How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a warm way to heat a room and save energy. They require some care.
Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure that your stove doesn't emit harmful pollutants.
How to start a Wood Fire
The smell and sound of a wood fire could be a pleasant feature in any home. It's essential to know how to build a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in a fire that doesn't burn effectively and can cause smoke or creosote. These tips will help you start an fire that can heat your home with minimum effort and maximum security.
Check the condition of your coals and logs before you begin an fire. If they are too wet they will choke 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.
Start by placing several small, dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and kindling. When the tinder and the kindling have begun to burn, you can put the larger kindling pieces on the top. 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 feed air to the fire as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn steadily without the need to open the stove door constantly to tend to it.
Be careful not to use too much tinder as this will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and will not be able to use the fuel effectively. If you have a solid fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, you can start the main fire by laying two large logs of the base across the grill. Next, place Modern wood burning stoves of smaller logs parallel to these and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of building the fireplace will create a long-lasting, efficient fire that doesn't consume larger base logs.
Once your fire is well established shut off the damper and keep it closed. If you open the damper too early, it can cause the fire be smothered, and it will not allow for proper air flow, which will decrease the efficiency of the fire.
Add Wood
Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and help you save money. They can be used on their own or in conjunction with central heating or furnace system to provide the additional heat required in large houses or homes with multiple rooms. The latest stoves that burn clean utilize a superior combustion method that separates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by providing air in two distinct stages. The first stage allows the combustion of volatile compounds and the second stage provides fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves the combustion process and reduces odors.
The amount of heat you get from a stove depends on the species and the moisture content of the wood you use as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stored in a ventilated area for several months prior to when you attempt to burn them, to give the wood a chance to dry. If the logs have excessive moisture, they will create steam that is in essence wasted energy.
While you're burning the fire, you should add more wood to the stack at intervals, but not all at once. Adding too much wood 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 reduce your stove's efficiency.
You should avoid the use of any other combustibles, like cardboard or paper in your stove, as they are not wood and possess different physical properties and cannot be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures and exorbitant emissions. Also, avoid using compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes because they have a distinct chemical and physical composition to real firewood and aren't type-approved for burning in wood burning stoves.
It is important that you have a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety, as well as make sure that your chimney is operating properly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in tip-top shape. They can check the areas that are accessible to your chimney for leaks, and fix any issues discovered. They will also make sure that the residents of the house understand and comply with the fire evacuation guidelines in the event of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
If you're not cooking on your stove, a damper regulates how much heat is lost through the chimney. It can also be used to control the fire. If the flue is not open but the damper is too closed, the fire won't burn properly and it will release smoke into your living space. You can adjust your damper to ensure the best flames by experimenting with different positions.
Typically, you want to keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue while a fire is burning. This will allow the fire to start and stay lit for several hours. The right opening will also stop the fire from becoming starved of air and prevent it from blowing out smoke.
To adjust your damper correctly, you must first ensure that the fireplace has been heated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has a good draft. After this the damper for the wood stove can be adjusted.
After the fire has smolder for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its original position. This will prevent the warm air from the room from going through the chimney, while allowing the smoke to escape out of the wood stove.
This is the most effective way to keep your fire burning and prevent it from getting too hot. The draft may be stopped if one closes the damper to far however a cold breeze could be able to enter your home when the damper is not closed.
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 feel a small breeze rubbing against your hand the damper is probably in an open position.
The damper settings can vary between stoves and even among different types of wood. Playing around with different settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you might need to adjust until you get the perfect setting for your stove.
Clean up
It is important to clean your stove and flue after an incident. This can to reduce the chance of a chimney fire which is the most common cause of wood stove related fires in homes. Creosote, a sticky substance that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape the fire. This can also be caused when fires are not lit properly.
A regular cleaning schedule can help to prevent the buildup of creosote. The most effective method for doing this is to sweep the chimney every year. It is recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally inspected and cleaned at least once a year.
It is also an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is recommended to only burn wood that has been seasoned since it will create less creosote. It is also a good idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper plastic, and other waste items. These items can release dangerous chemicals for 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. Many newer wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require any cleaning. If you're unable to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you would like There are stove glass cleaners that can be used 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 allow more air flow. This will keep the fire burning longer and more efficiently, since it will not need to exert as much effort to circulate air. It is recommended not to stack logs or leave them on the fire for an extended time. This could cause splitting and warping. Finally, it is a good idea to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove because the paraffin in them could melt and spill into the flue which could damage it.