How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a comfortable way to heat a space and save energy. They require some care.

A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker on the underside or next to the grate to ensure your stove doesn't create a lot of harmful pollutants.

How to Start a wood burning stove modern Fire

The smell and sound of a wood fire can be a wonderful addition to any house. It's essential to know how to create a fire in your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not burning effectively and produces creosote or smoke. The tips below will help you begin an efficient fire that will warm your home quickly and effectively.

Make sure to check the condition of your logs and coals before you begin the fire. If they're too damp they will choke the flame and stop it from burning properly. It is also possible to open the flue to let any ash that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by putting some small modern wood stove newspaper pieces that are dry and clean in the stove. This will help to ignite the tinder. After the tinder and kindling have begun to burn, you can put a layer of larger kindling pieces on 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 will enable the fire to burn at a consistent pace without having to constantly open the stove's doors to keep it in check.

Avoid using excessive tinder since it will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not use the fuel efficiently. If you have a solid bed of tinder and kindling in your stove, you can start the main fire by placing two large base logs on the grate. Then, you can lay an additional layer of smaller logs parallel to these and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of creating a fireplace will result in a long-lasting, efficient fire that doesn't engulf larger base logs.

Once the fire is established, close the damper and ensure it stays closed. Doing this too soon can cause the fire to be smothered, and it will not allow for the proper air flow, which can reduce its efficiency.

Add Wood

Stoves are not just beautiful home décor pieces - they can help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be used together with a central heating system or furnace to provide supplemental heat in large houses. A lot of the stoves online that are clean burning available on the market use advanced combustion principles that can separate the burning volatile substances from combustible gasses and tar. This is done by providing air at two distinct stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization process, and the second step is to supply pre-heated fresh air. This improves combustion and decreases odors.

The amount of heat that you can get from a stove depends on the species and moisture content of the wood as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stored 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'll produce steam, which is basically wasted power.

While you're burning the fire, it is recommended to add more wood to the pile at intervals, but not all at one time. Too much wood added at once causes the temperature inside the firebox to rise, and creates a vortex that draws smoke and unburnt volatile compounds back into the flame, which can reduce the efficiency of your stove.

Avoid burning other combustibles in your stove, such as cardboard or paper, because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and are unable to be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures. Also, avoid using compressed combustibles such as garden wood burner briquettes as they have a completely different physical and chemical composition from actual firewood and are not type-approved for use in wood burning stoves.

It is crucial that you have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician will test the installation for proper operation and safety as well as ensure that your chimney is operating correctly. They provide maintenance services for your stove and chimney to ensure they are in good shape. They can look for leaks in the areas accessible to your chimney and repair any problems they find. They will also make sure that the residents of the house know and follow the fire evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper controls how much heat escapes to the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. In addition to this it can also help control the fire. If the flue is open but the damper is too closed, the fire will not ignite properly and smoke will erupt into your home. To get the most efficient fire, with your damper adjusted properly you have to play around with different locations and observe how each affects the flames.

It is important to keep your damper open to let air flow into and out of the flue while a fire is burning. This will allow the fire to begin and stay lit for several hours. The proper opening will stop the fire from being starved of air and stop it from blowing smoke.

To adjust your damper properly first, make sure that the fireplace has been heated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney stays warm and has an adequate draft. After these steps are completed, the damper for wood stoves can be adjusted.

Once the fire has smolder for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its full position. This will prevent the warm room air from escaping up the chimney while still allowing the smoke to escape out of the wood stove.

This is the most effective way to keep your fire burning and to prevent it from becoming too hot. If you shut the damper too far it may stop the draft from working, but if it is too wide, a cold breeze could enter your home.

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

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

Clean up

After a fire, it is essential to clean the stove and flue. This will lower the risk of a chimney fire which is the main reason for wood stove-related fires in homes. Creosote, a sticky substance that builds up on the inside of the stovepipe and can be extremely hazardous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape the fire. It can also be caused by improperly lit fires.

Regular cleaning helps to stop the buildup of creosote. The most effective method for doing this is to sweep the chimney at least once a year. It is recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year, too.

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 it will create less creosote as well as ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. These items can release dangerous chemicals into the air and flue that could end up in your home.

The glass that is used on the wood burning stove has to be regularly cleaned too. Most newer wood stoves have self-cleaning windows so they don't require as much scrubs. If you're unable to get the glass on your wood stove as clean as you would like you can use stove glass cleaners available that you can use on the window.

Other suggestions to keep your wood stove in good condition include turning down the vent when you're not using it, and slamming doors or windows to allow more airflow. This will help keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently, as it won't have to exert as much effort to circulate the air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or place them in the flame for long durations of time, since this could lead to splitting and warping. It is also a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible logs in your wood stove because the paraffin in them could melt and spill down the flue which could cause damage to the Stove wood Burning.