381-8 Old Riverhead Road

Westhampton Beach, NY

Tel. 631-998-0780

Hours: Tues. - Thur. 9am to 3pm / Fri. 9am to 12pm (or by appt.) / Sat. - Mon. Closed

Our Company Blog

Maintaining Your Wood Burning Stove or Fireplace

It is essential to properly maintain a wood burning appliance – whether it’s a stove or fireplace- to ensure the safety of your home and efficiency of the unit. Hiring a certified professional annually is your best bet, as they can assist in vital maintenance of your chimney, fireplace, or stove before you need it most. The best time to have your appliance inspected and cleaned is right before wintertime, when it will be at highest use.

Below are some tips to consider to properly care for your solid fuel appliance:

Removing ash, soot, and debris

Maintaining your wood burning stove or fireplace - Westhampton Beach NY - Beach Stove and Fireplace

Before you begin using your wood burning appliance more often, it’s important to clear all of the old debris from the inside of the unit. A vacuum cleaner can assist in getting all of the material out – just be sure that all of the debris is completely cool first. If your appliance has an ash pot or tray, be sure to remove this and empty it.

By Julie Dismore on December 29th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Comments Off on Maintaining Your Wood Burning Stove or Fireplace

The Benefits of Glass Fireplace Doors

If you want to make your fireplace safer and more efficient, Beach Stove & Fireplace recommends installing glass fireplace doors. Not only do these doors improve the performance of a fireplace, but they also give you an easy way to update the look of your hearth. If you do not have glass doors installed in front of your fireplace, we would like to tell you more about the benefits of this fireplace accessory.

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SAVE MONEY AND ENERGY

Without glass fireplace doors, cooled and heated air can easily escape through the chimney, which is a big waste of both money and energy. When you install these doors, you will be stopping the air from leaking out of your home. In the winter, your home will be warmer, and in the summer, your home will be cooler because your fireplace will be sealed shut by glass doors. We know you will see your utility bills decrease after installing glass fireplace doors.

IMPROVE EFFICIENCY OF YOUR FIREPLACE

Don’t be afraid that glass fireplace doors will keep the heat from the fire from spreading into your home. These doors actually improve the heating efficiency of a fireplace. The heat from the fire will radiate through the doors into the room.

MAKE YOUR FIREPLACE SAFER

If you have children and/or pets, keeping them safe can be a main concern. When you install glass fireplace doors, you are protecting your loved ones from getting into the fire accidentally. You still need to teach your children not to touch the glass doors as they become very hot. Glass fireplace doors also keep hot sparks and embers from jumping out of the fire into the room where they could possibly ignite a fire. They also prevent burning logs from falling out of the fireplace onto the floor.

GIVE A NEW LOOK TO YOUR HEARTH

If you would like to update the appearance of your fireplace but are on a budget, glass fireplace doors are an easy and relatively inexpensive way to do that. Beach Stove & Fireplace offers a wide variety of styles and designs of glass fireplace doors that will give you several options to give your hearth a new look.

REDUCE CHIMNEY DRAFT PROBLEMS

Draft problems in your chimney can lead to downdrafts that cause smoke to come into your living space through the fireplace. Glass fireplace doors do not allow smoke to come in, and they can even eliminate any draft issues you may have.

Interested in installing glass doors on your fireplace? Contact us at Beach Stove & Fireplace to learn more about how we can help you improve the function, safety, and appearance with glass fireplace doors.

By Julie Dismore on December 13th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Benefits of Glass Fireplace Doors

If you’re tired of hauling and storing wood, consider a pellet insert

Your wood-burning fireplace is an asset to your home. It adds heat, ambiance, and style, and helps keep your heating bills low. But wood-burning fireplaces are a lot of work: Chopping, splitting, hauling, and stacking wood is time consuming, and it takes a lot of space to store the wood you need to warm your home during the winter. If you’re tired of hauling and storing wood, consider a pellet insert.

