How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

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

A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker under or beside the grate to make sure your stove won't produce a lot of harmful pollutants.

How to Start a Wood Fire

The smell and the sound of a woodfire is a welcome addition in any house. It is essential to understand how to build an effective fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not to burn well, and may produce smoke or creosote. The following tips can aid you in starting a fire that will heat your home with minimum effort and with the highest safety.

Make sure to check the condition of your coals and logs before you begin an fire. If they're damp, it will smother your fire and prevent the proper burning. You may want to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by placing a few small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean in the stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. After the tinder and kindling are beginning to burn, you can add a layer of larger kindling pieces on the top. This should be done with the crosshatch pattern to ensure that there is air between each piece.

If you have a wood stove with an automatic control of combustion, it will automatically feed an air stream that is controlled to your flame as it heats. This allows the fire to burn continuously without you having to open the door of your stove frequently to check on it.

Avoid using excessive tinder since it will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not utilize the fuel effectively. If you have a nice pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, start the main fire by laying two large base logs across the grill. Then, on top of these base logs lay a layer parallel to them. This method of constructing the fire is known as a "top-down" fire can result in a successful and long-lasting fire that does not overtake the larger base logs.

When your fire is established shut off the damper and ensure it stays closed. The fire may be smothered by opening the damper prior to it being fully established. It can also decrease the effectiveness of the fire.

Add Wood

Stoves can be used to efficiently heat your home and also save you money. They can be used together with a central heating system or furnace to provide supplemental heat in large homes. A lot of the stoves that burn clean employ a superior combustion process that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by providing air in two distinct stages. The first stage is for the vaporization process, and the second stage is to supply fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves combustion and decreases odors.

The amount of heat you will get from a stove depends on the species and moisture content of the wood used and also the dimensions of logs. To let the wood dry, logs should be stored in a ventilated location for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are soaked with excessive moisture, they'll produce steam that is in essence wasted power.

When you are burning the fire, you should add more wood to the pile at intervals, but not all at once. In addition, adding too much fireplaces wood burning stoves at once causes the temperature in the firebox to rise and creates a vortex that draws smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame which can reduce the efficiency of your stove.

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

It is essential to have a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician will test the installation to ensure safe operation and safety, and also ensure that your chimney is working properly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in tip-top shape. They can inspect the areas accessible to your chimney for leaks, and fix any issues that are found. They will also make sure that all house occupants understand and comply with the fire evacuation guidelines in the event of an emergency.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper controls the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney when you aren't using your stove. It can also be used to regulate the flame. If the flue opens but the damper is not closed, the fire will not burn properly and smoke will erupt into your home. To get the best fire with the damper properly adjusted, you should test different settings and observe how each one affects the flames.

Typically, you'll want to keep the damper open enough to let air in and out of the flue while the fire is burning. This allows the fire to get a good fire going and keeps it lit so you can enjoy it for long periods of time. The right opening can stop the fire from becoming depleted of air and keep it from blowing smoke.

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

Once the fire has burned for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its original position. This will prevent warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.

This is the best way to ensure that your fire is lit and keep it from getting too hot. The draft might be stopped if you close the damper too far, but a cold wind could be able to enter your home if the damper is left open.

You can check to see how much the damper is opened by placing your hand on the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you can feel a slight draft pressing against your hand, it is probably in the open position.

The damper setting can vary slightly from one stove to another and even between different kinds of wood. You can experiment with various settings to get an idea of the most suitable setting for your stove.

Clean up

After the fire, it's important to clean the stove and flue. This will help lower the risk of a chimney fire which is the most common cause of wood stove related fires in homes. Creosote is a sticky material that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that cannot escape the fire. It can be caused by improperly lit fires.

Regular cleaning can help stop the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney once every year. It is recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally inspected and cleaned at least once a year.

Also, it's recommended to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is recommended to burn only seasoned wood, as it will produce less creosote. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. They can release chemicals that can be dangerous for the flue and air, which could be released into your home.

It is also essential to wash the glass of the wood-burning stove on a regular basis. A lot of modern wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, which means that they do not require any cleaning. You can apply stove glass cleaners to 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 burning (click to find out more) stove include turning the vent down when you're not using it and cracking windows or doors to increase air flow. This will ensure that the fire is burning hotter, and more efficient. The wood stove won't have to be as active to circulate air. It is a good idea not to stack logs, or let them sit on the fire for an extended duration. This can lead to splits and warping. Finally, it is best to avoid using compressed combustible logs in your wood stove as the paraffin they contain can melt and then flow down the flue which could cause damage to the stove.