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How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves can be an excellent method to reduce energy consumption and also heat the room. They do require some maintenance. Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or beneath it to make sure your stove doesn't release harmful pollutants. How to start a Wood Fire The smell and sound of a fire can be a welcome addition in any home. But it's important to learn the correct method to make a fire on your stove. Incorrect techniques may lead to the fire not to burn effectively, and can produce creosote or smoke. These tips will assist you in starting the fire that will warm your home with minimum effort and maximum safety. Examine the condition of your logs and coals before you start an fire. If they are wet, they will smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You may want to open the chimney to remove any ash that falls into the stove. Start by placing some small, dry newspaper pieces into your stove. This will help to ignite the fire. Once they start to burn, add another layer of larger pieces of kindling to the top of the pile. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern, so that there is air between each piece of wood. If you have a wood stove with an automatic control of combustion it will automatically supply a controlled stream of air to the flame as it heats. This allows the fire to burn for a long time without you having to open the door of your stove constantly to tend to it. It is essential to avoid using excessive tinder as this could result in an unburned fire that burns at an extremely high rate and fails to make use of the fuel as efficiently as possible. Once you've made a solid foundation in your stove that is made of igniters, tinder, and embers to start the main flame, you can do this by placing two large logs of the base on the grill. Then, on double sided wood burner of these base woods put a layer of wood perpendicular to them. This method of constructing the fire is called a “top-down” fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that doesn't overtake the larger base logs. When your fire is established Close the damper and keep it closed. If you open the damper too early, it can cause the fire be smothered, and it will not allow for proper airflow, which will reduce its efficiency. Adding Wood Stoves are not only beautiful pieces of home decor they can also help you save money by providing efficient wood heating. They can be utilized together with a central heating system or furnace to provide additional heating for large homes. A lot of the stoves that are clean burning available use advanced combustion principles that separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses as well as tar. This is accomplished by supplying air at two different stages. The first stage is for the vaporization and the second is to supply fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and decreases smells. The amount of heat you get from your stove will depend on the kind of wood used and the amount of moisture in it, as well as the size of the logs. To allow the wood to dry, logs must be stored in a ventilated location for a few months prior to burning. If the logs are not dry enough, they will produce a lot of steam that is basically wasted energy. During the burning of the fire, add more wood to the pile at intervals, but not all at all at. Adding too much wood at one time causes the temperature in the firebox to increase and creates a vortex that draws smoke and unburnt volatile compounds back into the flame, which can decrease the efficiency of your stove. You should avoid the use of other combustibles, such as paper or cardboard in your stove, since they are not wood and have very different physical properties and cannot be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures and exorbitant emissions. You should also not use compressed combustibles like wood briquettes, as they have a completely different physical and chemical composition from real firewood and aren't approved for burning in wood burning stoves. It is crucial that you have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician will test your stove to ensure it is safe and reliable. They can also make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in good condition. They can check for leaks in the areas that are accessible to your chimney, and fix any issues they spot. They will also make sure that all residents of the house are aware of and follow the fire evacuation procedure in case of an accident. Adjusting the Damper If you're not using your stove, a damper regulates the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney. Additionally, it can help you manage the fire. If the flue opens but the damper is too closed the fire will not burn properly and smoke will pour into your home. To ensure you have the most effective fire using your damper adjusted properly you have to play around with different locations and observe how each one affects the flames. You should keep your damper open to allow air to flow into and out of the flue while a fire is burning. This allows the fire to get going and also helps keep it in good shape so that you can enjoy it for a long time. The right opening can stop the fire from becoming depleted of air and keep it from blowing smoke. In order to properly adjust your damper you need to ensure that the fireplace is preheated and the wood stove is warm. This will ensure that the chimney is warm, and that it has a good draft. Once these are done the damper for wood stoves can be adjusted. Once the fire has smolder for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its maximum. This will stop the warm air from the room from going into the chimney, while allowing the smoke to escape out of the wood stove. This is the best method to keep your fire lit and keep it from getting too hot. The draft might be stopped if one closes the damper to far, but a cold wind can enter your home when the damper is not closed. Placing your hand on the top of the flue pipe will tell you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a slight draft pushing against your hand, it's likely to be in the open position. The damper settings can vary from one stove to another and even between different kinds of wood. The process of experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you might need to adjust it until you find the perfect setting for your stove. Clean Up After a fire, it is crucial to clean the flue and stove. This will reduce the risk of an explosion in the chimney which is the main cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky material that forms on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape the fire. It can also happen when fires are not lit properly. Regular cleaning helps to keep away the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney once a year. It is also recommended to have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and checked at least yearly. It is also an excellent idea to clean out the ash tray and grate it regularly. It is best to burn only wood that is well-seasoned, as it will produce less creosote. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. These can release chemicals that can be dangerous for the respiratory tract and the air, and could be released into your home. It is also important to wash the glass of the wood-burning stove regularly. The majority of newer wood stoves have self-cleaning glass, which means they don't require a lot of cleaning. You can apply stove glass cleaners to the window if you're not getting the glass as clean as you want on your wood stove. Other tips to keep your wood stove in good condition include lowering the vent when you're not using it, and cracking windows or doors to increase airflow. This will keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently, as it won't need to exert as much effort to circulate air. It is also a good idea not stack logs or place them in the flame for long periods of time, as this can lead to splitting and warping. It is recommended to avoid using combustible wood that has been compressed in your wood stove as the paraffin that is contained in the logs can melt and leak into the flue and cause damage.