How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a comfortable way to heat a room and conserve energy. They require some care.
Many modern wood stoves conform to EPA emissions guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker on the underside or next to the grate to make sure your stove doesn't generate lots of harmful pollutants.
How to start a Wood Fire
The scent and sound of a woodfire is a welcome addition in any home. It's important to know how to create a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in an unburned fire that doesn't burn effectively, and can produce creosote or smoke. The following tips can help you create a safe fire that can heat your home quickly and effectively.
Before you begin a fire, check the condition of your coals and logs. If they are too wet they could smother the fire and prevent it from burning efficiently. You might want to open the chimney to eliminate 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 sparks. Once these begin to ignite, add a 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 comes with an automatic control for combustion, it will automatically pump air into the fire as it expands. This allows the fire to burn for a long time without you having to open the stove's door often to keep it in check.
Be careful not to use too much tinder as it will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not use the fuel efficiently. Once you've made a solid foundation in your stove that is made of sparks, tinder and kindling begin the main flame by placing two large base logs on the grate. Then, add small logs perpendicular to these and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of building a fireplace will result in a long-lasting, efficient fire that doesn't completely engulf larger logs from the base.
When your fire is established, close the damper and ensure it stays closed. The fire can be smothered by opening the damper before it is fully established. This can also affect the efficiency of the fire.
Adding Wood
Stoves are not just beautiful home decor pieces They can also help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be used by themselves or together with a furnace or central heating system to provide the additional heating required in large homes or homes with multiple rooms. Many of the new stoves that are clean-burning use a superior combustion principle that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage is for the vaporization process, and the second stage is to provide pre-heated fresh air. This improves the combustion process and helps reduce the odors.
The amount of heat you get from your stove will depend on the type of wood used as well as the moisture content, as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stacked in a well-ventilated area for a period of time before you attempt to burn them, to give the wood time to dry out. If the logs are not dry enough they will create plenty of steam that is essentially wasted energy.
When you are burning the fire, it is recommended to add more wood to the pile at intervals, not all at one time. In addition, adding too much wood at once can cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, causing an air vortex that pulls smoke and unburned volatile compounds back into the flames. This could reduce the effectiveness of your stove.
Avoid burning other combustibles in your stove, like paper or cardboard, as they are not wood. They have different physical properties and can't be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures. Also, avoid using compressed combustibles like wood briquettes as they have a distinct physical and chemical composition from actual firewood and are not type-approved for use in wood burning stoves.
It is essential that you have a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician will test the installation for proper operation and safety, as well as make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in top condition. They can check for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and fix any problems they find. They will also ensure that all occupants of the house understand and follow the evacuation procedure in case of an accident.
Adjusting the Damper
A damper controls the amount of heat that is lost to the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. In addition to this it can help you manage the fire. If the flue is open but the damper is closed too much the fire won't be able to burn properly and will release smoke into your living area. To get the best fire with the damper properly adjusted, you must test different locations and observe how each affects the flames.
Typically, you'll 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 stay lit for several hours. The proper opening will prevent the fire from starving of air, and also prevent it from blowing smoke.
To properly adjust your damper, you have to first make sure the fireplace is preheated and the stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has an adequate draft. Once this is done the damper for the wood stove can be adjusted.
After the fire has been burning for some time, you need to shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will stop the warm air in the room from venting up the chimney while still allowing the smoke to escape from the wood stove.
This is the best method to keep your fire burning and to prevent it from becoming too hot. If you shut the damper too tightly, it may stop the draft from working, but if it is too open a cold breeze could enter your home.
You can test how much the damper is open by placing your hands near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a slight draft pushing against your hand, it's probably in the open position.
fireplacesandstove can vary slightly from one stove to the next, and even between different kinds of wood. You can experiment with different settings to get a sense of the best setting for your stove.
Clean up
After the fire, it's essential to clean the stove and flue. This will reduce the risk of a fire in the chimney, which is the primary reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that can build up in the stovepipe, is very dangerous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape from the fire. This can also occur by fires that are not properly lit.
Regular cleaning can help stop the buildup of creosote. The best method to do this is by sweeping the chimney every year. It is also recommended that you get your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and checked at least year.
It is also an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is recommended to use only wood that is seasoned for burning, as it will create less creosote and ash. It is also a good idea to avoid burning paper, cardboard or plastic items. These items could release dangerous chemicals to the flue and air, which could be released in your home.
The glass that is used on the wood burning stove has to be cleaned regularly too. A lot of modern wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, which means they don't require a lot of scrubs. If you're not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like you can use stove glass cleaners available that you can use on the window.
Some other helpful tips to maintain your wood stove include turning the vent off when you're not using it, and opening the door or window to increase air flow. This will keep the fire burning longer and more efficiently, as it will not need to work as hard to circulate the air. It is advisable not to stack logs, or let them sit on the fire for a long duration. This can lead to splitting and warping. It is best to avoid using combustible compressed wood in your wood stove as the paraffin in the logs can melt and leak into the flue and cause damage.