How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves can be an ideal option to conserve energy and warm rooms. However, they require a certain amount of maintenance.

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

How to Start a Wood Fire

The scent and sound of a Compact Durable Wood Stove Tent Heater for Camping fire can be a welcome addition to any house. It's important to understand how to build a fire on your stove. Incorrect techniques can lead to a fire that doesn't burn efficiently and creates creosote or smoke. The following tips can assist you in starting the fire that will warm your home with the least effort and with the highest safety.

Before you begin a fire, you should check the condition of your logs and coals. If they're wet they will choke your fire and prevent the proper burning. You might also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has been deposited into the stove.

Begin by putting a handful of small dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help to ignite the tinder. When the tinder and the kindling have begun to burn, you can add a layer of larger kindling pieces on the top. This should be done with an arc pattern so that there is air between each piece.

If your wood stove comes with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically feed air to the fire as it expands. This allows the fire to burn steadily without having to open the door of your stove often to keep it in check.

Be careful not to use too much tinder, as it will cause the fire to burn at a rapid rate and not use the fuel effectively. If you have a nice bed of tinder and kindling in your stove, begin the main fire by laying two large base logs across the grate. On the top of these base logs, place a layer perpendicularly to them. This "top-down" method of building the fireplace will create a long-lasting and effective fire that doesn't engulf larger base logs.

Once your fire is well established Close the damper and ensure it stays closed. Doing this too soon could cause the fire to get smothered and not allow for proper air flow, which can lower the effectiveness of the fire.

Add Wood

Stoves are not just beautiful home decor pieces they can also help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be used together with central heating systems or furnace to provide supplemental heating for large homes. Many of the new stoves that burn clean use a superior combustion principle that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization and the second stage is to supply fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and decreases smells.

The amount of heat you can get from your stove is contingent on the type of wood and the moisture content as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stacked in a ventilated area for several months prior to when you try to burn them, to give the wood time to dry. If the logs are soaked with too much moisture, they will produce steam which is essentially wasted power.

It is best to add wood to the pile at intervals and not all at once. In addition, adding too much wood at once causes the temperature in the firebox to increase and produces a vortex that sucks smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame which could reduce your stove's efficiency.

Avoid using other combustibles inside your stove, such as paper or cardboard because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and can't be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures. Also, you should not use compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes as they have a distinct physical and chemical composition from real firewood and aren't approved for use in wood burning stoves.

If you are installing wood-burning stoves into your home, it is crucial to have it installed and tested by a professional. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety, and also ensure that your chimney is functioning correctly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in top condition. They can check the areas accessible to your chimney for leakage, and fix any issues that are found. They will also make sure that all residents of the house understand and follow the fire evacuation procedure in case of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper controls how much heat escapes to the chimney when you aren't using your stove. It can also be used to regulate the flame. If the flue is not open but the damper is not closed enough, the fire won't burn properly and will release smoke into your living space. To get the best fire with the damper properly adjusted, you must play around with different settings and observe how each affects the flames.

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

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

After the fire has smolder slightly, you need to reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its original position. This will prevent warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, while still permitting smoke to escape.

This is the best method to prevent the fire from becoming too hot, while also keeping it burning. The draft might be stopped if one closes the damper too tightly however a cold breeze could enter your home when the damper is not closed.

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

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

Clean up

It is important to clean your stove and flue after a fire. This will help lower the risk of a chimney fire which is the main reason for wood stove-related fires in homes. Creosote, a sticky substance which can build up in the stovepipe, is very dangerous. The moisture and the unburned parts of wood that cannot escape the fire are the cause for this chemical. It can also be caused by poorly lit fires.

A regular cleaning schedule can help prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney at least once every year. It is recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year, too.

Also, it is an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only seasoned wood for burning, as this will produce less creosote and ash. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper or plastic items. They can release harmful chemicals for the flue and atmosphere, which may be released into your home.

It is also necessary to wash the glass of the wood-burning stove regularly. The majority of newer wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require much cleaning. 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 tips for maintaining your wood stove include turning the vent down when you are not using it, and opening the door or window to increase the flow of air. This will keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently, as it won't need to exert as much effort to circulate air. It is advisable not to stack logs or place them on the fire for an extended period of time. This can lead to splits and warping. It is advised to avoid using combustible compressed wood in your wood stove because the paraffin contained within them can melt and flow into the flue which could cause damage.