Expert: James Ball - 2/20/2010

Question
Can I remove the smoke shelf permanently?  There is no way to get to it to keep it free of creosote except to remove the damper air flow rods, which takes a contortionist to put the cotter pins back in (took over an hour the first time).  Since I can't keep it free of debris, my stove smokes inside the house when I open the door to put in a piece of wood. (P.S. The shelf is made out of some sort of fireproof styrofoam, or something like that.)

Answer
Hello Catherine, you do not state what kind of stove you have and there are literally  hundreds, contact the manufacturer and consult the owners manual for that stove more than likely you have to have that shelf so do not remove it.
as far as it smoking when you open the door it might be negative pressure of the home so crack a wood or window to release that prsure also you might not be burning it correctly and that is why it builds up so quickly or you are burning so much it is a normal build up and needs more frequent cleanings.
James