Morsø give you some useful tips on how to make your old wood burning fireplace "as good as new"

A wood burning fireplace made of cast iron can, when looked after, last for centuries and a simple "Do-It-Yourself" service check can make the fireplace look and work "as good as new."

Morsø give fireplace owners some useful tips to how their old wood burning fireplace can be made ready for use for the whole family and get the best possible warmth and pleasure from the wood burning during the coming heating season.

According to Morsø it is essential to first check the fireproof door rope gaskets that ensure that the door closes tightly to the fireplace body. It is quite easy to see whether the rope gasket is intact or if it must be replaced. A frayed rope gasket is will no longer be air-tight and could lead to an excess of combustion air entering the fireplace. This would make it difficult to control the burn rate of the fireplace and could lead to over-firing causing potential damage to both fireplace and property. It also means that the fireplace's combustion system would become unclean and would result in poor fuel economy.

Another essential check is the refractory bricks inside the fireplace. Bricks are there for two reasons; added heat protection for the fireplace walls and for creating a good firebox environment for clean combustion. It is not decisive to replace these if the bricks are cracked, as long as they more or less fit and are not crumbling away. If the bricks do not have their original shape, the protection and insulation around the firebox is poor. This causes too low a combustion temperature inside the fireplace and thereby an unclean and uneconomic combustion. At the same time the temperature of the cast iron will get too high and may in the long run reduce the durability and lifetime of the fireplace.

Over a period of time, all fireplaces begin to look tired. The overall look of the wood burning fireplace can easily be restored to the original manufacturers matt black finish. If the fireplace is painted you can "pep up" the fireplace using Morsø Senotherm Stove Paint. This can be applied by brush or aerosol. The paint itself withstands very high temperatures and is used on almost all painted fireplaces available on the market. Enameled fireplaces however, should be washed using distilled soapy water, applied using a soft sponge. If the door glass of your woodfireplace has become sooty and difficult to see through, a simple wipe over with Morsø glass cleaner will help to dissolve the soot particles and will quickly restore the clear view surface.