So, you’ve bought a wood stove or installed a new wood-burning fireplace insert and are now beginning to save money on your heating bills – it’s great. However, just because you’ve bought your stove and had it installed, doesn’t mean it is all done and dusted.
Wood stoves create a lot of excess waste during the burning process and depending on the model of stove you own that can lead to maintenance work to ensure your stove is cleaned and working efficiently.
That’s where your wood burning stove tools come into play!
And plus, stove tools certainly do add to the overall decoration and rustic charm to a room and make the perfect accompaniment to a wood stove in any room!
Quick Picks: Wood Burning Stove Tools Compared
- Dimensions: 31" x 12"
- Material: Wrought Iron
- Pieces: 5 (including stand)
This is the perfect stove tool set for any room, not only does it look stunning and quite unique compared to most that you see, it’s elegant style would add to rustic or modern minimalist styled rooms.
That’s if you have the walking space to spare though, as it’s not as compact as other models and can add to the clutter of smaller rooms.
However, being so large, it does make a greater statement as a result!
This set includes the major stove tools that you would need for managing and cleaning up after your fire, including a poker, shovel, brush and tongs. They are made from heavy duty wrought iron, are resistant to heat and have a beautiful textured coating to make them look luxurious!
The base is fairly heavy but this is by design, it helps to keep the whole tool set stood up and prevent it form being easily knocked over. What’s great about this design is that it’s hard to knock the tools off the hooks when trying to reach one tool, as is common with other models.
- Dimensions: 29.1" x 15.8" x 11.8"
- Material: Wrought Iron
- Pieces: 5 (including stand)
This stove tool set may not be the most beautiful example, and is not for those that are look for aesthetics over practicality but the reason it ranks so high is because of how highly functional it is!
It comes with the 4 main tools that we are familiar with but also doubles up as an indoor/outdoor firewood rack! This is fantastic and it can be used outdoors as well as indoors.
It’s very large, and so would only really be worth it if you are planning on using it outside with a fire pit or for a stove in quite a large room. But it has all of your firewood handily stacked and ready for use. The whole thing, including the tools is made from wrought iron, so it’s durable and heat resistant.
The bottom most platform is raised 2 inches form the floor, and this is to keep your firewood dry and away from pests that might decide to use it as a home.
What’s more is that it has a good capacity for wood storage as you can see in the image. The tools also have an ergonomic design, are easy to use, and store away neatly!
- Dimensions: 21" Height
- Material: Brass Finish
- Pieces: 5 (including stand)
Now for those of you who are looking for an elegant, stand-out piece to sit next to your fireplace, this honorable knight brings a degree of Gothic European history to your room!
The craft work that goes into making these tools, and the especially the knightly tool holder is impeccable with the poker made to look like a halberd!
While this stove tool set is certainly stylish, the tools themselves are not that great to use. The brush is not effective and they’re not really comfortable to hold.
In fact, this one is more of a show piece than one you would actually use and you would probably want some more robust tools near by to actually use for the fire.
- Dimensions: 31" Height
- Material: Wrought Iron + Brass
- Pieces: 5 (including stand)
If you are not quite into the knight but you are still after elegance, and if you still value practicality but would rather a compact set of stove tools, then look no further!
This set of 5 stove tools is highly functional and has the classic design of hanging from a central pillar to save space. Yet it still adds so much charm to your room, especially with the shining brass handles which reflects the flickering of your fire.
The tool handles are nice and long and sit in the hand comfortably. They are easy to use but the are easy to knock over and fall out of the stand.
Stove Tools - For Stove Maintenance and Safety
Tools aren’t just needed to ensure the stove remains clean. The stove also needs tools to ensure you are using the stove in the safest possible way. Without tools for the stove, it can be a danger to use and not work efficiently.
For example, a stove that hasn’t been cleaned will not only release more toxic fumes into your home, it will also not heat up the home the way you want it to. Remembering that a stove consists of a fire, it is always important to follow safety precautions to ensure that the stove is being used correctly and safely.
There is potential for you to hurt yourself, damage the stove or even damage your surroundings, or worse – cause a fire.
Stove kits exist and can be bought separately from your stove. These kits basically include the most effective stove tools so that you don’t have to buy them all individually. The kits are often an inexpensive but useful add-on for your stove.
What Types Of Stove Tools Are There?
Most of the tools are made with a specific function in mind and are effective at doing a certain job as easy and as safe as possible. A few examples of these are:
The Poker
A poker is basically a long stick that is used to rearrange the wood that is in the firebox. Despite sounding useless, a poker stick is a massive safety tool as it allows the user to move and manipulate the wooden chips without risking getting their fingers burnt. If the stove becomes too hot, or if the chips aren’t burning correctly, the poker is a risk-free way to adjust them.
When purchasing a poker, some of them can be suited better to different types of stove. There are pokers for coal stoves as well as wooden stoves. Most wooden stove pokers come with a right angle crook on the working end, to make your task a little easier.
The Shovel/Tongs
A shovel is a very useful and effective small tool that can make tasks with the stove a lot easier. With a shovel, you will be able to remove the ashes from the firebox without getting burnt. The shovel will sweep up all of the ashes that are left after the wood chips have been burnt with ease.
All’s that’s left to do is to put the contents of the shovel into the trash- simple. The shovel can also help put the wood chips into the stove. You can pick up all of the chips you want to place into the stove, and then simply throw them in. This will help protect you from getting burnt and is also an effective way of getting more chips into the stove without the need for multiple trips.
With shovels, you can get cheaper and expensive ones. Some shovels are purpose made to look like a beautiful ornament in front of your stove and can be just as effective at its job.
Tongs have been included with this because both do a similar job. Although purchasing both don’t recommend; the choice purely depends on personal preference. Tongs allow you to easily pick up pieces of ash in specific areas that a shovel couldn’t get to because of its larger surface area, whereas the shovel offers more protection when cleaning, and also allows you to pick more up. The tongs can be very convenient, just placed on top of the stove for you to use whenever.
Whisk Broom
One of the easiest pieces of stove kit is this small broom. The broom allows you to easily sweep any ash that has fallen onto the floor or any barks of wood. This means you can keep both your stove and your stoves surroundings looking as clean as needed.
Ash Rake
An ash rake is just a smaller version of the garden sized rake, and it does the same job that a garden rake does with leaves but with ashes. This makes cleaning a lot safer because you don’t have to stretch your arm into the stove to clean it up. The rake will clear up the ash from the firebox easier, by sweeping them towards you. The rake can also be really effective at adjusting and pushing fuel into the right positions; all with the comfort of knowing your arm is stretching inside of the stove.
About the Author
Dave Miller is a HVAC technician with over 10 years in the industry. Dave created HeatTalk with the ambition for it to become a resource for individuals looking for answers, whether they be a layman, student or a professional.