Cre-away... Anti- creo-soot (ACS) ...spray the inner walls with ACS ... a little in the logs and light it up hot. When the temp gets there...a few squirts of cre-away powder up into the pipe outlet and let it go up the chimney while hot. Do this a couple of times before end of season and then give it some time to work. I usually forget about it for a few months and everything creosote has crack, dried, and cleans with a wire brush.
If you can't find a heat shield you can fabricate some with sheet metal. You could make some that has feet that you can stand next to the stove on either side; painted flat black for appearance. There are also mats/carpets that are made for use in front of a wood stove to protect the floor from embers.
Those carpets/mats at TCS don’t qualify in my book. Research and you’ll find higher quality ones that are safer to use.
Hoytman is right the tractor supply ones are junk. There are better ones but they still are not enough. You need a real hearth yours is not big enough it needs extended.
