How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves can be an excellent method to reduce energy consumption and warm a room. They require some care.
A majority of modern wood stove s comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker under or beside the grate, to ensure that your stove won't produce lots of harmful pollutants.
How to start a Wood Fire
The smell and sound of a wood fire can be a welcome addition to any home. It's essential to know how to build a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not to burn efficiently, and produces smoke or creosote. These tips can help you start a safe fire that will heat up your home quickly and effectively.
Make sure to check the condition of your logs and coals before you begin the fire. If they're damp it will dampen your fire and hinder proper burning. You may also want to open the flue to let any ash that has been deposited into the stove.
Begin by putting a few small dry newspaper pieces in your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. Once they start 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 will be air between each piece of wood.
If you have a wood stove that has an automatic control for combustion it will automatically supply a controlled stream of air to your fire as it builds. This will enable the fire to burn at a consistent pace without having to open the stove door to keep it in check.
Avoid using too much tinder as this will cause the fire to burn at a rapid rate and not utilize the fuel efficiently. When you have a good pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, you can start the main fire by laying two large base logs on the grate. On top of these base logs, place a layer perpendicularly to them. This method of building a fire called a "top-down" fire can result in a successful and long-lasting fire that will not engulf the larger base logs.
When your fire is established Close the damper and keep it closed. Doing this too soon can cause the fire get smothered and not allow for the correct air flow, which will lower the effectiveness of the fire.
Adding Wood
Stoves can be used to efficiently heat your home and help you save money. They can be used by themselves or together with a furnace or central heating system to provide the supplemental heat needed in large homes or homes with multiple rooms. The latest clean-burning stoves on the market use a superior combustion principle that differentiates the burning process of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by providing air in two different stages. The first stage permits the combustion of volatile compounds and the second stage supplies fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves combustion and decreases smells.
The amount of heat you can get from your stove is contingent on the kind of wood used as well as the amount of moisture in it and the size of the logs. To allow the wood to dry, logs should be kept in a ventilated area for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are too wet they will create plenty of steam that is in essence wasted energy.
It is best to add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at once. Adding too much wood at one time can cause the temperature of the firebox to rise, and produces a vortex that sucks smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame, which could reduce your stove's efficiency.
You should avoid the use of any other combustibles, like cardboard or paper in your stove, as they are not wood and have different physical properties that can't be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. Also, you should not use compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes as they have a distinct physical and chemical composition from real firewood and aren't approved for use in wood burning stoves.
It is essential to have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician can test your stove to ensure it is safe and reliable. They can also make sure whether your chimney is working properly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in good condition. They can check for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney, and fix any problems they find. They will also ensure that all house occupants are aware of and adhere to the fire evacuation procedures in case in the event of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
When you're not making use of your stove, a damper controls the amount of heat lost through the chimney. In addition to this it can also help to control the flame. If the flue opens, but the damper is closed, the fire will not ignite properly and smoke will billow into your home. To ensure you have the most efficient fire, with your damper set correctly, you must test different locations and observe how each affects the flames.
You want to keep your damper open to allow air to be able to enter and exit the flue while a fire is burning. This lets the fire get going and helps it stay lit so you can enjoy it for a long time. The proper opening will stop the fire from being deprived of air and stop it from blowing smoke.
In order to properly adjust your damper you need to first ensure that the fireplace is heated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure the chimney is warm, and it also has an adequate draft. After this the damper on the wood stove can be adjusted.
After the fire has burned for an extended period, close the damper approximately three quarters of the way. This will prevent warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, while still permitting smoke to escape.
This is the best method to keep the fire from getting too hot while still keeping it lit. If you close the damper too tightly, it could block the draft from working, but should it be too open, a cold wind could blow into your home.
You can check to see how much the damper is opened by holding your hand near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you can feel a slight breeze pushing on your hand it's probably in the open position.
The damper setting can vary a little from one stove to the next, and even between different kinds of wood. You can play around with different settings to get an idea of the best setting for your stove.
Clean Up
After an incident, it is crucial to clean the flue and stove. This will help lower the risk of a chimney fire, which is the main cause of wood stove related fires in homes. Creosote is a sticky material that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. Unburned and moist particles of wood that are unable to escape the fire are the cause for this substance. This can also occur when fires aren't properly lit.
A regular cleaning schedule can help prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be done by sweeping your chimney at least once a year. It is recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally inspected and cleaned at least once a year.
Also, it is a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is best to burn only seasoned wood, as it will produce less creosote. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper or plastic items. These items can release dangerous chemicals to the air and flue, which could be released in your home.
It is also necessary to clean the glass of the wood stove regularly. A lot of modern wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, which means that they don't require a lot of cleaning. If you are not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like, there are stove glass cleaners that you can use 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 opening windows or doors to increase air flow. This will keep the fire burning longer and more efficiently, as it won't need to work as hard to circulate the air. It is recommended to not stack logs or leave them in the fire for long periods of time as this could lead to warping and splitting. In addition, it is a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible logs in your wood stove, as the paraffin they contain can melt and flow into the flue which could cause damage.