Tar build up on oven door

[Sharkey]

Hello,
New to wood fired ovens I fear I may have done something wrong. Used oven on Sunday night, no issues, checked it last night to clean it out to discover a thick tar like deposit on the back of the door and on the door surround. It hasn't done this before and wondered if I had done something wrong and if there was a way to now clean it?

[oblertone]

For lack of any other suggestions I'd be looking at what fuel I used as some will leave much more residue than others. Heat is just about the only thing that will shift it, unfortunately closing the door will probably kill the fire.

Is this a new build oven or just new to you ? If it's a completely new build it will not be reaching full operating temperature just yet as it's still drying out.

[gregr]

I'm not that experienced with wood burning ovens but i have a lot of experience of fires in general. It sounds to me like you closed the door of the oven whilst the wood was still burning, but it wasn't sealed sufficiently to fully extinguish the fire. The result is combustion limited by the rate of air seeping into the oven. This type of 'air controlled' burning can give rise to the thick tarry deposits you describe. The best way to clean the oven will be to burn it off with a good hot fire inside the oven. As for the door, maybe sanding it?

[rivergirl]

I have noticed with my log burner that if I use wood that's not dry enough I get a tar build up , so there's one or two suggestions for you!