How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a room and conserve energy. They do require some maintenance.
A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emissions guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker on the underside or next to the grate, to ensure that your stove doesn't create a lot of harmful pollutants.
How to Start a Wood Fire
The sound and smell of a fire made from wood can be a pleasant addition to any house. But it's important to learn the proper way to build a fire in your stove. Improper techniques can result in an unburned fire that doesn't burn efficiently, and produces creosote or smoke. These tips will help you start a fire that will heat your home with minimal effort and with the highest safety.
Before you begin an fire, make sure you check the condition of your logs and coals. If they're wet they will choke your fire and prevent the proper burning. It is possible to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that's fallen into the stove.
Begin by placing a handful of small dry newspaper pieces into your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and kindling. When the tinder and the kindling have started to ignite, you can add the larger kindling pieces on the top. This should be done with the crosshatch pattern to ensure that there is air between each piece.
If your wood stove is equipped with an automatic combustion control it will automatically pump air into the fire as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn at a steady rate without the need to open the stove's door to keep it in check.
Avoid using excessive tinder since it will cause the fire to burn at a rapid rate and not use the fuel efficiently. If you have a nice pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, you can start the main fire by laying two large base logs across the grate. On the top of these base logs lay a layer parallel to them. This method of building an ember known as a "top-down" fire can result in a successful and long-lasting fire that doesn't completely consume the larger base logs.
Close the damper when the fire is established, and keep it shut. The fire may be smothered if the user opens the damper before it has fully established. This can also affect the effectiveness of the fire.
Add Wood
Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and also save you money. They can be utilized in conjunction with a central heating system or furnace to provide supplemental heat in large homes. Many of the latest clean burning stoves that are available today utilize advanced combustion principles that is able to separate the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses as well as tar. This is accomplished by providing air at two different stages. The first stage is for the vaporization and the second step is to supply pre-heated fresh air. This improves combustion and decreases odors.
The amount of heat you get from your stove depends on the type of wood used and the moisture content as well as the size of the logs. To let the wood dry, the logs should be kept in a ventilated space for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are soaked with excessive moisture, they will create steam which is essentially wasted power.
While you're burning the fire, add more wood to the pile at intervals, not all at all at. In addition, adding too much wood all at once can cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, creating a vortex which draws smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into flames. This can reduce the effectiveness of your stove.
Avoid using other combustibles in your stove such as cardboard or paper, because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and can't be burned without producing dangerously high temperatures. Also, you should not use compressed combustibles such as wood briquettes, as they have a completely different chemical and physical properties from actual firewood and are not approved for use in wood burning stoves.
If you're installing a wood burning stove in your home, it is crucial to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test your installation to ensure it is safe and functional. They can also make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. These professionals offer maintenance services for your stove and chimney to ensure they are in good condition. They can look for leaks in the areas accessible to your chimney, and fix any problems they find. They will also make sure that the residents of the house understand and comply with the fire evacuation procedures in case in the event of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
A damper controls how much heat escapes up the chimney when you aren't using your stove. Additionally, it can also help you to control the flame. If the flue is open but the damper is not closed enough, the fire won't be able to burn properly and it will release smoke into your living space. outdoor wood burner can adjust your damper to achieve the most effective flames by playing around with different settings.
Typically, you'll want to keep the damper open enough to let air enter and out of the flue when a fire is burning. This will let the fire start and stay lit for many hours. The proper opening will prevent the fire from starving of air and will keep it from blowing smoke.
To adjust your damper correctly 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 an adequate draft. Once these are done the damper on the wood stove can be adjusted.
Once the fire has smolder for a while, you can close the damper to about three-quarters of its full position. This will stop the warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.
This is the best method to stop the fire from getting too hot while still keeping it lit. If you close the damper too much, it could block the draft from working, but should it be too open a cold breeze could blow into your home.
Placing your hand on the top of the flue pipe will show you how much the damper has sunk. If you can feel a slight breeze pushing against your hand, it is probably in the open position.
The damper settings can differ between stoves and even between different kinds of wood. You can play around with different settings to get a sense of the best setting for your stove.
Clean Up
After a fire, it is important to clean the stove and flue. This can reduce the risk of a chimney fire, which is the main reason for wood stove fires in homes. Creosote, a sticky substance that builds up on the inside of the stovepipe and can be extremely hazardous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that cannot escape the fire. This can also occur when fires aren't lit properly.
Regular cleaning helps to keep away the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by cleaning your chimney once a year. It is also recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and checked at least every year.
It is also a good idea to clean the ash tray and grate regularly. It is a good idea to use only wood that is seasoned to burn, since this will result in less creosote and less ash. Avoid burning paper, cardboard and plastic. These materials can release harmful chemicals for the air and flue which could be released in your home.
It is also essential to clean the glass of the wood burning stove on a regular basis. Many newer wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require any scrubbing. You can apply stove glass cleaners to the window if you're 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 cracking windows or doors to allow more airflow. This will help keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently, since it won't 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 cause splits and warping. It is also a good idea to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove, because the paraffin they contain can melt and flow into the flue which could cause damage to the stove.