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How pellet inserts work

A pellet insert can be placed inside your existing wood-burning fireplace, along with a stainless steel chimney liner. Pellet stoves burn either wood pellets, made of compressed dehydrated sawdust, or biofuels such as corn, cherry pits, or wheat hulls. The pellets are poured into a storage hopper, and then an auger automatically feeds them into a burn pan. The stove’s fans and vents pull in cooler air to be heated and pump hot air back into your home.

Save yourself storage space

One of the biggest advantages of pellet stoves is that the fuel is readily available and easily stored. Pellets are sold in 40 pound bags at most hardware and many big-box stores. Because they come in 40 pound bags, you can buy bags of pellets as needed. With firewood, you either stack what you need for winter, or you have to buy wood one cord at a time. Pellets can save you from finding somewhere to store all of your firewood. One cord of wood occupies 128 cubic feet of storage space, compared with 80 cubic feet of storage space for one ton of pellets, which provides the equivalent heating power. On average, a home with a wood stove or wood-burning fireplace burns three cords of hardwood each year.

Save yourself from hauling firewood

Of course, wood also comes with the hassle of hauling it back and forth from the woodpile to your house, and adding logs to your fire several times a day. Your firewood needs to be stored a distance from your house to avoid attracting pests to your home. Pellets can be stored in your garage or basement, and because pellets are automatically fed from the storage hopper, pellet stoves don’t need to be tended throughout the day. Depending on your pellet insert, one hopper of pellets can heat a home for up to 24 hours.

Save yourself energy

Another major advantage to pellet stoves is their energy efficiency. Pellet stoves are hailed by green-living enthusiasts as one of the cleanest ways to heat your home. Because the pellets are dehydrated, they produce very little smoke when burned, and almost all of the energy from the fire goes back into heating your home. The fuel is considered carbon neutral because the wood or bio-pellets would have released the same carbon into the air during natural composition. And, of course, whether you’re burning wood or biofuel, your pellets are made from a renewable resource.

If you’re interested in freeing yourself from the headache of chopping, hauling, and storing firewood, call the experts at Beach Stove and Fireplace. We can tell you everything you need to know about upgrading to a pellet insert!

By Julie Dismore on November 27th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on If you’re tired of hauling and storing wood, consider a pellet insert

Proper Ash Disposal

Disposing of ash is a necessary evil that comes with enjoying a lovely fire at the end of a long day. The burning wood results in a pile of byproduct that needs to be removed in order to be able to continually use your fireplace or stove. Let us walk you through the proper way to remove and dispose of ash, and how often you need to do it to ensure a safe environment. Your plants will thank you!

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After a certain amount of burning, some of the ash needs to be removed, but a little of it can actually help. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) says that having an inch or so of ash under the grate will protect and encourage heat in the coals and result in more heat being produced. This can only be a good thing during the upcoming cold. It takes balance though. Too much ash will do the opposite to the coals, dispersing heat and not insulating the coals. Protecting the firebox is beneficial, but ash overload is where the trouble starts. The ash accumulation could spill over into the floor and singe or burn the flammable materials nearby.

Wait an entire 24 hours before attempting disposal. Ash that may look fine to touch won’t fully be cool until then. If you are unsure or in a time crunch, using heat resistant gloves will be your best bet to not burn yourself. Wearing your gloves, slowly remove the ash from the firebox until all that remains is larger coals that can be relit and about an inch of residual ash. The ash can be put in a bucket or sealed crate until cool, but put the container out of harms reach, in a closet or rarely used pantry. The temptation would be too great for small children or animals. If the ash is still warm, cover the pile in sand or cover with a lid of some sort to keep oxygen out. This will starve out any flame that may be tempted to develop.

Once your ash bucket has been removed from eyesight, forget about it. Wait three days and then uncover it. Relocate the cooled ash to a bag of some sort and put in the garbage. If your garden could use more alkaline soil, sprinkling some ash onto the plants could be very beneficial. Don’t dump the whole bucket though, you don’t want to shock your plants by completely changing the soil pH.

