, yes, your insurance company would expect you to sweep the chimney regularly as part of the maintenance."

https://apexchimneysweeps.co.uk/chimney ... insurance/

edited. sorry, I'm having a bad life.
 
I do mine once a year. Until recently our wood stove was the only heating in the flat along with an immersion heater for hot water. So it was used a lot, now we have a combi boiler and radiators but will still use the stove as the wood is "free". I give mine a sweep at the start of November and that does it.
 
Insurance companies (probably now more than ever before) will use any excuse to avoid a payout so will insist upon flues being swept. I read of someone locally who had a claim for a burst pipe and the ensuing water damage refused because their electrical test certificate was out of date. I suspect the thing to be wary of is whether doing it yourself is considered adequate. I always get photos taken when sweeping mine with a copy of the day's paper alongside so they can be dated. At least I have a leg to stand on. Sort of. :lol:
 
Unless you are doing something silly or burning green wood once a year should suffice. Usual caveats.

The sweep I use in the Borders (we have 2 stoves and 4 open fires) always fills in a form that states when the next sweeping should be done, and he has never said more frequently than once a year. This of course could differ depending on what you burn (we only burn wood) and your fire/stove/flue arrangements. However having this guidance from a properly accredited tradesman should deal with any insurance requirement – our policy has no specific wording as to flues, just a sort of ‘catch-all’ thing about proper maintenance.

I like our sweep. He is incredibly well spoken, but looks like an extra from Lord of the Rings.

In Sweden it is a legal requirement to have it done. (Could be local regs for Stockholm now I come to think about it). Not only that but the sweeps expect you to provide access for them: steps on the roof &c. No mucking around with roof ladders for them. Dunno whether that is a legal requirement, but it is a de facto circumstance.

And Edinburgh (one stove, one open fire)is different again (top down sweeping generally due to very long flue runs. Hell of a mess.) I don’t allow solid fuel fires in any of the tenanted properties; the possibilities are just too ghastly to contemplate.
 
He comes once a year. He’ll do the main log burner every time but usually says the others (small log burner only used occasionally and a couple of open hearths which are very rarely used) don’t need doing so often.

Our sweep is called Mr Christmas (really, he is) which always makes me smile.
 
Just checked our buildings insurance policy documentation and no reference to sweeping chimneys specifically but does talk about maintenance. We have ours done roughly each year :eusa-whistle:

Actually it's only been done twice since we moved here. Last time there was very little soot.
 
As far as I can figure it is compulsory over here. Ours get done twice a year and we have a flue analysis once a year on the pellet boiler. This is all done by the local sweep who is responsible for our area.
 
Andyp":qba7g17g said:
...every three months if you are burning wood...
Click to expand...

Far be it for me to argue with the Solid Fuels Association but that seems a little excessive to me.
Click to expand...

They don't. Not as far as I can see. I think Dave is referencing ApexChimneySweeps who will have a vested interested.
 
RogerS":k98rrtte said:
Andyp":k98rrtte said:
...every three months if you are burning wood...
Click to expand...

Far be it for me to argue with the Solid Fuels Association but that seems a little excessive to me.
Click to expand...

They don't. Not as far as I can see. I think Dave is referencing ApexChimneySweeps who will have a vested interested.
Click to expand...

Apologies if that’s the case :oops:
 
I use a NACS sweep, she says once a year, so that's what I do. But am burning only in evenings in winter, and only properly dry wood which I get in ahead of time. If you burn the garbage lots of log vendors will sell you as "seasoned and ready to burn", you might want to be more cautious.
 
HETAS encourage having your chimney swept at least twice a year when burning wood or bituminous house coal and at least once a year when burning smokeless fuels.

The best times to have your chimney swept are just before the start of the heating season and after your stove has not been used over a prolonged period

https://www.hetas.co.uk/when-chimney-swept/
 
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