How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

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

Many modern wood stoves meet 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 Fire

The sound and smell of a fire made from wood can be a wonderful addition to any house. But it's important to learn the proper way to build a fire in your stove. Incorrect methods can result in the fire not burning effectively and can cause creosote or smoke. The following tips will help you begin an efficient fire that will warm your home quickly and efficiently.

Before you begin a fire, you should check the condition of your coals and logs. If they are too wet they could smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You might want to open the chimney to remove any ash that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by putting some small wood burners for sale newspaper pieces that are dry in your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. When the tinder and the kindling have started to burn, you can add an additional layer of larger pieces on the top. This should be done using an arc pattern so that there is air between each piece.

If you own a wood stove with an automatic control for combustion that will automatically deliver an air stream controlled to your fire as it grows. This will help the fire to burn at a steady rate without the need to open the stove's doors to tend it.

It is essential to avoid using too much tinder, as this can lead to an unburned fire that burns at an excessive rate and doesn't use the fuel as efficiently as it could. When you have a good fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, you can start the main fire by laying two large base logs across the grate. Then, add an additional layer of smaller logs that are perpendicular to them and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of creating the fireplace will create a long-lasting and effective fire that doesn't completely engulf larger logs from the base.

Close the damper after your fire is established and keep it shut. The fire may be smothered by opening the damper prior to it being fully established. This can also affect the effectiveness of the fire.

Adding Wood

Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and help you save money. They can be used by themselves or in conjunction with central heating or furnace system to provide the additional heat required in large houses or houses with a lot of rooms. A lot of the stoves that burn clean utilize a superior combustion method that separates the burning of volatile compounds from the combustion of combustible gases and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage allows the vaporization of the volatile compounds and the second stage offers fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and reduces the odors.

The amount of heat you will get from a stove is contingent upon the species and moisture content of the wood used as well as the size of the logs. To let the wood dry, the logs should be stored in a ventilated location for a few months before burning. If the logs are too wet, they will produce plenty of steam that is basically wasted energy.

During the burning of the fire, add more wood to the pile at intervals, and not all at all at. Addition of too much wood all at once can cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, causing the formation of a vortex that pulls smoke and unburned volatile compounds back into the flames. This could reduce the efficiency of your stove.

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

If you're planning to install wood-burning stoves in your home, it's essential to have it installed and tested by a professional. A certified WETT technician will test the installation to ensure proper operation and safety as well as ensure that your chimney is working correctly. These professionals offer maintenance services for your stove and chimney to ensure they are in good condition. They can check the areas that are accessible to your chimney to determine if there is leakage and fix any issues that are found. They will also make sure that all occupants of the home understand and follow the evacuation procedure in case of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

When you're not using your stove, a damper controls how much heat is lost through the chimney. Additionally, it can also help to control the flame. If the flue is open but the damper is too closed, the fire will not burn properly and smoke will billow into your home. To get the most efficient fire, with your damper set correctly, you should play around with different positions and observe how each one affects the flames.

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 going and keeps it burning so that you can enjoy it for a long time. A proper opening will keep the fire from being starved of air and prevent it from blowing out smoke.

In order to properly adjust your damper you need to first make sure the fireplace is heated and the wood stove is warm. This will ensure the chimney is warm and also that it has an adequate draft. Once this is done the damper on the small wood burners for sale stove may be adjusted.

Once the fire has burned for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its maximum. This will prevent the warm air from the room from going into the chimney, while allowing the smoke to escape from the wood stove.

This is the best method to keep your fire burning and prevent it from getting too hot. If you shut the damper too far it could stop the draft from working, but if it is too wide, a cold breeze could blow through your home.

Placing your hand on the top of the flue pipe will tell you how much the damper has sunk. If you feel a Small Wall mounted wood burning stove draft pushing against your hand, it's 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 different settings to get a sense of the best setting for your stove.

Clean up

It is important to clean your chimney and stove after an incident. This will to reduce the chance of a chimney fire, which is the most common reason for outdoor wood burning stove stove fires in homes. Creosote, a sticky substance that builds up on the stovepipe's interior and is extremely dangerous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape from the fire. This can also be caused when fires aren't lit properly.

A regular cleaning schedule can help keep the buildup of creosote at bay. The best method to do this is by sweeping the chimney every year. It is also recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and checked at least every year.

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

It is also essential to wash the glass of the wood burning stove regularly. The majority of modern wood stoves for sale wood stoves have self-cleaning windows so they don't require as much scrubs. If you are not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like, there are stove glass cleaners available that can be used on the window.

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