Ash is very alkaline, so too much will change the pH of the soil, and will end up killing your plants. If dumping the remaining ash seems wasteful, there are many other alternative uses as well. Our favorite is using ash instead of salt on slippery surfaces during the winter months to melt ice without damaging your soil!

Give us a call with any questions you have about your chimney or fireplace and make sure to have us out to sweep and inspect before the harsh winter sets in!

By Julie Dismore on November 13th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Proper Ash Disposal

Emergency heating solutions during power outages

With all things pumpkin-spiced and warm comes the anticipated cold weather. By now your chimney is swept and inspected (and if not there is still time), and you have got your grandmother’s recipe for chicken noodle soup ready for the making. As lovely as the image looks, it’s important to prepare your home and your family for extreme circumstances. Having a power outage during the middle of winter isn’t only inconvenient: it’s downright dangerous.

power-outage-heating-image-westhampton-beach-ny-beach-stove-and-fireplaceYour home:

Here at Beach Stove and Fireplace, we highly recommend preparing a power outage kit, especially if you have children. Having warm clothes and blankets, a battery-powered radio or TV, matches, as well as flashlights and extra batteries readily available will minimize the stress and make it easier to focus on finding an alternative heat source. Isolate your family into a single room with at least one alternative heating solution. Most commonly, a living room with a wood-burning fireplace is the chosen room. It doesn’t have to be a fireplace though. As long as the chosen room has an adequate source of ventilation, you can use a stove or space heater that utilizes oil, gas, coal, or wood to fuel it. If none of these options are available, a gas oven or even a camp stove could be used to provide warmth. Multiple options are always better

Finding fuel:

If possible, having a stack of easily accessible firewood would be best, but emergencies call for other alternatives just in case. Newspapers, magazines, straw, or even corncobs can be used as kindling. Lighter fluid, gasoline, furnace oil, camp stove fuel, and alcohol accelerate the spread of a flame with the strike of a match. Longer burning fuel like coal and wood chips can replace firewood if your supply runs out. Rolling paper, like newspapers, tightly will produce a slower burn as well. Extreme situations have even called for the burning of furniture.

Other tidbits:

Sectioning yourself off to one room in your home will keep you and your family warm until help arrives and the power turns back on. Hang towels or bedding over any windows or doors that may carry a draft. Avoid opening the refrigerator or freezer unless necessary. Your food will stay cold and the house won’t become any cooler. Keep some sort of fire extinguishing substance like baking soda, water, or salt near by your heating source. Someone should always be watching the heat source at all times to ensure proper ventilation. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a real threat without some airflow out of the room.

Being prepared means being able to keep your cool and have a plan. Let us know if you have any questions about what to do in a power outage.

By Julie Dismore on October 14th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Emergency heating solutions during power outages

When and how to open and close your damper

While we have no doubt that your fireplace and chimney are well-maintained and inspected regularly, all the various parts can still be confusing to the homeowner. There is so much that isn’t seen from the exterior, and it is hard to remember that there is a lot more going on inside your stove and fireplace. The damper is one of the most essential parts of the fireplace, and is the most important for ventilation, saving you time and money in the long-term.

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What is a damper?

Anyone who has ever lit a fire with good intentions and ended up with a smoke-filled house has quickly realized the importance of a damper. A damper is a metal or ceramic flap that controls the passing of various gases in and out of your home. They are found in fireplaces with both wood and gas fires because both emit gas. A manual control by some sort of handle, latch, or chain moves the flap located in the chimney. A very simple device, yet necessary to keep in top working order.

