How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves can be an excellent way to save energy and warm a room. However, they require 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 under it to ensure that your stove doesn't release harmful pollutants.
How to Start a Wood Fire
The sound and smell of a wood fire can be a wonderful feature in any house. It is essential to know how to create a fire in your stove. Unintentional methods can lead to a fire which does not burn efficiently, and produces creosote or smoke. The tips below will help you begin a safe fire that will warm your home quickly and efficiently.
Before you start a fire, you should 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 get rid of any ash that has fallen into the stove.
Begin by placing several small, dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. Once they start to burn, add another layer of larger pieces of tinder to the top of the pile. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern, so that there will be air between each piece of wood.
If you own a wood stove with an automatic combustion control it will automatically supply an air stream that is controlled to the fire as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn continuously without the need to open the stove door frequently to check on it.
Do not use too much tinder, as this will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and will not be able to use the fuel efficiently. Once you've made a solid base in your stove with tinder, kindling and embers, start the main flame by laying down two large base logs on the grate. Next, place small logs parallel to these and on top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of building the fireplace will create an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't engulf larger base logs.
Close the damper when your fire is established and kept it closed. The fire could be smothered if the user opens the damper before it has fully established. This can also affect the effectiveness of the fire.
Adding Wood
Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and help you save money. They can be used together with a central heating system or furnace to provide additional heating in large houses. Many of the new clean burning stoves that are available on the market use advanced combustion technology that separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar. This is achieved by providing air at two distinct stages. The first stage allows the combustion of volatile compounds and the second supplies fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves combustion and decreases smells.
The amount of heat you will get from a stove is contingent upon the species and the moisture content of the wood you use as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stacked in a well-ventilated space for several months before you try to burn them, to give the wood time to dry. If the logs are not dry enough they will release plenty of steam that is basically wasted energy.
You should add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at one time. Adding too much wood at once causes the temperature in the firebox to increase and produces a vortex that sucks smoke and unburnt volatile compounds back into the flame, which could reduce the efficiency of your stove.
Avoid using other combustibles in your stove, like cardboard or paper, because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and are unable to be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures. Also, you should not use compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes because they have a completely different chemical and physical properties from actual firewood and are not suitable for burning in wood-burning stoves.
If you're planning to install 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 the stove for safe operation and safety, as well as ensure that your chimney is working correctly. These experts can also provide maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in top condition. They will look for leaks in the areas accessible to your chimney and fix any issues they discover. They will also ensure that all occupants of the home understand and follow the fire evacuation procedure in case of an accident.
Adjusting the Damper
If you're not cooking on your stove, a damper controls the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney. It can also be used to manage the flame. If the flue is open but the damper is too closed, the fire will not burn properly and smoke will erupt into your home. You can adjust your damper to ensure the best flames by experimenting with different locations.
Typically, you want to keep the damper open enough to let air in and out of the flue when the fire is burning. This lets the fire get going and keeps it burning so that you can enjoy it for hours. The right opening will also stop the fire from becoming starved of air, and also prevent it from blowing out smoke.
To adjust wood burning stoves near me is important to first make sure that the fireplace is preheated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has a good draft. Once this is accomplished the damper on the wood stove can be adjusted.
Once the fire has burned for a while, you can shut the damper down to about three-quarters of its maximum. This will stop 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 best way to stop the fire from getting too hot while keeping it lit. If you shut the damper too tightly, it could stop the draft from working, but when it's too wide, 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 opened. If you can feel a small draft pressing against your hand, it is probably in the open position.
The damper setting can vary a little from one stove to another and even between different types of wood. The process of experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what you should look for, but you will need to adjust until you get the perfect setting for your stove.
Clean Up
It is essential to clean your stove and flue after an incident. This will reduce the risk of an ensuing fire in the chimney which is the most common cause of fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky material that can build up inside the stovepipe, is very dangerous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape the fire. It could 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 a year. It is recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year, too.
Also, it's a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only seasoned wood to burn, since this will result in less creosote and ash. It is also a good idea to avoid burning paper, cardboard or plastic items. These items can release dangerous chemicals for the air and flue, that could end up in your home.
It is also important to clean the glass of the wood burning stove on a regular basis. Many modern wood stoves come with self-cleaning windows, which means they don't require as much cleaning. You can use stove glass cleaners on the window if you're able get the glass as clean as you'd like on your wood stove.
Some other helpful tips to maintain your wood stove include turning the vent down when you are not using it, and opening windows or doors to increase air flow. This will help keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently since it won't need to be as active to circulate the air. It is recommended not to stack logs, or leave them on the fire for a long time. This can cause warping and splits. Finally, it is recommended to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove as the paraffin they contain can melt and then flow into the flue which could damage it.