How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a great way to save energy and warm a room. They do require some maintenance.
A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can check 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 scent and sound of a fire made from wood can be a welcome addition to any home. It's important to understand how to build a fire in your stove. Improper techniques can result in a fire that doesn't burn effectively and produces creosote or smoke. The tips below will help you start the fire that will warm your home with the least effort and with the highest security.
Before you start a fire, check the condition of your coals and logs. If they're too damp they could smother the fire and prevent it from burning properly. It is possible to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that has fallen into the stove.
Begin by placing several small, dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help ignite the tinder and kindling. Once the tinder and kindling have started to burn, you can put an additional layer of larger pieces on the top. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there will be air between each piece of wood.
If you have a wood stove that has an automatic control of combustion, it will automatically feed an air stream controlled to the flame as it heats. This will help the fire to burn at a steady pace without having to open the stove's door to maintain it.
It's important to avoid using too much tinder, as this could result in an unburned fire that burns at an excessive rate and doesn't utilize the fuel as efficiently as it could. If you have a solid fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, start the main fire by placing two large logs of the base across the grill. Then, you can lay a layer of smaller logs perpendicular to these and on top of the base logs. This method of building an ember known as a "top-down" fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that does not overtake the larger base logs.
Close the damper when the fire is established, and keep it closed. Opening the damper too soon could cause the fire to be smothered, and it will not allow for the correct airflow, which will decrease the efficiency of the fire.
Add Wood
Stoves aren't just beautiful home décor pieces they can also help you save money by providing efficient wood heating. They can be utilized in conjunction with central heating systems or furnace to provide additional heat in large houses. The latest 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 allows for the burning of volatile compounds, while the second step offers fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves the process of combustion and helps reduce the smell.
The amount of heat that you can get from a stove will depend on the species and the moisture content of the wood as well as the size of logs. To allow the wood to dry, logs must be kept in a ventilated location for a few months prior to burning. If the logs contain too much moisture, they will create steam, which is basically wasted energy.
While you're burning the fire, you should add more wood to the stack in intervals, but not all at all at. The addition of too much wood at once can cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, causing the formation of a vortex that draws smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into the flames. This can reduce the efficiency of your stove.
Avoid burning other combustibles in your stove, like paper or cardboard, as they are not wood. outdoor wood burner have different physical properties and cannot be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures. It is not recommended to burn combustibles that are compressed, such as wood briquettes since 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 important to have it properly installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician can test your installation to ensure that it is safe and efficient. They will also ensure whether your chimney is working properly. They provide maintenance services for your chimney and stove to keep them in top condition. They can check the areas that are accessible to your chimney to determine if there is leakage and fix any issues discovered. They will also ensure that all house occupants understand and comply with the fire evacuation guidelines in case of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
A damper regulates how much heat is lost through the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. It can also be used to regulate the fire. If the flue is not open but the damper is too closed, the fire will not burn as efficiently and it will billow out smoke into your living space. To ensure that you get the most efficient fire, with your damper set correctly, you have to experiment with different settings and observe how each affects the flames.
Typically, you want to keep the damper open enough to let air in and out of the flue while a fire is burning. This lets the fire get a good fire going and helps it stay burning so that you can enjoy it for hours. The right opening can stop the fire from being starved of air and prevent it from blowing smoke.
To properly adjust your damper it is important to first make sure that the fireplace is heated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure the chimney is warm and that it has an adequate draft. Once these are done the wood stove damper can be adjusted.
After the fire has burned for a while, you should shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will prevent warm air from the room from venturing into the chimney, but still allowing smoke to escape.
This is the best method to ensure that your fire is lit and prevent it from getting too hot. The draft may be stopped if you shut the damper too tightly but a cold wind could be able to enter your home in the event that the damper is not closed.
You can check to see 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 draft pushing against your hand, it is probably in the open position.
The damper setting can vary slightly from one stove to the next, and even between different kinds of wood. You can play around with different settings to get an idea of the ideal setting for your stove.
Clean up
After the fire, it's essential to clean the stove and flue. This reduces the chance of an explosion in the chimney, which is the primary cause of fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that can accumulate within the stovepipe, can be extremely hazardous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape the fire. This can also occur by fires that are not lit properly.
A regular cleaning schedule can help to prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney once a year. It is recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a year as well.
Also, it is an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is recommended to only use seasoned wood for burning, as it will create less creosote and less ash. It is also recommended to avoid burning paper, cardboard, plastic and other trash items. These materials can release harmful chemicals into the air and flue which can be released into your home.
The glass in the wood burning stove needs to be regularly cleaned as well. Most newer wood stoves have self-cleaning windows, which means they do not require as much scrubbing. You can use stove glass cleaners on the window if you're able get the glass as clean as you would like on your wood stove.
Other tips to maintain your wood stove include lowering the vent when you're not using it and opening doors or windows to improve airflow. This will help keep the fire burning longer and more efficiently since it will not need to be as active to circulate air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or leave them in the fire for long durations of time, since this could lead to splitting and warping. Finally, it is a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible wood logs in your wood stove because the paraffin in them could melt and spill down into the flue, which could damage it.