Yikes! My woodburner's just broke! Please advise me, all fellow woodburner owners!

[milkmonster]

No idea which board to put this on!

I believe my woodburner is multifuel but I've been burning just wood in it for a week or so.

Tonight, and not a particularly blazing fire either, I heard a flapping sound inside the burner and later saw a large flap had complelety dislodged inside, it seemed to have been covering the flue exit. I don't know how to operate this, if it was adjustable or not. It's just literally fell ooff.

Can anyone help with what may have happened here? The burner looked new on move-in (rented house) but the firebricks have since cracked too. Is that 'flap' essential to it's working or will it just make the burner less heat efficient as all the heat will just go straight up the flue now I suppose, or was it to regulate updraught or something?

The flap hasn't been dislodged, so does anyone have an idea why it might have fell off? Is it fixable as I imagine it would costs fortunes to have a repairman check it out. I'm also worried about telling the letting agency in case they charge me hundreds to replace the burner!!

can you describe in more detail?
I am a woodburning freak.

Any repairs should be paid for by your landlord, surely? Isn't that half the point in renting?

what shape is the flap and is it metal?

The flap's metal, rectangular,same length as burner, about 8" wide, it definately looks like a vent flap as it covered the flue exit inside.

When was it last serviced? I know sweet FA about woodburners, except that they can produce carbon monoxide, so you need to be careful with them just as for a gas boiler. I would be wary of using it till I foujnd out what the thing that fell off was!

is it not the top liner of the burning cavity?

Eek! I've got a newborn in the house! I didnt know that about Carbon Monoxide...from burning wood?

No idea when it was serviced, dont even think landlords are obligated to do this, unlike with gass appliances.

I'm pretty sure it's just a vent flap to regulate the updraught as I can now see the flue exit inside the burner, whereas before it obviously covered that (well, mostly covered it, some of the flue exit has to be open for obvious reasons!!)

I have had woodburners and none of them had flaps of any sort, and you could clearly see the flue exit
I do think the landlord has to fix ANYTHING that breaks

OK, I'll research the burner model online and see if I can get an interior diagram. I also cant open the bleddy ash drawer, so something must be up. It looked spanking new when I moved in though! I'll update later if I find info on what this part that fell off actually is, thanks all.

good idea.
Have you removed the metal flap thingy or is it stuck inside?

No, I've taken it out. It's just rectabngular shaped with a lip, it doesn't even have any hinges or similar on it to show how it was attached. If I cant find any info on the internet I'll upload a good, high-res photo of the flap and the inside of the burner where it fell off, to see if that will shed some light for those who might be familiar with burners.

ok

Just sounds like the throat plate to me.
It is supposed to come away so you can clean up the flue.
I wonder why it fell down though.....it usually just sits on a couple of ledges, and you need to manoever it to lift it down.
Maybe it's got warped from high temperatures over a period of time.

It swirls the heat back around the stove, so that you don't just lose all the heat up the flue making your stove more efficient

ah thanks paisley!

I'm with paisley - sounds like the throat plate. Do you know what make the stove is?

My dh also confirms it is the throating plate which will need renewing rather than trying to replace old one. Go on to manufacturer's website if possible to source - however dh says if you are in rented property, your landlord is legally obligated to fix this asap for you. If you have problems with this you can go to the Health and Safety Executive to enforce.