How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves can be a great way to save energy and heat a room. They require some care.
Many modern wood stoves meet EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure your stove isn't releasing harmful pollutants.
How to Start a Wood Fire
The smell and sound of a wood fire can be a welcome feature in any house. It's important to know how to build a fire in your stove. Incorrect methods can result in an unburned fire that doesn't burn efficiently and creates creosote or smoke. The tips below will help you start an fire that can heat your home with minimum effort and with the highest security.
Before you start an fire, make sure you check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet it will dampen your fire and prevent the proper burning. You may want to open the chimney to get rid of any ash that falls into the stove.
Begin by placing a handful of small, dry pieces of newspaper in the stove. This will help ignite the tinder and kindling. When wood burning stoves near me begin to burn, add a layer of larger pieces of tinder to the top of the pile. This should be done in a crosshatch fashion so that there will be air between each piece of wood.
If your wood stove has an automatic combustion control it will automatically feed air to the flame as it grows. This allows the fire to burn steadily without the need to open the stove's door frequently to check on it.
It is essential to avoid using too much tinder, as this could result in the fire burning at an extremely high rate and fails to use the fuel as efficiently as it could. Once you've made a solid bed in your stove of sparks, tinder and kindling begin the main flame by laying down two large base logs on the grill. Then, you can lay a layer of smaller logs that are perpendicular to them and on the top of the base logs. This method of creating the fire is called a "top-down" fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that does not engulf the larger base logs.
Close the damper when your fire has been established and kept it closed. Doing this too soon can cause the fire to be smothered, and it will not allow for the proper air flow, which can 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 by themselves or in conjunction with a furnace or central heating system to provide the additional heat needed in large homes or homes with many rooms. The latest clean-burning stoves on the market use a superior combustion principle that differentiates the burning process of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by supplying air in two different 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 reduces odors.
The amount of heat you will get from a stove depends on the species and moisture content of the wood you use and also the dimensions of the logs. To let the wood dry, logs must be stored in a ventilated space for a few months before burning. If the logs contain too much moisture, they'll produce steam that is in essence wasted energy.
It is best to add wood to the pile at intervals, not all at once. Adding too much wood at one time can cause the temperature of the firebox to rise and produces a vortex that sucks smoke and unburnt volatile compounds back into the flame which can reduce the efficiency of your stove.
You should avoid the use of other combustibles such as paper or cardboard in your stove, because they are not wood and possess different physical properties and cannot be burned safely without creating dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. Also, avoid using compressed combustibles such as wood briquettes as they have a very different chemical and physical composition to real firewood, and are not type-approved for use in wood burning stoves.
If you are installing wood-burning stoves in your home, it's crucial to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will examine your stove to make sure it is safe and reliable. They will also check that your chimney is functioning properly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in tip-top shape. They will look for leaks in the areas that are accessible to your chimney and repair any problems they find. They will also ensure that the occupants of your home know and follow the fire evacuation procedures in the event of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
A damper regulates the amount of heat that is lost up the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. It can also be used to regulate the flame. If the flue is open but the damper is not closed, the fire will not ignite properly and smoke will billow into your home. To ensure you have the most effective fire using the damper properly adjusted, you have to test different settings and observe how each affects the flames.
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 remain lit for a number of hours. The right opening will also keep the fire from being starved of air, and also prevent it from blowing out smoke.
To adjust your damper correctly first, make sure that the fireplace has been preheated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and it also has a good draft. After this the damper for the wood stove can be adjusted.
After the fire has burned for an extended period, close the damper approximately three quarters of the way. This will stop the warm air from the room from going through the chimney, while allowing smoke to escape from the wood stove.
This is the best method to stop the fire from getting too hot while keeping it lit. The draft may be stopped if you shut the damper too far, but a cold wind can enter your home when the damper is not closed.
You can determine how much the damper is opened by holding your hand near the top of the 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 slightly from one stove to another and even between different types of wood. The process of experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what you should look for, but you will have to keep adjusting until you get the perfect setting for your stove.
Clean up
After a fire, it is important to clean the flue and stove. This reduces the chance of an explosion in the chimney which is the main reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that accumulates on the stovepipe's interior and can be extremely hazardous. Moisture and unburned particles of wood that cannot escape the fire are responsible for this substance. It could also be caused by poorly lit fires.
A regular cleaning routine helps prevent the buildup of creosote. The best method to do this is to sweep the chimney every year. It is recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally inspected and cleaned at least once a year, too.
Also, it's an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is best to burn only wood that is well-seasoned since it will create less creosote. It is also recommended to avoid burning paper, cardboard, plastic and other trash items. These items can release dangerous chemicals to the air and flue, which can be released into your home.
It is also essential to clean the glass of the wood stove on a regular basis. Many newer wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, which means they don't require a lot of cleaning. You can use stove glass cleaners on the window if you're not capable of getting the glass as clean as you'd like on your wood stove.
Other suggestions to maintain your wood stove include lowering the vent when you're not using it and slamming doors or windows to increase airflow. 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 advisable not to stack logs, or place them on the fire for a long duration. This could cause splits and warping. Finally, it is a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible logs in your wood stove because the paraffin they contain could melt and spill down the flue which could cause damage to the stove.