How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves can be a great way to save energy and heat the room. However, they need an amount of care. Many modern wood stoves are compliant with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure that 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 pleasant feature in any house. It's essential to know how to build an effective fire on your stove. Unintentional methods can lead to a fire which does not 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 efficiently. Examine the condition of your coals and logs before you start the fire. If they're wet they will choke your fire and prevent the proper burning. It is possible to open the chimney to remove any ash that's fallen into the stove. Begin by putting a handful of small, dry pieces of newspaper in the stove. This will help spark the tinder and ignite your kindling. Once the tinder and kindling have started to burn, you can add a layer of larger kindling pieces on the 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 expands. This allows the fire to burn for a long time without the need to open the stove door often to keep it in check. Avoid using excessive tinder since it will cause the fire to burn at a fast rate and not utilize the fuel effectively. Once you've made a solid base in your stove with sparks, tinder and kindling to start the main flame, you can do this by laying down two large logs of the base on the grate. On top of these base logs, place a layer perpendicularly to them. This method of creating the fire is called a top-down fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that does not engulf the larger base logs. Close the damper when your fire is established and keep it shut. Doing this too soon can cause the fire get smothered and not allow for the proper air flow, which will decrease the efficiency of the fire. Add Wood Stoves can be used to efficiently heat your home and save you money. They can be utilized together with a central heating system or furnace to provide additional heating in large homes. A lot of the clean burning stoves that are available use advanced combustion technology that separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar. This is achieved by supplying air at two different stages. The first stage allows the combustion of volatile compounds and the second stage offers fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and reduces smells. The amount of heat you get from your stove is contingent on the kind of wood used as well as the amount of moisture, as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stored in a ventilated area for several months before you try to burn them, to give the wood a chance to dry. If the logs are soaked with excessive moisture, they'll produce steam which is essentially wasted power. While you're burning the fire, it is recommended to add more wood to the stack at intervals, and not all at once. The addition of too much wood at once could cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating a vortex which pulls smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into flames. This could decrease the efficiency of your stove. Avoid using other combustibles inside your stove such as cardboard or paper, because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and can't be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures. You should not burn compressed combustibles like 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. It is important that a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician will examine your stove to make sure it is safe and reliable. They will also ensure that your chimney works correctly. These experts can also provide maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in tip-top shape. They can check for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and repair any problems they find. They will also make sure that all house occupants are aware of and adhere to the evacuation procedures for fire in the event in the event of an emergency. Adjusting the Damper A damper regulates how much heat escapes through the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. It can also be used to control the flame. If the flue opens but the damper is closed the fire won't be able to burn as it should and smoke will erupt into your home. You can adjust your damper to achieve the most effective flames by playing around with different settings. You should 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 remain lit for a number of hours. A proper opening will prevent the fire from starving of air and will keep it from blowing smoke. To be able to 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 that it has a good draft. After these steps are completed, the damper on the wood stove can be adjusted. After wood burning fireplace has smolder slightly, you need to shut the damper down to about three-quarters of its maximum. This will prevent the warm air from the room from going through the chimney, while allowing smoke to escape from the wood stove. This is the best way to keep your fire lit and keep it from getting too hot. The draft could be stopped if you close the damper to far but a cold wind could be able to enter your home in the event that the damper is not closed. Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will tell you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a breeze rubbing against your hand the damper is probably in an open position. The damper settings can vary from one stove to another and even among different types of wood. You can experiment with different settings to get an idea of the ideal setting for your stove. Clean Up It is essential to clean your stove and flue after an incident. This can reduce the chance of an ensuing fire in the chimney which is the most common cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky material that accumulates on the stovepipe's interior and can be very dangerous. Moisture and unburned particles of wood that cannot escape the flame are the reason for this substance. It could also be caused by improperly lit fires. A regular cleaning routine helps prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney at least once every year. It is also recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a every year. It is also a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is recommended to only use seasoned wood for burning, as this will result in less creosote and less ash. Avoid burning paper, cardboard and plastic. These can release chemicals that can be dangerous for the respiratory tract and the atmosphere, which may be released into your home. The glass on the wood burning stove needs to be regularly cleaned as well. Most newer wood stoves have self-cleaning windows, so they don't require as much cleaning. You can use stove glass cleaners on the window if you're not capable of getting 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 aren't using it, and opening doors or windows to allow more airflow. This will keep the fire burning hotter, and more efficiently. The wood stove won't have to work as hard in order to circulate air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or keep them in the flame 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 flow down the flue which could cause damage to the stove.
wood burning fireplace