How to open and close a damper:

The handle, lever, or chain, is usually located in the firebox. To open or close it, move or pull the device into the open position. If you are unsure of the position, it will be clear after a fire is lit. Use a pair of pliers or an oven mitt if it’s hot to the touch to change the position. The damper is imperative in keeping your house well ventilated when a fire is lit in your fireplace or stove, and should remain completely open until the initial smoke subsides. Once the fire is established, the damper can then be adjusted to control its intensity. When the fire begins to die down, slowly close the damper as the smoke subsides, only closing it fully when there is no longer any flame or visible smoke. By keeping it completely closed when the chimney isn’t in use, it also saves you money by keeping cold air from coming into your warm house. The best benefit of a damper is that you control the airflow, not Mother Nature.

As always, we emphasize the importance of keeping your chimney professionally swept and inspected. During our exams we check to see that your damper is in working order, but knowing how to work your damper will come in handy on these cool nights! Keeping your fireplace clear of ash and soot will also allow the damper to do its job more effectively, and will save you money in the long run. For other questions give Beach Stove and Fireplace a call at 631-998-0780 and we will answer any confusion you may have about the mysterious chimney.

By Julie Dismore on September 23rd, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on When and how to open and close your damper

Weekly Maintenance for Pellet Stoves

So you have decided on a wood pellet stove to warm your home. This is a great idea for a multitude of reasons, but making sure to give your new stove a weekly cleaning will allow it to run smoothly and limit the amount of problems that might come up.

Why are pellet stoves so special?

There is an obvious reason that they are gaining in popularity: they have a great reputation of saving energy and money for their owners. The combination of the traditional wood-burning stove  and the technology to keep you running back and forth to the woodpile, results in a stove that runs off of compressed sawdust and other materials. Not only affordable, the pellets are also putting to use sawdust that would otherwise be disposed of. Not only does it use recycled wood waste materials, the stove itself uses a very particular ratio of fuel to air, which allows for a clean, steady burn that doesn’t emit a lot of smoke and creosote into your chimney.

pellet-stove-maintenance-image-westhampton-beach-ny-beach-stove-and-fireplaceWhat maintenance is needed for the pellet stove?

New Stove:

Pellet stoves are incredibly low-maintenance, but nonetheless need to be kept on a regular cleaning schedule, much like the rest of your home! Unless you are skilled enough to install the stove yourself, hiring a professional to install it may cut down any problems down the road. Once installed, check the stove, and especially the hopper (where the pellets are held) for any foreign objects that might cause the stove to not run properly. Understanding how the stove works will limit issues later on.

For the Cooler Weather:

Now that fall is quickly coming upon us, it is time to catch up on that cleaning schedule. Thoroughly clearing your stove and chimney of debris and old pellets should be done before you light up for the cooler weather. Make sure to give us a call here at Beach Stove and Fireplace to come give your chimney a sweeping and inspection, as well as looking at your pellet stove to make sure it’s running efficiently.

Weekly Maintenance:

Besides just paying attention to how the stove sounds and operates for any signs of problems, a weekly cleaning takes only a few minutes of vacuuming up ash and scrubbing to keep your stove looking pristine. Take out as much of the ash as possible and wipe down inside surfaces. The glass on your stove can be cleaned using a glass cleaner, and any buildup on the glass can typically be removed with steel wool.

With the upcoming cold season approaching us, it is important to keep your pellet stove clean and functioning. Not only is having a pellet stove efficient, but also it will save you time and money to take care of it. If you are interested in one of our custom pellet stoves, have questions about maintenance, or need to schedule your seasonal chimney sweeping and inspection, don’t hesitate to call!

By Julie Dismore on September 5th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Weekly Maintenance for Pellet Stoves

It’s Time to Think About a Fire Pit

During this transition between the hot summer months and the cooler fall, it is a perfect time to think about adding a fire pit to your backyard paradise. Sitting outside with a drink and the smell of burning wood wafting into your nostrils is a great scene and an even better event space for entertaining others. As people add more and more accessories to their backyards, installing an attractive, crackling fire pit is just what the doctor ordered.

