Notes

A Provocative Remark About Stove Wood Burning
How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a comfortable way to heat a room and also save energy. However, they need a certain amount of maintenance.

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 make sure your stove doesn't create a lot of harmful pollutants.

How to Start a Wood Fire

The smell and sound of a woodfire can be an excellent addition to any home. But it's important to learn the proper way to build a fire in your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not to burn effectively, and can produce creosote or smoke. The following tips can aid you in starting the fire that will warm your home with minimum effort and with the highest security.

Check the condition of your logs and coals before you begin the fire. If they're wet it will dampen your fire and hinder proper burning. It is possible to open the chimney to remove any ash that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by placing a handful of small dry pieces of newspaper in your stove. This will help to ignite the fire. Once these begin to burn, add another layer of larger pieces of kindling to the top of the pile. This should be done using an arc pattern so that there is air between each piece.

If your wood stove is equipped with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically pump air into the fire as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn at a steady rate without the need to open the stove's door to tend it.

Avoid using excessive tinder since it will cause the fire to burn at a fast rate and not utilize the fuel efficiently. When you have a good bed of tinder and kindling in your stove, you can start the main fire by placing two large base logs across the grill. Next, place small logs parallel to these and on top of the base logs. This method of building the fire is known as a "top-down" fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that will not engulf the larger base logs.

Close the damper after your fire has been established and keep it shut. The fire could be smothered if you open the damper prior to it being fully established. It can also decrease the efficiency of the fire.

Add Wood

Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and save you money. They can be used alone or in conjunction with a furnace or central heating system to provide the additional heat required in large houses or homes with many rooms. Many of the new clean-burning stoves on the market employ a superior combustion process that separates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar by providing air in two distinct stages. The first stage permits the combustion of volatile compounds, while the second step supplies fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves the combustion process and helps reduce odors.

The amount of heat you can get from your stove is contingent on the kind of wood and the moisture content and 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 have too much moisture, they'll produce steam which is essentially wasted energy.

You should add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at one time. The addition of too much wood all at once can cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating an air vortex that draws smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into the flames. This can reduce the effectiveness of your stove.

Avoid using other combustibles in your stove, such as paper or cardboard because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and can't be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures. You should not burn compressed combustibles such as wood briquettes as they differ in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not approved by the type to be used in wood burning stoves.

If you're planning to install wood-burning stoves into your home, it's essential to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician can test your installation to ensure it is safe and reliable. They can also make sure that your chimney works correctly. These experts can also provide maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in tip-top shape. They will inspect the areas accessible to your chimney for leakage, and fix any issues that are discovered. They will also make sure that all occupants of the house understand and follow the fire evacuation procedure in case of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper regulates the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney when you're not using your stove. It can also be used to regulate the flame. If the flue is open but the damper is too closed the fire will not burn properly and smoke will pour into your home. To ensure that you get the best fire with the damper properly adjusted, you have to experiment with different positions and observe how each affects the flames.

Typically, you should keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue while the fire is burning. This will allow the fire to begin and stay lit for many hours. The right opening will also prevent the fire from starving of air, and also prevent it from blowing smoke.

To properly adjust your damper, you need to first make sure 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 accomplished the damper on the wood stove may be adjusted.


After the fire has been burning for an extended period, shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will prevent warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.

This is the best method to prevent the fire from getting too hot while keeping it lit. If you close the damper too much, it could block the draft from working, however when it's too wide, a cold breeze could enter your home.

You can test how much the damper is open by holding your hand near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a slight breeze pushing against your palm the damper is probably in an open position.

The damper settings can differ a little from one stove to another and even between different types of wood. You can experiment with various settings to get a sense of the ideal setting for your stove.

Clean Up

After an incident, it is crucial to clean the flue and stove. This will reduce the risk of an ensuing fire in the chimney, which is the primary cause of fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that can build up inside the stovepipe, is very dangerous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape from the fire. It can also be caused by improperly lit fires.

A regular cleaning schedule can help prevent the buildup of creosote. The best method to do this is to sweep the chimney at least once a year. It is also recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and examined at least year.

It is also recommended to clean the ash tray and grate it regularly. It is recommended to use only wood that is seasoned to burn, since this will result in less creosote and less ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. These items can release dangerous chemicals to the air and flue, that could end up in your home.

The glass in the wood burning stove needs to be cleaned frequently as well. Many modern wood stove s come with self-cleaning windows, so they don't require as much scrubs. You can make use of stove glass cleaners on the glass if you aren't getting the glass as clean as you want on your wood stove.

Other ways to keep your wood stove in good condition include lowering the vent when you aren't using it, and cracking windows or doors to improve airflow. This will keep the fire burning more hot and efficiently. The wood stove will not have to perform as hard to circulate air. It is a good idea not to stack logs or place them on the fire for a long time. This can cause splitting and warping. It is best to avoid using combustible wood that has been compressed in your wood stove because the paraffin in them can melt and flow into the flue which could cause damage.

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