How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a warm way to heat a room and also save energy. However, they require an amount of care.

Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to make sure your stove doesn't emit harmful pollutants.

How to start a Wood Fire

The smell and the sound of a fire can be an excellent addition to any house. It's essential to know how to build an effective fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not burning efficiently and creates creosote or smoke. The following tips can help you create a fire that is safe and will warm your home quickly and efficiently.

Before you begin 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 may want to open the chimney to remove any ash that's fallen into the stove.

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

If you have a wood stove with an automatic control for combustion it will automatically supply an air stream controlled to the fire as it builds. This will help the fire to burn at a steady rate without having to constantly open the stove's door to maintain it.

Avoid using too much tinder as it will cause the fire to burn at a fast rate and not use the fuel efficiently. After you've built a solid bed in your stove of tinder, kindling and embers to start the main flame, you can do this by laying down two large wood burning stove logs of the base on the grill. Next, place small logs perpendicular to these and on the top of the base logs. This method of creating the fire is called a "top-down" fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that does not completely consume the larger base logs.

Once the fire is established shut off the damper and ensure it stays closed. Doing this too soon can cause the fire to be smothered, and it will not allow for proper air flow, which can lower the effectiveness of the fire.

Add Wood

Stoves aren't only beautiful pieces of home decor - they can help you save money by providing efficient wood heat. They can be utilized together with a central heating system or furnace to provide additional heating in large houses. Many of the new clean burning stoves that are available on the market use an advanced combustion principle which separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar. This is achieved by supplying air at two different stages. The first stage allows the vaporization of the volatile compounds, while the second step supplies fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves the process of combustion and helps reduce the smell.

The amount of heat that you get from your stove will depend on the type of wood used as well as the amount of moisture, as well as the size of the logs. To let the wood dry, the logs should be stored in a well ventilated space for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are too wet they will release lots of steam, which is in essence wasted energy.

When you are burning the fire, it is recommended to add more wood to the stack in intervals, not all at one time. Adding too much wood at once causes the temperature inside the firebox to rise, and produces a vortex that sucks smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame, which can decrease your stove's efficiency.

Avoid using other combustibles inside your stove, like paper or cardboard because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and cannot be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures. You should also not use compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes, as they have a very different chemical and physical composition to real firewood, and are not suitable for burning in wood burning stoves.

If you're installing a wood burning stove in your home, it is important to have it properly installed and tested by a professional. A certified WETT technician can test your stove to ensure it is safe and functional. They can also make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. These professionals offer maintenance services for your stove and chimney to keep them in top shape. They will look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and fix any problems they find. They will also ensure that the occupants of the home understand and adhere to the fire evacuation procedures in the event of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

When you're not using your stove, a damper can control the amount of heat lost through the chimney. It can also be used to control the fire. If the flue opens but the damper is not closed the fire won't ignite properly and smoke will erupt into your home. You can adjust your damper to achieve the most effective flames by testing different settings.

You want to keep your damper open to let air flow into and out of the flue while a fire is burning. This will let the fire start and stay lit for many hours. The right opening can stop the fire from being deprived of air and stop it from blowing smoke.

To be able to adjust your damper, you have to ensure that the fireplace is heated and the wood stove is warm. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and it also has a good draft. Once this is done the damper on the wood stove can be adjusted.

Once the fire has burned a bit you should shut the damper down to about three-quarters of its maximum. This will stop warm air in the room from venting up the chimney while still allowing the smoke to escape from the wood stove.

This is the most effective way to keep the fire from becoming too hot while still keeping it lit. If you close the damper too far it could stop the draft from working, however when it's too open, a cold wind could enter your home.

You can check to see how much the damper is open by placing your hand on the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a breeze pushing against your hand the damper is probably to be open.

The damper settings may differ from one stove to the next and even among different types of wood. You can play around with different settings to get a sense of the ideal setting for your stove.

Clean up

After a fire, it is crucial to clean the stove and flue. This reduces the chance of an explosion in the chimney which is the main cause of fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that accumulates on the stovepipe's interior and Wood Burning stoves uk can be extremely hazardous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape from the fire. This can also be caused when fires aren't properly lit.

Regular cleaning helps to prevent creosote buildup. The best method to do this is by sweeping the chimney each year. It is recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year.

It is also an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is recommended to use only wood that is seasoned for burning, as this will produce less creosote and ash. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper, plastic and other trash items. They could release chemicals that can be dangerous for respiratory illnesses and the air, and could be released into your home.

It is also essential to clean the glass of the wood stove on a regular basis. Many modern wood stoves come with self-cleaning windows so they do not require as much cleaning. You can apply stove glass cleaners to the window if you're not able get the glass as clean as you'd like on your wood stove.

Other suggestions to keep your wood stove in good condition include lowering the vent when you're not using it and slamming doors or windows to allow more airflow. This keeps the fire burning hotter, and more efficiently. The Wood Burning Stoves uk stove won't have to perform as hard to circulate air. It is advisable not to stack logs or leave them on the fire for an extended time. This can lead to splitting and warping. It is advised 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 which could cause damage.