How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a great option to conserve energy and warm the room. They do require some maintenance.
Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker on the underside or next to the grate to ensure your stove doesn't generate many harmful pollutants.
How to start a Wood Fire
The sound and smell of a wood fire can be a welcome feature in any home. However, it is important to know the correct method to make a fire on your stove. Incorrect techniques may lead to an unburned fire that doesn't burn effectively, and can produce creosote or smoke. The tips below can help you create a fire that is safe and will warm your home quickly and efficiently.
Before you begin a fire, you should check the condition of your logs and coals. If they're too damp, they will smother the fire and prevent it from burning efficiently. You might also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has been deposited into the stove.
Begin by putting a handful of small dry pieces of newspaper into your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. After the tinder and kindling have started to ignite, you can add a layer of larger kindling pieces on the top. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there is air between each piece of wood.
If your wood stove comes with an automatic control for combustion, it will automatically pump air into the flame as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn at a steady rate without the need to open the stove's doors to keep it in check.
It is essential to avoid using excessive tinder as it can cause the fire burning at an excessive rate and doesn't make use of the fuel as efficiently as it could. If you have a nice pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, start the main fire by placing two large base logs across the grate. Next, place a layer of smaller logs perpendicular to these and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of creating the fireplace will create an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't completely engulf larger base logs.
Once your fire is well established Close the damper and keep it shut. The fire can be smothered if you open the damper before it is fully established. This can also affect the effectiveness of the fire.
Adding Wood
Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and also save you money. They can be used alone or together with a furnace or central heating system to provide the extra heat required in large houses or homes with many rooms. Many of the new clean-burning stoves on the market use a superior combustion principle that separates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization process, and the second stage is to supply pre-heated fresh air. This improves the process of combustion and helps to reduce the smell.
The amount of heat you will get from a stove will depend on the type and amount of moisture of the wood used as well as the size of the logs. To let the wood dry, logs should be stored in a well ventilated location for a couple of months prior to burning. If the logs contain too much moisture, they will create steam, which is basically wasted energy.
During the burning of the fire, you should add more wood to the stack in intervals, and not all at once. The addition of too much wood all at once could cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, creating the formation of a vortex that pulls smoke and unburned volatile compounds back into the flames. This can reduce the effectiveness of your stove.
Avoid burning other combustibles in your stove, such as paper or cardboard because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and are unable to be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures. You should also not use compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes because they have a distinct chemical and physical composition to real firewood and aren't approved for burning in wood-burning stoves.
If you are installing a wood burning stove in your home, it's important to have it properly installed and tested by a professional. A certified WETT technician will test the installation to ensure safe operation and safety, as well as ensure that your chimney is operating properly. They provide maintenance services for your chimney and stove to ensure they are in good condition. They can look for leaks in the areas that are accessible to your chimney, and fix any issues they discover. They will also ensure that all residents 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 can control how much heat is lost through the chimney. Additionally, it can help you control the fire. If the flue opens, but the damper is not closed the fire won't be able to burn as it should and smoke will erupt into your home. You can adjust the damper to get the best flames by experimenting with different locations.
You should keep your damper open to let air flow into and out of the flue when a flame is burning. This will allow the fire to start and remain lit for a number of hours. The right opening can stop the fire from being starved of air and keep it from blowing smoke.
To be able to adjust your damper you need to ensure that the fireplace is heated and the stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and also that it has a good draft. After that, the wood stove damper can be adjusted.
After the fire has been burning for some time, you need to shut the damper around three quarters of the way. This will prevent the warm air in the room from venting through the chimney, while allowing smoke to escape out of the wood stove.
This is the best way to ensure that your fire is lit and prevent it from getting too hot. If you shut the damper too tightly, it could block the draft from working, but if it is too wide, a cold breeze could enter your home.
Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will show you how much the damper has sunk. If you feel a small breeze pushing against your palm, the damper is likely in the open position.
The damper settings can vary from one stove to another and even between different kinds of wood. Experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what you should look for, but you might need to adjust until you get the ideal setting for your stove.
Clean up
After a fire, it is essential to clean the flue and stove. 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 is a sticky substance that can build up in the stovepipe, is extremely dangerous. wood burners near me is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape the fire. This can also be caused by fires that are not lit properly.
A regular cleaning schedule can help to prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney at least once a year. It is recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year as well.
It is also an excellent idea to clean the Ash tray and grate frequently. It is recommended to use only seasoned wood to burn, since this will result in less creosote as well as ash. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper, plastic and other trash items. These materials can release harmful chemicals into the flue and air, which could be released in your home.
The glass that is used on the wood burning stove has to be cleaned regularly too. The majority of newer wood stoves are designed with self-cleaning glass, which means that they do not require any cleaning. If you're unable to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like you can
