Maintenance through the season
This is the schedule given in one manufacturer’s manual[1]; your stove’s may differ, and yours is the one that counts.
| When | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | The burner (burn pot) | You |
| Every 2 to 3 days | The ash compartment, the glass and the door | You |
| Every 60 to 90 days | Inner heat-exchanger and flue-fan compartment, T-piece, door and ash-pan seals | Technician |
| Every year, or every 1,200 to 1,400 hours | Full heat exchanger, flue, internal parts, chimney, electromechanical components | Technician |
On that stove, the display shows “SERVICE” every 1,200 hours of operation: without the full clean, the manual warns of poor combustion and lower efficiency[1].
What the law says
It depends on your country, and sometimes your region: check the rules that apply where you live, and ask your installer. As an example, French law has required since 2023 a service by a qualified professional and a flue sweep at least every twelve months, with a certificate to be kept for two years[3].
From hours to kilos
You do not count your hours of heating, but you do know how many bags you pour in. An 8 kW stove burns 0.7 to 1.95 kg an hour depending on its setting, according to manufacturers’ data sheets[2]: 1,200 hours therefore come to between 0.8 and 2.3 tonnes of pellets, or 56 to 156 bags. Counting your bags also tells you when the service is coming up.
What to record in your log
- The date of every job, even the simplest.
- The type: annual service, flue sweep, burn pot, glass, ash pan, breakdown, repair.
- Who did it: you, or the professional, with their details.
- The cost, to know what the stove really costs you each year.
- What was found: a worn part, a changed setting, a piece of advice.
- The technician’s certificates, kept with the log.
- The warranty and its end date.
Sources
- User manual for the Futura pellet stove (in French), chapter “Entretien et nettoyage”, frequency table.
- Data sheets for 8 kW stoves: Seguin (0.76 to 1.95 kg/h) and La Nordica Amika Evo (0.7 to 1.8 kg/h), quoted in How many bags of pellets for a winter?
- French public health code, articles R1331-66 to R1331-77 (in French), in force since 1 October 2023.