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What to consider when adding a fire pit:

Like any new fixture in your home, it is important to consider all the choices before settling on the final product. What do you want out of your fire pit? Having simply a nice ambiance can result in a different product than one created for serious heat. Your budget can be another big factor. Starting at around $100, the choice to install it yourself, or have one that simply sits on the ground, will quickly filter out many of the competitors. If your budget is more in the range of several thousand dollars to more than $10,000, there are many more options to choose from, especially if you want a custom fire pit that matches the décor of your house and outside entertaining space. Deciding if you want your fire pit to be in your yard permanently or temporarily can also alter your options. If you can see the fire pit being a permanent fixture as the season changes, having one custom built with the proper materials and stones is essential. Having a choice in the metal, either copper, stainless steel, or cast iron, that forms the bowl of your fire pit can add or detract from the ambiance you are trying to achieve.

What to be careful of:

Within your own backyard, it is easy to lose sight of the dangers that are associated with fire, especially when left unattended. Keep your fire pit centrally located, in full view of yourself and your guests. Clearing away any brush or tree limbs that are anywhere near the pit will limit the chances for something to catch on fire. Before lighting the fire, make sure the wood you’re using doesn’t throw sparks excessively (common among pine or cedar wood), and take note of the wind patterns. Using soft wood or lighting a fire when it is excessively windy is a safety hazard for both you and your guests. Besides designing the right ambiance, ensuring that your fire pit follows all the local laws and community rules is absolutely necessary. Many have regulations limiting how close your fire pit can be from other homes, and some may even require a permit or site inspection to make sure there is no chance of your fire pit catching something like a fence or tree branch on fire.

There is no time like the present to consider adding a fire pit to your outdoor setting! Give us a call at 631-998-0780 with questions about your fire pit options.

By Julie Dismore on August 26th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s Time to Think About a Fire Pit

The Benefits of Glass Doors on Fireplaces

Your fireplace is the focal point of any room, both beautiful and functional. Whether gas or the more traditional wood, it adds value to your home and can be customized based on your preferences and lifestyle. Adding glass doors to your fireplace will not only heighten the allure and ambience of the area, but provide several other benefits as well:

Safety:

An open fire is a hazard for pets and children as they are attracted to the glow and are curious and exploring creatures. Even oblivious adults can hurt themselves if sitting too close or not being careful around the flame. Doors that separate the fire from the rest of the room give you peace of mind, and protect the innocent and unaware. Glass doors will keep any sparks or flying embers from hurting your loved ones, or damaging your flooring. Your home furnishings, and therefore your home, will be protected.

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Lower Costs:

Installing glass doors in your home aren’t only safe, though that alone is reason enough, they are also very cost efficient. The warm air that is in your house, as a result of your fire, actually stays in your house! Glass doors seal off air from escaping up the chimney, so your house stays at a warmer temperature, and you don’t have to pay extra money for another heat source. Dampers just don’t do the job: actual doors are the only way to keep your fireplace sealed off.

Efficiency:

Not only do glass doors keep your fireplace sealed off, they also transfer heat extremely well. The doors radiate the heat emitted from a fireplace much more evenly around the room. Since they are located so close to the fire itself, they are also able to transfer a larger percentage of heat emitted by the flames, as opposed to what we could feel without getting burned. Because the fire is enclosed, the logs produce a higher temperature flame, which is then released evenly into the room via the glass doors.

Beauty and Style:

Getting glass doors is a simple step towards creating a more relaxed, classier environment. They come in a variety of shapes and styles that you can choose depending on the décor and look you desire. Though we encourage an annual chimney and fireplace inspection and sweep, if you do have an unsightly fireplace, glass doors will conceal it. Ashes and blackened logs don’t have to ruin the ambiance you worked so hard to create.

There are so many reasons to install glass doors. If you have any questions about how to add extra allure to your home, or are curious about other services we provide, don’t hesitate to visit our website or call us.

