How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a room and save energy. However, they require a certain amount of maintenance.

A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can check for an EPA sticker on the grate or under it to ensure your stove doesn't emit harmful pollutants.

How to start a Wood Fire

The sound and smell of a wood fire can be a welcome feature in any home. However, it is important to know the correct method to create a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in a fire which does not burn effectively, and can produce smoke or creosote. These tips will aid you in starting an fire that can heat your home with the least effort and ensure your safety.

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

Begin by putting a handful of small dry pieces of newspaper into your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and kindling. Once these begin to ignite, add a layer of larger pieces of tinder to the top of the pile. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there is air between each piece of wood.

If your wood stove comes with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically supply air to the fire as it grows. This will help the fire to burn at a steady rate without the need to open the stove door to tend it.

Do not use too much tinder, as it can cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and will not be able to use the multi fuel wood burning stoves efficiently. If you have a nice fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, begin the main fire by placing two large logs of the base across the grate. On the top of these base logs, place a layer perpendicularly to them. This method of creating the fire is called a "top-down" fire will result in an effective and long-lasting fire that does not overtake the larger base logs.

Close the damper when the fire is established and kept it closed. The fire may be smothered if you open the damper before it has fully established. This can also affect the efficiency of the fire.

Add Wood

Stoves aren't just beautiful home décor pieces they can also help you save money by providing efficient wood heating. They can be utilized together with a central heating system or furnace to provide supplemental heating for large homes. A lot of the stoves that are clean burning available today utilize an advanced combustion principle which can separate the burning volatile substances from combustible gases and tar. This is achieved by supplying air at two different stages. The first stage allows the combustion of volatile compounds and the second provides fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves the process of combustion and helps reduce the odors.

The amount of heat that you get from your stove is contingent on both the species of wood and the amount of moisture as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stacked in a well-ventilated area for several months before you attempt to burn them, to allow the wood to dry out. If the logs are soaked with too much moisture, they will produce steam, which is basically wasted energy.

It is best to add wood to the pile in intervals, not all at all at. Adding too much wood burner for shed at once causes the temperature in the firebox to increase and creates a vortex that draws smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame which can decrease your stove's efficiency.

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

If you're installing wood-burning stoves in your home, it's crucial to have it installed and tested by a professional. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for safe operation and Wood log burner safety, as well as ensure that your chimney is working properly. They provide maintenance services for your stove and chimney to ensure they are in good shape. They will look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and repair any issues they spot. They will also make sure that all house occupants understand and comply with the evacuation procedures for fire in the event of an emergency.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper regulates the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney when you're not using your stove. It can also be used to manage the fire. If the flue opens but the damper is not closed the fire won't burn properly and smoke will pour into your home. You can adjust your damper to achieve the most effective flames by testing different positions.

Typically, you'll want to keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue while a fire is burning. This lets the fire get a good fire going and also helps keep it in good shape so that you can enjoy it for long periods of time. The right opening can stop the fire from being starved of air and keep it from blowing smoke.

To properly adjust your damper you need to first ensure that the fireplace is preheated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and that it has a good draft. After this, the wood stove damper can be adjusted.

After the fire has burned for some time, you need to shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will prevent warm air from the room from escaping into the chimney, while still allowing smoke to escape.

This is the best way to ensure that your fire is lit and to prevent it from becoming too hot. The draft might be stopped if you shut the damper too tightly, but a cold wind could enter your home when the damper is not closed.

Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will tell you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a small draft pushing against your hand, it is probably in the open position.

The damper settings may differ between stoves and even among different types of wood. Experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you will need to tweak until you get the perfect setting for your stove.

Clean Up

It is essential to clean your chimney and stove after the start of a fire. This reduces the chance of an explosion in the chimney which is the main cause of fires that are caused by wood log burner stoves. Creosote is a sticky material that forms on the inside of the stovepipe and is extremely dangerous. It is caused by the moisture and wood log burner wood particles that are not burned that cannot escape the fire. It can also be caused by improperly lit fires.

Regular cleaning can help prevent creosote buildup. The best method to do this is to sweep the chimney each year. It is also recommended to have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a every year.

Also, it is an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is recommended to use only wood that is seasoned to burn, since this will result in less creosote as well as ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. They can release chemicals that are dangerous for respiratory illnesses and the air, which could be released into your home.

It is also essential to clean the glass of the wood stove regularly. A lot of modern wood stoves are designed with self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require any scrubs. If you're unable to clean the glass of your wood stove as clean as you'd like you can use stove glass cleaners that you can use on the window.

Some other helpful tips for maintaining your wood stove are to turn the vent off when you are not using it, and opening windows or doors to increase the flow of air. This will keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently since it won't have to work as hard to circulate the air. It is also a good idea not stack logs or leave them in the fire for long periods of time as this can lead to splitting and warping. In addition, it is best to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove because the paraffin they contain can melt and flow down into the flue, which could cause damage.