How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a comfortable method to heat a room and save energy. However, they need some level of maintenance.
A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure that your stove doesn't emit harmful pollutants.
How to Start a Wood Fire
The scent and sound of a wood fire can be a wonderful feature in any home. It is essential to know how to build a fire in your stove. Incorrect techniques can lead to the fire not burning effectively and can cause creosote or smoke. The tips below will help you start the fire that will warm your home with minimum effort and with the highest safety.
Before you start an fire, make sure you check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet they will choke your fire and hinder proper burning. You may want to open the chimney to remove any ash that falls into the stove.
Begin by placing a handful of small dry newspaper pieces into your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder. When they begin to burn, add a layer of larger pieces to the top of the pile. This should be done using an arc pattern so that there is air between each piece.
If you have a wood stove with an automatic control of combustion it will automatically supply a controlled stream of air to the flame as it heats. This will help the fire to burn at a steady rate without having to open the stove's doors to keep it in check.
It is essential to avoid using excessive tinder as this can lead to a fire that burns at an excessive rate and doesn't utilize the fuel as efficiently as it can. When you have a good fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, you can start the main fire by placing two large base logs on the grate. Then, you can lay an additional layer of smaller logs parallel to these and on the top of the base logs. This method of constructing a fire called a "top-down" fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that will not completely consume the larger base logs.
When your fire is established, close the damper and ensure it stays closed. The fire can be smothered if you open the damper prior to it being fully established. This can also affect the efficiency of the fire.
Add Wood
Stoves aren't only beautiful pieces of home decor They can also help you save money by providing efficient wood heat. They can be utilized in conjunction with a central heating system or furnace to provide supplemental heating for large homes. Many of the new stoves that burn cleanly available today utilize an advanced combustion principle which is able to separate the burning volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar. This is achieved by supplying air at two distinct stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization process, and the second step is to supply fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves combustion and reduces smells.
The amount of heat you get from a stove depends on the species and the moisture content of the wood and also the dimensions of the logs. To allow the wood to dry, the logs should be kept in a ventilated location for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are not dry enough they will release lots of steam, which is essentially wasted energy.
It is best to add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at all at. Addition of too much wood all at once could cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, creating a vortex which pulls smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flames. This could reduce the efficiency of your stove.
You should avoid the use of any other combustibles, such as paper or cardboard in your stove, as they are not wood and have very different physical properties that can't be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures and exorbitant emissions. It is not recommended to burn compressed combustibles like wood briquettes because they differ in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not type-approved to be used in wood burning stoves.
If you are installing wood-burning stoves into your home, it is important to have it properly installed and tested by a professional. A certified WETT technician can test your installation to ensure that it is safe and efficient. They can also make sure that your chimney works correctly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in top condition. They can check for leaks in the areas accessible to your chimney and fix any issues they discover. They will also make sure that the occupants of the home understand and follow the evacuation procedure in case of an accident.
Adjusting the Damper
If you're not using your stove, a damper can control the amount of heat lost through the chimney. It can also be used to manage the flame. If the flue opens but the damper is not closed the fire will not ignite properly and smoke will erupt into your home. To get the most efficient fire, with the damper properly adjusted, you have to experiment with different settings and observe how each affects the flames.
Typically, you should keep the damper open enough to let air enter and out of the flue when the fire is burning. This will let the fire start and stay lit for many hours. The right opening will prevent the fire from being deprived of air and stop it from blowing smoke.
To properly adjust your damper first, make sure that the fireplace is heated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm, and also that it has a good draft. After that, the damper on the wood stove can be adjusted.
After the fire has been burning for a while, you should shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will stop warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.
This is the best way to stop the fire from getting too hot, while also keeping it burning. The draft could be stopped if you close the damper to far but a cold wind can enter your home in the event that the damper is not closed.
Placing your hand on the top of the flue pipe will inform you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a slight breeze rubbing against your hand The damper is most likely in the open position.
The damper settings can vary from one stove to another 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 a fire, it is important to clean the flue and stove. This can reduce the chance of an ensuing fire in the chimney, which is the primary reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that builds up on the stovepipe's interior and can be extremely hazardous. The moisture and the unburned parts of wood that cannot escape the fire are responsible for this chemical. This can also be caused when fires aren't lit properly.
Regular cleaning helps to prevent creosote buildup. The best method to do this is to sweep the chimney each year. It is recommended to have your stove and fireplace professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year, too.
It is also a good idea to clean out the Ash tray and grate frequently. It is recommended to burn only seasoned wood since it will create less creosote. Avoid burning paper, cardboard and plastic. These can release harmful chemicals for the flue and atmosphere, which may be released into your home.
The glass on the wood burning stove has to be cleaned regularly as well. The majority of modern wood stoves have self-cleaning windows, so they don't require as much scrubs. If best woodburners to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you would like, there are stove glass cleaners that can be used on the window.
Some other helpful suggestions for maintaining your wood stove are to turn the vent down when you are not using it and cracking a window or door to increase air flow. This will help keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently, since it will not need to exert as much effort to circulate the air. It is recommended to not stack logs or place them in the fire for long periods of time as this can lead to warping and splitting. In addition, it is a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible logs in your wood stove because the paraffin they contain can melt and then flow into the flue which could damage it.