By Julie Dismore on August 9th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Benefits of Glass Doors on Fireplaces

Choosing a Fuel Source: Finding the Right Fuel for Your Needs

When it comes to maintaining and enjoying your fireplace, it’s important to select the fuel source that best meets your needs. There are several options available, all of which offer different levels of effort and maintenance, and ultimately, different benefits.

Being informed is the most important step you can take before selecting the fuel source for your fireplace; here’s the lowdown on the different types of fuel sources available, as well as a few benefits and drawbacks they present homeowners.

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Traditional Firewood

There’s nothing quite like a wood crackling fire. The atmosphere created by burning wood logs in your fireplace is associated with comfort, coziness and relaxation.

The glow and crackle of a fire is something we can all appreciate. No other option offers the signature fireplace experience that is offered by wood logs.

Unfortunately, there are downsides to choosing this fuel source.
Burning wood can create pollution in your home and lead to the formation of creosote in your chimney. Without a professional chimney cleaning on a regular basis, creosote can cause chimney fires.

For many people, the biggest drawback to wood logs is the work of splitting, seasoning and hauling the logs. You’ll also need to create a space to store the firewood that is out of the elements, since moist wood will not burn.

Choosing wood logs can lead to challenges for people who don’t have the time, energy or physical stamina to maintain a supply of seasoned firewood for their unit.

Pellets

An increasing number of homeowners and consumers are choosing pellet stoves to reduce utility costs and supplement the use of their furnaces. These stoves can be freestanding or can function as a fireplace insert, making them versatile as well as efficient. In fact, pellet stoves can heat your home with an efficiency rate as high as 90%.

The fuel for these stoves, pellets, are small pieces of matter composed of things like sawdust, wood shavings, and similar biomass wastes; they are often made using materials that would otherwise have been dumped into a landfill.

Because of the pellets’ consistency, they burn hotter and more cleanly than wood logs. The compression of the pellets during manufacture reduces the amount of moisture inside, allowing the pellets to give off more heat and release fewer particulates than cord wood. Additionally, pellet-burning stoves or inserts allow you to enjoy the ambiance of a traditional fireplace, without the hassle of gathering, seasoning and hauling firewood.

Fireplace pellets are also great for homeowners who do not have a gas hookup or do not want to invest in having one installed.

One of the drawbacks of choosing pellets as your fuel source can be the work of hauling and dumping the pellets (which often come in 40 pounds bags) into the auger; pellets also need to be stored inside to maintain optimum dryness.

Gas Logs

Of all of the fuel-source options, gas logs are the most user-friendly. After all, you can simply flip a switch and enjoy an instant fire.

Additionally, gas logs provide more efficient heating than pellets or wood logs; they also reduce the likelihood of a fire-related hazard in your home, since there’s no chance of a crackling ember escaping the fireplace.

There is also no chopping, storing, seasoning or hauling of firewood as with traditional wood logs. There is no hauling, storing and dumping of pellets for a pellet stove. You also won’t have to clean out ashes after using your unit.

Of course, there are a few downsides to gas logs. Gas units don’t offer the crackling and aroma associated with a traditional wood fire, and many homeowners don’t want to spend money on propane or natural gas.

If these drawbacks don’t bother you, gas logs are still the most practical fireplace fuel source for those who want a low-maintenance, user-friendly experience. For elderly people or those with physical disabilities, transitioning to a gas log fireplace can dramatically reduce the frustration and effort of enjoying a fire.

Beach Stove and Fireplace of Westhampton has professionals on hand to answer all of your fireplace fuel source questions; contact us today!

By Julie Dismore on July 28th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Choosing a Fuel Source: Finding the Right Fuel for Your Needs

Our Location

Beach Stove and Fireplace is located on Old Riverhead Road between Montauk Highway and Sunrise Highway. From Sunrise Highway take exit 63 south, travel 1.2 miles and turn right at the 381 complex (just north of Gabreski Airport)