How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a space and also save energy. They do require some maintenance.
Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker under or beside the grate, to ensure that your stove doesn't generate many harmful pollutants.
How to Start a Wood Fire
The smell and sound of a wood fire could be a wonderful addition to any home. It's important to know how to build a fire in your stove. outdoor wood stove can lead to the fire not to burn efficiently, and produces smoke or creosote. These tips can help you start an efficient fire that will warm your home quickly and effectively.
Check the condition of your logs and coals before you begin an fire. If they are wet it will dampen your fire and prevent the proper burning. It is possible to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that falls into the stove.
Start by placing some small, dry newspaper pieces into your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. Once the tinder and kindling have started to burn, you can put an additional layer of larger pieces on the top. This should be done with an arc pattern so 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 flame as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn continuously without having to open the stove's door often to keep it in check.
It's important to avoid using too much tinder, as this could result in a fire that burns at an extremely high rate and fails to utilize the fuel as efficiently as it could. After you've built a solid foundation in your stove that is made of igniters, tinder, and embers, start the main flame by laying two large base logs on the grill. Then, on the top of these base woods lay a layer parallel to them. This "top-down" method of creating a fireplace will produce a long-lasting and effective fire that doesn't engulf larger base logs.
When your fire is established Close the damper and keep it shut. 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 aren't only beautiful pieces of home decor They can also help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be utilized together with central heating systems or furnace to provide supplemental heating in large houses. Many of the new stoves that are clean-burning employ a superior combustion process that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from the combustion of combustible gases and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage permits the vaporization of the 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 a stove depends on the type and amount of moisture of the wood, and also the size of 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 contain too much moisture, they'll produce steam, which is basically wasted energy.
When you are burning the fire, it is recommended to add more wood to the stack in intervals, not all at one time. In addition, adding too much wood at once could cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, causing a vortex which pulls smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into the flames. This could reduce the effectiveness of your stove.
Avoid burning other combustibles in your stove, like cardboard or paper, because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and cannot be burned without producing dangerously high temperatures. Also, you should not use compressed combustibles like wood briquettes as they have a very different chemical and physical composition to real firewood and aren't suitable for use in wood burning stoves.
It is important that a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician will test the installation for safe operation and safety, and also ensure that your chimney is operating properly. They provide maintenance services for your chimney and stove to ensure they are in good shape. They can inspect the areas that are accessible to your chimney for leaks, and fix any issues that are discovered. They will also make sure that all house occupants know and follow the fire evacuation procedures in the event in the event of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
When you're not cooking on your stove, a damper regulates how much heat is lost through the chimney. It can also be used to control the fire. If the flue is open but the damper is not closed, the fire will not be able to burn as it should and smoke will erupt into your home. To ensure you have the most effective fire using the damper properly adjusted, you should test different positions and observe how each affects the flames.
It is important to keep your damper open to let air be able to enter and exit the flue while a fire is burning. This will let the fire start and stay lit for many hours. The right opening can stop the fire from being deprived of air and prevent it from blowing smoke.
To properly adjust your damper it is important to first make sure that the fireplace is preheated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney stays warm and has good draft. Once these are done 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 stop the warm air in the room from escaping into the chimney, while still allowing smoke to escape.
This is the best method to prevent the fire from getting too hot while still keeping it lit. If you close the damper too tightly, it may stop the draft from working, however 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 placing your hand on the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a small breeze rubbing against your hand the damper is probably to be open.
The damper settings can differ slightly from one stove to another and even between different kinds of wood. Playing around with different settings will give you an idea of what you should look for, but you will have to keep adjusting it until you find the perfect setting for your stove.
Clean Up
After an incident, it is important to clean the stove and flue. This can reduce the chance of an explosion in the chimney, which is the primary cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that can build up inside the stovepipe, is very dangerous. Unburned and moist particles of wood that cannot escape the fire are responsible for this chemical. It could also be caused by improperly lit fires.
Regular cleaning helps to keep away the buildup of creosote. The best way to do this is by sweeping the chimney each year. It is recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year as well.
It is also a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is a good idea to only use seasoned wood for burning, as this will produce less creosote as well as ash. Avoid burning paper, cardboard and plastic. These items could release dangerous chemicals for the air and flue, which can be released into your home.
The glass in the wood stove has to be cleaned regularly too. The majority of modern wood stoves have self-cleaning windows so they do not require as much scrubs. If you're not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like you can use stove glass cleaners available that you can use on the window.
Other suggestions to keep your wood stove in good condition include turning down the vent when you're not using it and slamming doors or windows to improve airflow. This will keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently, since it won't have to work as hard to circulate the air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or keep them in the fire for prolonged durations of time, since 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 in them could melt and spill into the flue which could cause damage to the stove.