How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

cheap wood burner stoves (sneak a peek here) stoves are a cozy way to heat a room and save energy. They will require some maintenance.

Many 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 doesn't emit harmful pollutants.

How to Start a Wood Fire

The smell and the sound of a woodfire is an enjoyable addition to any house. It's essential to know how to create a fire on your stove. Unintentional methods can lead to an unburned fire that doesn't burn well, and may produce smoke or creosote. The following tips will help you begin a safe fire that will warm your home quickly and efficiently.

Before you begin a fire, check the condition of your coals and logs. If they are too wet they could smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You might also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by placing a few small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean in the stove. This will help to spark the tinder and ignite your kindling. After the tinder and kindling have begun to burn, you can add an additional layer of larger pieces on top. This should be done using a crosshatch design so that there is air between each piece.

If your wood stove comes with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically feed air to the fire as it grows. This will enable the fire to burn at a steady pace without the need to open the stove's door to tend it.

Avoid using too much tinder as it can cause the fire to burn at a rapid rate and will not be able to use the fuel effectively. When you have a good pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, start the main fire by placing two large logs of the base across the grate. Then, add small logs parallel to these and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of creating a fireplace will produce a long-lasting and effective fire that doesn't engulf larger logs from the base.

Once the fire is established, close the damper and keep it shut. Doing this too soon can cause the fire smother and will not allow for the correct airflow, which will decrease the efficiency of the fire.

Adding Wood

Stoves aren't just beautiful home decor pieces they can also help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be utilized together with central heating systems or furnace to provide supplemental heating in large houses. Many of the new clean burning stoves that are available today utilize an advanced combustion principle which can separate the burning volatile substances from combustible gasses as well as tar. This is done by supplying air in two different stages. The first stage allows the vaporization of the volatile compounds, while the second step offers fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves the combustion process and reduces odors.

The amount of heat that you can get from your stove will depend on both the species of wood used as well as the amount of moisture in it, as well as 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 are not dry enough they will release a lot of steam that is in essence wasted energy.

During the burning of the fire, you should add more wood to the stack at intervals, and not all at one time. Too much wood added at one time causes the temperature in the firebox to increase and creates a vortex, which draws smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame which can reduce your stove's efficiency.

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

It is essential that you have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety, and also ensure that your chimney is working properly. They offer maintenance services for your chimney and stove to ensure they are in good condition. They can check for leaks in the areas accessible to your chimney and fix any issues they spot. They will also make sure that all occupants of the home understand and follow the evacuation procedure in the event of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

When you're not using your stove, a damper controls the amount of heat lost through the chimney. In addition, it can also help control the fire. If the flue is opened but the damper is too closed, the fire won't be able to burn properly and will release smoke into your living space. You can adjust your damper to get the best wood burners flames by testing different settings.

Typically, you want to keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue while the fire is burning. This lets the fire get going and also helps keep it in good shape so that you can enjoy it for long periods of time. The proper opening will stop the fire from becoming starved of air and will keep it from blowing out smoke.

To adjust your damper properly, you must first ensure that the fireplace is preheated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney stays warm and has good draft. After this, the wood woodburning stove damper can be adjusted.

After the fire has smolder slightly, you need to reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its maximum. This will prevent warm air in the room from escaping into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.

This is the most effective way to ensure that your fire is lit and keep it from getting too hot. The draft may be stopped if you shut the damper to far but a cold wind can enter your home in the event that the damper is not closed.

You can test how much the damper is opened by holding your hand woodburner near me the top of the of the flue pipe. If you feel a small breeze pushing against your hand, the damper is likely in an open position.

The damper settings can differ from one stove to the next and even between different kinds of wood. Playing around with different settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you may need to tweak it until you find the perfect setting for your stove.

Clean up

After a fire, it is essential to clean the stove and flue. This can reduce the chance of an explosion in the chimney which is the most common cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that can build up in the stovepipe, is extremely dangerous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape from the fire. It could also be caused by poorly lit fires.

Regular cleaning helps to keep away the buildup of creosote. The best way to do this is by sweeping the chimney at least once a year. It is also recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a every year.

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

It is also important to clean the glass of the wood burning stove on a regular basis. The majority of newer wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, which means that they do not require any scrubbing. If you're unable to clean the glass of 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 to maintain your wood stove are to turn the vent down when you are not using it, and opening the door or window to increase air flow. This will keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently, as it will not need to exert as much effort to circulate air. It is a good idea not to stack logs, or place them on the fire for an extended duration. This can cause splitting and warping. It is advised to avoid using combustible compressed wood in your wood stove since the paraffin contained within the wood can melt and then flow into the flue, which could cause damage.