How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves can be an excellent option to conserve energy and warm rooms. They require some care.
Many modern wood stoves are compliant with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure your stove doesn't release harmful pollutants.
How to start a Wood Fire
The sound and smell of a wood fire could be a welcome addition to any home. But it's important to learn the proper way to make a fire on your stove. Incorrect techniques may lead to an unburned fire that doesn't burn efficiently, and produces smoke or creosote. The tips below will aid you in starting a fire that will heat your home with minimal effort and with the highest security.
Before you begin an fire, make sure you check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet they will choke your fire and prevent the proper burning. You may also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has been deposited into the stove.
Begin by putting a few small, dry pieces of newspaper in your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. After the tinder and kindling are beginning to burn, you can add an additional layer of larger pieces on top. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there will be air between each piece of wood.
If your wood stove has an automatic combustion control it will automatically pump air into the fire as it grows. This allows the fire to burn continuously without you having to open the stove door often to keep it in check.
It is important to not use excessive tinder as this can lead to a fire that burns at an excessive rate and doesn't use the fuel as efficiently as it could. Once you've made a solid base in your stove with sparks, tinder and kindling, start the main flame by laying down two large base logs on the grate. Then, on the top of these base woods put a layer of wood perpendicular to them. This method of building an ember called a "top-down" fire will result in a powerful and long-lasting fire that does not completely consume the larger base logs.
Close the damper after the fire is established and kept it closed. If you open the damper too early, it can cause the fire get smothered and not allow for proper air flow, which will reduce its efficiency.
Add Wood
Stoves are not only beautiful pieces of home decor - they can help you save money by providing efficient wood heat. They can be used in conjunction with central heating systems or furnace to provide additional heating in large homes. Many of the latest stoves that are clean burning 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 supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage is for the vaporization and the second is to supply fresh air that is pre-heated. This enhances the combustion process and reduces odors.
The amount of heat you get from your stove is contingent on the type of wood and the amount of moisture as well as 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 have excessive moisture, they will create steam that is in essence wasted power.
While you're burning the fire, you should add more wood to the pile at intervals, and not all at one time. The addition of too much wood at once could cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating a vortex which pulls smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into flames. This could decrease the efficiency of your stove.
You should avoid the use of other combustibles such as paper or cardboard in your stove, as they are not wood and possess different physical properties that can't be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures and excessive emissions. You should not burn combustibles that are compressed, such as wood briquettes since they are different in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not approved by the type to be burned in wood burning stoves.
If you're planning to install wood-burning stoves into your home, it's important to have it properly installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety and also ensure that your chimney is operating correctly. They also provide maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in tip-top shape. They can check the accessible areas of your chimney for leaks, and repair any problems discovered. They will also make sure that the occupants of your home understand and comply with the fire evacuation procedures in case of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
A damper regulates the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney when you aren't cooking on your stove. It can also be used to control the flame. If the flue is open but the damper is not closed enough, the fire will not burn as efficiently and it will billow out smoke into your living space. To get the most efficient fire, with the damper properly adjusted, you must experiment with different positions and observe how each one affects the flames.
Typically, you'll want to keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue when a fire is burning. This will allow the fire to start and stay lit for many hours. The right opening can stop the fire from becoming depleted of air and keep it from blowing smoke.
To properly adjust your damper, you must first ensure that the fireplace is heated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure the chimney is warm, and it also has a strong draft. Once these are done the damper for wood stoves can be adjusted.
Once the fire has burned for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its maximum. This will stop the warm room air from escaping into the chimney, while allowing smoke to escape from the wood stove.
This is the best method to ensure that your fire is lit and keep it from getting too hot. If you shut the damper too much, it could stop the draft from working, but should it be too wide, a cold breeze could blow into your home.
You can determine how much the damper is opened by holding your hand near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a small draft pushing 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 kinds of wood. You can experiment with different settings to get an idea of the most suitable 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 ensuing fire in the chimney which is the main reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance that builds up on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. fireplacesandstove is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that are unable to escape from the fire. It could be caused by improperly lit fires.
Regular cleaning helps to stop the buildup of creosote. The best method to do this is to sweep the chimney every year. It is also recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and examined at least yearly.
It is also recommended to clean out the Ash tray and grate frequently. It is recommended to only use seasoned wood to burn, since it will create less creosote and ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. They can release chemicals that can be dangerous for the respiratory tract and the atmosphere, which may be released into your home.
The glass that is used on the wood burning stove needs to be regularly cleaned as well. Most newer wood stoves have self-cleaning windows, so they don't require as much scrubbing. You can apply stove glass cleaners to the window if you're getting the glass as clean as you'd like on your wood stove.
Other helpful tips for maintaining your wood stove include turning the vent down when you are not using it, and opening windows or doors to increase the flow of air. This will keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently since it will not need to be as active to circulate air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or keep them in the fire for long periods of time as this can lead to warping and splitting. In addition, it is a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible wood logs in your wood stove because the paraffin in them can melt and then flow into the flue which could damage it.