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17 Signs That You Work With Stove Wood Burning
How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves can be a great method to reduce energy consumption and warm a room. They will require some maintenance.

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

How to start a Wood Fire

The smell and the sound of a woodfire can be an excellent addition to any house. But it's important to learn the proper way to build a fire in your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not burning effectively and can cause creosote or smoke. These tips will aid you in starting a fire that will heat your home with minimal effort and maximum safety.

Check the condition of your coals and logs before you start a fire. If they are wet they could smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You may want to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by placing several small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean in your stove. This will help ignite the sparks. When they begin to ignite, add a layer of larger pieces of kindling to the top of the pile. This should be done in a crosshatch fashion so that there is air between each piece of wood.

If you have a wood stove that has an automatic control for combustion that will automatically deliver an air stream that is controlled to your fire as it builds. This allows the fire to burn steadily without the need to open the door of your stove often to keep it in check.

It is important to not use too much tinder, since this could result in a fire that burns at an excessive rate and doesn't use the fuel as efficiently as it can. Once you've got a good bed in your stove of tinder, kindling and embers begin the main flame by laying two large logs of the base on the grate. Next, place small logs perpendicular to these and on top of the base logs. This method of creating an ember known as a "top-down" fire can result in a successful and long-lasting fire that does not engulf the larger base logs.

Close the damper once your fire has been established and keep it closed. Doing this too soon can cause the fire to get smothered and not allow for proper air flow, which can decrease the efficiency of the fire.

Adding Wood

Stoves can be used to efficiently heat your home and save you money. They can be used alone or in conjunction with central heating or a furnace system to provide the additional heat required in large houses or homes with multiple rooms. A lot of the stoves that are clean burning available today utilize advanced combustion technology that is able to separate the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar. This is done by providing air at two distinct stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization and the second step is to supply pre-heated fresh air. This enhances the combustion process and helps to reduce the odors.

The amount of heat that you will get from your stove is contingent on the type of wood and the moisture content and the size of the logs. The logs must be stored in a ventilated area for several months before you try to burn them to give the wood a chance to dry. If the logs contain too much moisture, they will produce steam, which is basically wasted energy.

You should add wood to the pile at intervals and not all at all at. In addition, adding too much wood at one time causes the temperature inside the firebox to rise, and produces a vortex that sucks smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame, which can 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 producing dangerously high temperatures. It is not recommended to burn compressed combustibles such as wood briquettes because they differ in chemical and physical composition from firewood. They are also not approved to be used in wood-burning stoves.


It is important to have a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety and also ensure that your chimney is operating correctly. These professionals offer maintenance services for your stove and chimney to keep them in top condition. They will look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and repair any issues they discover. They will also ensure that the occupants of your home are aware of and adhere to the evacuation procedures for fire in case in the event of an emergency.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper regulates how much heat escapes to the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. In addition, it can help you control the fire. If the flue is opened but the damper is closed too much the fire won't burn properly and it will release smoke into your living area. You can adjust the damper to get the best flames by experimenting with different locations.

It is important to keep your damper open to allow air to flow into and out of the flue when a fire is burning. This will let the fire start and remain lit for a number of hours. The right opening can stop the fire from being starved of air and stop it from blowing smoke.

To properly adjust your damper it is important to first make sure that the fireplace has been preheated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has a good draft. Once these are done the damper for wood stoves can be adjusted.

After the fire has burned for some time, you need to shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will stop warm air from the room from going up the chimney while still allowing the smoke to escape from the wood stove.

This is the best method to stop the fire from becoming too hot while still keeping it lit. If you shut the damper too much, it could block the draft from working, but when it's too open, a cold wind could blow into your home.

Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will show you how much the damper has sunk. If you feel a slight breeze pushing against your hand the damper is probably to be open.

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

Clean up

After the fire, it's essential to clean the flue and stove. This can reduce the chance of a fire in the chimney, which is the primary reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and is extremely dangerous. Moisture and unburned particles of wood that are unable to escape the fire are the cause for this substance. It could also be caused by improperly lit fires.

A regular cleaning routine helps to prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney once a year. It is recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year as well.

It is also a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. double sided wood burner is recommended to burn only wood that is well-seasoned because it produces less creosote. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper plastic, and other waste items. They can release chemicals that can be dangerous for the respiratory tract and the air, which could be released into your home.

The glass in the wood burning stove has to be cleaned regularly too. The majority of newer wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, which means that they don't require a lot of scrubbing. You can make use of stove glass cleaners on the window if you're not capable of getting the glass as clean as you would like on your wood stove.

Other tips for maintaining your wood stove include turning the vent off when you are not using it and cracking the door or window to increase the flow of air. This will help keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently, since it won't need to be as active to circulate the air. It is recommended to not stack logs or leave them in the flame for long periods of time, as this can lead to warping and splitting. It is advised to avoid using combustible wood that has been compressed in your wood stove as the paraffin contained within the logs can melt and leak into the flue which could cause damage.

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