How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a room and conserve energy. They do require some maintenance.

Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker either under or on the grate to ensure your stove doesn't create lots of harmful pollutants.

How to Start a Wood Fire

The sound and smell of a wood burning stove outdoor fire can be a wonderful feature in any house. It's crucial to learn the proper way to create a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in an unburned fire that doesn't burn effectively and can cause creosote or smoke. These tips will aid you in starting the fire that will warm your home with minimum effort and maximum safety.

Before you start a fire, check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet, they will smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You might also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has been deposited into the stove.

Begin by placing a few small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean into your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and kindling. Once these begin to burn, add another layer of larger pieces of kindling to the top of the pile. This should be done using an arc pattern so that there is air between each piece.

If you have a wood stove with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically feed an air stream that is controlled to your fire as it grows. This will help the fire to burn at a steady pace without having to constantly open the stove wood burning door to maintain it.

Do not use too much tinder, as it will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not utilize the fuel efficiently. If you have a nice bed of tinder and kindling in your stove, begin the main fire by placing two large logs of the base across the grill. Then, on the top of these base logs lay a layer parallel to them. This "top-down" method of creating the fireplace will create a long-lasting, efficient fire that doesn't completely engulf larger logs from the base.

Once the fire is established shut off the damper and keep it closed. Opening the damper too soon can cause the fire to be smothered, and it will not allow for the correct air flow, which will reduce its efficiency.

Adding Wood

Stoves are not just beautiful home decor pieces - they can help you save money by providing efficient wood heating. They can be utilized together with a central heating system or furnace to provide additional heat in large homes. A lot of the clean-burning stoves on the market utilize a superior combustion method that differentiates the burning process of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by providing air in two different stages. The first stage is for the vaporization and the second stage is to supply pre-heated fresh air. This improves combustion and decreases the odors.

The amount of heat that you will get from your stove will depend on both the species of wood used and the amount of moisture and the size of the logs. To let the wood dry, the logs should be stored in a well ventilated area for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are not dry enough they will release lots of steam, which is essentially wasted energy.

You should add wood to the pile at intervals and not all at once. Addition of too much wood at once could cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, causing the formation of a vortex that pulls smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into flames. This could reduce the efficiency of your stove.

Avoid the use of other combustibles such as paper or cardboard in your stove, because they are not wood and have different physical properties that can't be burned safely without creating dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. You should not burn combustibles that are compressed, such as wood briquettes since they are different in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not approved by the type to be burned in wood-burning stoves.

It is crucial that a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician can test your stove to ensure that it is safe and efficient. They will also check that your chimney works correctly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in tip-top shape. They will look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and fix any problems they find. They will also make sure that all occupants of the home understand and follow the evacuation procedure in the event of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

When you're not cooking on your stove, a damper controls the amount of heat lost through the chimney. In addition, it can also help manage the fire. If the flue is not open but the damper is too closed, the fire will not burn as efficiently and it will release smoke into your living space. To get the most effective fire using your damper adjusted properly you should experiment with different settings and observe how each affects the flames.

Typically, you want to keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue while the fire is burning. This will allow the fire to start and stay lit for several hours. A proper opening will keep the fire from being starved of air, and also prevent it from blowing smoke.

To adjust your damper correctly, you must first ensure that the fireplace has been preheated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure the chimney is warm and also that it has a strong draft. Once this is done, the wood stove damper can be adjusted.

Once the fire has burned slightly, you need to shut the damper down to about three-quarters of its full position. This will stop warm air from the room from going up the chimney while still allowing smoke to escape out of the wood stove.

This is the most effective way to keep the fire from becoming too hot while still keeping it lit. The draft may be stopped if you shut the damper too tightly but a cold wind could enter your home when the damper is left open.

You can check to see how much the damper is open by placing your hands near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a small draft pushing on your hand it is probably in the open position.

The damper setting can vary slightly from one stove to the next and even between different types of wood. You can experiment with various settings to get a sense of the best setting for your stove.

Clean Up

It is essential to clean your stove and flue after a fire. This can reduce the chance of a fire in the chimney which is the main cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that accumulates on the stovepipe's interior and can be extremely hazardous. Unburned and moist particles of wood that are unable to escape the fire are the cause for this chemical. It can be caused by improperly lit fires.

A regular cleaning routine can help to prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be done by cleaning your chimney once a year. It is also recommended to get your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a year.

Also, it is recommended to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is recommended to only use seasoned wood to burn, since this will result in less creosote and less ash. Avoid burning paper, cardboard and plastic. These can release harmful chemicals for the flue and stove wood burning atmosphere, which may be released into your home.

It is also essential to wash the glass of the wood-burning stove regularly. Many newer wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require any scrubs. You can use stove glass cleaners on the glass if you aren't getting the glass as clean as you want on your wood stove.

Other suggestions for maintaining your wood stove are to turn the vent off when you're not using it and cracking the door or window to increase the flow of air. This will ensure that the fire is burning hotter, and more efficient. The wood stove will not need to work as hard in order to circulate air. It is also a good idea not stack logs or keep them in the fire for long periods of time, as this could cause splitting and warping. It is recommended to avoid using combustible compressed wood in your wood stove because the paraffin contained within the wood can melt and then flow into the flue and cause damage.