How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are an ideal way to save energy and also heat a room. However, they require an amount of care.
Many modern wood stoves are compliant with EPA emission guidelines. You can check for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure your stove doesn't release harmful pollutants.
How to Start a Wood Fire
The smell and sound of a woodfire can be a welcome addition in any house. But it's important to learn the proper way to create a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in an unburned fire that doesn't burn well, and may produce creosote or smoke. The following tips will help you begin a fire that is safe and will heat up your home quickly and effectively.
Examine cheap wood burning stoves of your logs and coals before you start the fire. If they are too wet they will choke the fire and prevent it from burning properly. It is possible to open the chimney to get rid of any ash that has fallen into the stove.
Begin by putting several small, dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help ignite the tinder and kindling. 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 combustion control it will automatically supply an air stream controlled to the fire as it grows. This allows the fire to burn steadily without the need to open the stove door constantly to tend to it.
Do not use excessive tinder since this will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not utilize the fuel efficiently. When you have a good fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, start the main fire by laying two large base logs across the grate. Then, you can lay a layer of smaller logs parallel to these and on the top of the base logs. This method of building a fire called a "top-down" fire will result in an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't engulf the larger base logs.
Close the damper after your fire is established and keep it closed. The fire could be smothered if you open the damper prior to it being fully established. It can also decrease the efficiency of the fire.
Adding Wood
Stoves aren't only beautiful pieces of home decor - they can help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be used alone or together with central heating or furnace system to provide the extra heat required in large houses or houses with a lot of rooms. Many of the latest stoves that are clean burning available use advanced combustion principles that separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar. This is accomplished by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage allows the burning of volatile compounds, while the second step offers fresh air that is pre-heated. This enhances the combustion process and reduces the smell.
The amount of heat that you can get from a stove depends on the type and amount of moisture of the wood you use, and also the size of logs. The logs must be stored in a well-ventilated space for a period of time before you attempt to burn them to give the wood time to dry out. If the logs are wet they will create lots of steam, which is essentially wasted energy.
You should add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at once. In addition, adding too much wood at once could cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating a vortex which pulls smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into flames. This can reduce the effectiveness of your stove.
You should avoid the use of any other combustibles, such as paper or cardboard in your stove, because they are not wood and have very different physical properties that 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 distinct chemical and physical composition to real firewood and aren't suitable for burning 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 to ensure proper operation and safety, and also ensure that your chimney is working properly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in good condition. They will look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and fix any problems they find. They will also ensure that all residents of the home understand and follow the evacuation procedure in the event of an accident.
Adjusting the Damper
When you're not cooking on your stove, a damper regulates the amount of heat lost through the chimney. Additionally, it can help you manage the fire. If the flue opens, but the damper is not closed, the fire will not burn properly and smoke will pour into your home. You can adjust the damper to ensure the best flames by experimenting with different settings.
You want to keep your damper open to let air be able to enter and exit the flue while a fire is burning. This will allow the fire to begin and stay lit for many hours. The proper opening will stop the fire from being starved of air and prevent it from blowing smoke.
In order to properly adjust your damper, you need to first make sure the fireplace is heated and the wood stove is warm. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has a good draft. After that, the damper for wood stoves 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 prevent the warm air in the room from venting up the chimney while still allowing smoke to escape out of the wood stove.
This is the most effective way to keep your fire burning and keep it from getting too hot. If you close the damper too tightly, it could stop the draft from working, however when it's too open a cold breeze could blow through your home.
Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will tell you how much the damper has sunk. If you feel a breeze rubbing against your hand The damper is most likely in an open position.
The damper's setting can vary slightly from one stove to the next and even between different kinds of wood. Experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you might have to keep adjusting until you get the ideal setting for your stove.
Clean up
After the fire, it's important to clean the stove and flue. This will reduce the risk of an ensuing fire in the chimney which is the most common cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape the fire. It can be caused by improperly lit fires.
A regular cleaning routine helps prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by cleaning your chimney once every year. It is recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year as well.
It is also a good idea to clean out the ash tray and grate it regularly. It is recommended to only burn wood that has been seasoned, as it will produce less creosote. It is also recommended to avoid burning paper, cardboard, plastic and other trash items. These materials can release harmful chemicals to the flue and air, which could be released in your home.
It is also necessary to wash the glass of the wood burning stove on a regular basis. Many modern wood stoves come with self-cleaning windows so they do not require as much scrubs. You can apply stove glass cleaners to the window if you're able get the glass as clean as you would like on your wood stove.
Other ways to maintain your wood stove include turning down 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 won't have to be as active to circulate air. It is recommended to not stack logs or keep them in the fire for prolonged durations of time, since this could cause warping and splitting. It is recommended to avoid using combustible compressed wood in your wood stove as the paraffin in the wood can melt and then flow into the flue and cause damage.