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FreshDuct cleans, sweeps and services Coonara wood heaters across Melbourne — freestanding units and the inbuilt models fitted into an existing masonry opening. Flue swept, firebox stripped, glass and seals checked, everything photographed.
Inbuilt Coonara in an old brick chimney? The flue kit inside the stack is the part that needs looking at.
Coonara has been manufacturing wood heaters in Australia since the early 1980s, and the brand is an Australian Made Campaign licensee. That long production run is the single most useful thing to know before servicing one: the units we open up in Melbourne homes span four decades of production, and a heater installed in the 1990s is a genuinely different machine from one installed last year, even where the model name carried over.
The current range splits into freestanding models and inbuilt models, and the split matters more than anything else on this page. A freestanding unit sits in the room on its own hearth with a visible flue running up through the ceiling. An inbuilt sits inside a masonry fireplace opening, with its flue kit running up inside the existing brick chimney and a fascia covering the gap. Same fuel, same fire, completely different service access.
Coonara publishes heating capacity in squares — the inbuilt models are quoted up to roughly 22 and 28 squares, and the larger freestanding units up to about 30. That figure is worth knowing because a heater sized well above the room it heats gets run slowly and starved of air for most of the season, and slow smoky burning is exactly what lays down creosote in a flue. Half the “my heater is dirty” calls we take are really a sizing or operating problem showing up as soot.
We service both configurations. On a freestanding unit we sweep the flue from the appliance up, strip and clean the firebox, and check the door and glass. On an inbuilt we do the same plus inspect the annulus inside the masonry stack, because that void collects debris, and if the original installation left it open, it is also a path for smoke.
Only facts published by the manufacturer or the Australian Made Campaign. We do not quote model specifications we cannot source.
The faults we actually find when we open one up in a Melbourne home.
On an inbuilt installation the appliance vents through a steel flue running up inside the old brick chimney. We sweep that flue properly from the appliance end, and we check the seal where it meets the appliance spigot. Where the annulus around it has filled with mortar droppings, old soot or nesting material, we clear it — that debris can bank up on a register plate and eventually fall back onto the heater.
Even airwash on a large door glass depends on the primary and secondary air paths being clear. When one side of a Coonara door blackens and the other stays clean, it is usually a partially blocked air channel, an air slide that no longer travels its full range, or a load pushed too close to the glass. We clean the air channels out rather than just polishing the glass and handing it back.
The rope gasket around a firebox door compresses and carbonises over seasons. Once it stops sealing, the unit draws air it is not meant to draw, burns faster, gets harder to control on the air slide and runs the flue hotter. We test the door seal on every service and replace the rope where it has hardened or pulled out of its channel.
The baffle above the firebox is a consumable. Steel baffles distort with heat over time and firebricks crack, and both change how the fire burns before anyone notices a performance problem. We pull the baffle on every service, look at the plate and the bricks underneath, photograph what we find and tell you honestly whether it needs replacing now or can run another season.
A Coonara inbuilt is frequently fitted into a Victorian or Edwardian brick chimney in the inner suburbs. The heater can be in fine condition while the stack around it is not — a cracked crown, failed flashing or spalled brickwork lets water into the masonry and it shows up as damp on the chimney breast, not as a heater fault.
FreshDuct recommends an annual sweep and service for a wood heater used through a normal Melbourne winter, done before the season rather than after it. Bring that forward if you burn hard or unseasoned wood, if you run the unit closed down overnight most nights, or if the glass is blackening within days of a clean.
Real FreshDuct chimney and flue photos. Documented before and after on every job. None of these images is presented as a particular brand of appliance.
FreshDuct is an independent chimney and fireplace service company. On a Coonara we sweep the flue, strip and clean the firebox, clear the air channels, inspect the baffle and firebricks, test and replace door rope seals, replace cracked door glass where a suitable ceramic replacement can be cut and fitted, and inspect the flue system and its terminal from the roof where access allows.
What we do not do is pretend to be the manufacturer. Warranty work, a factory replacement part for a current model, or anything the maker specifies must be done by its own network goes back to Coonara or the dealer you bought it from. We will tell you plainly when that is the right call rather than improvising a repair on someone else’s appliance.
Book a Coonara ServiceWe service Coonara wood heaters right across metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding ranges. The inbuilt installations cluster in the older brick-chimney suburbs — Fitzroy, Carlton, Northcote, Kew, Hawthorn, Malvern and Brighton — where a masonry fireplace was already there and a cassette went into it.
Freestanding units dominate further out, through Eltham, Warrandyte, Ringwood, the Dandenong Ranges, the Yarra Valley and the Macedon Ranges, where blocks are larger, firewood is closer to hand and the heater is genuinely the main heat source rather than a feature. Those units run harder and longer, and they earn their annual service.
A full appliance and flue service, documented, in one visit.
Freestanding or inbuilt, and how the flue actually runs.
Hearth and floor covered, negative-pressure containment set up.
Mechanically swept from the appliance, debris captured not spread.
Baffle out, bricks checked, air channels cleared, ash removed.
Door rope and glass gasket tested and replaced where needed.
Before and after images plus a written condition note on the day.
Verified 5-star reviews from across FreshDuct’s chimney, fireplace, duct, heating and insulation services. These are company-wide reviews from our Melbourne customer base — not reviews of any particular appliance brand.
“Allen provided exceptional service — friendly, professional and went above and beyond.”
“Highly impressed with the professionalism and efficiency. On time, and no mess left behind.”
“Exceeded my expectations. Knowledgeable, meticulous and respectful of our home.”
“So glad I chose FreshDuct. Knowledgeable team and the whole process was smooth from start to finish.”
“Quick, efficient and professional — we could immediately feel the difference.”
“The technician arrived on time and was incredibly thorough — the difference at home is obvious.”
A Coonara service often turns up work for one of these.
Yes, and we quote them differently because they are different jobs. A freestanding unit has an accessible flue we can sweep from the appliance and inspect at the terminal. An inbuilt sits in a masonry opening with its flue kit inside the old chimney, so we also inspect the void around that flue and the condition of the brick stack itself.
No. FreshDuct is an independent chimney and fireplace service company with no affiliation to Coonara or its distributors. We clean, sweep, inspect and service the appliance and its flue. For warranty claims or manufacturer parts, contact Coonara or your original supplier.
FreshDuct recommends once a year for a heater used through a Melbourne winter, ideally before the season starts. Sweep more often if you burn unseasoned wood, run the unit shut right down overnight, or notice the glass darkening within a few days of being cleaned. Those are all signs the flue is loading faster than a single annual sweep will keep up with.
Usually yes. Firebox door glass is ceramic rather than ordinary glass and can generally be cut and fitted to the door, and rope gasket is replaced to the correct diameter for the channel. We do not claim to supply genuine branded spares — we fit suitable service parts and tell you exactly what we have used.
On an inbuilt the usual suspects are a blocked or restricted flue kit, debris sitting on the register plate inside the masonry, a poor seal at the appliance spigot, or downdraft off the chimney terminal. Those are four different repairs, so we inspect before quoting rather than guessing. Never keep running an appliance that is pushing smoke into a room.
Coonara produces gas log heaters as well as wood heaters. FreshDuct cleans and inspects the flue system and the non-gas serviceable parts of a gas appliance. In Victoria, work on the gas-carrying components is a licensed trade regulated by Energy Safe Victoria and must be done by a licensed gasfitter, so we scope that work correctly rather than touching it.
Flue swept, firebox stripped, seals tested and everything photographed. Independent, honest and available 7 days.
Tell us the model and whether it is freestanding or inbuilt.
