How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a space and conserve energy. However, they need some level of maintenance. A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emissions guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker under or beside the grate to make sure your stove doesn't create many harmful pollutants. How to start a Wood Fire The smell and sound of a wood fire can be a wonderful feature in any home. It is essential to know how to build a fire in your stove. Unintentional methods can lead to the fire not to burn efficiently, and produces smoke or creosote. The following tips can help you start an efficient fire that can heat your home quickly and efficiently. Before you start a fire, you should check the condition of your coals and logs. If they are wet, they will smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. It is possible to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that falls into the stove. Begin by putting a few small, dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. After the tinder and kindling are beginning to burn, you can put an additional layer of larger pieces on the top. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there will be air between each piece of wood. If you have wood stoves that have an automatic control for combustion it will automatically supply an air stream controlled to your flame as it heats. This will enable the fire to burn at a steady rate without the need to open the stove door to tend it. It is important to not use too much tinder, as this could result in a fire that burns at an extremely high rate and fails to use the fuel as efficiently as possible. After you've built 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 grate. On the top of these base logs lay a layer parallel to them. This method of creating the fire is called a top-down fire will result in an effective and long-lasting fire that will not completely consume the 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 prior to it being fully established. This can also affect the efficiency of the fire. Adding Wood Stoves are not only beautiful pieces of home decor They can also help you save money by supplying efficient wood heat. They can be utilized together with a central heating system or furnace to provide additional heat in large houses. Many of the new stoves that burn cleanly available today utilize an advanced combustion principle which separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses as well as tar. This is accomplished by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage permits the burning of volatile compounds and the second stage provides fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and reduces the odors. The amount of heat that you get from your stove is contingent on both the species of wood used as well as the amount of moisture in it as well as the size of the logs. The logs must be stored in a well-ventilated area for several months prior to when you try to burn them to give the wood time to dry. If the logs are not dry enough they will create lots of steam, which is essentially wasted energy. It is best to add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at one time. Adding too much wood at once causes the temperature inside the firebox to rise, and creates a vortex that draws smoke and unburnt volatile compounds back into the flame, which could reduce the efficiency of your stove. Avoid using other combustibles inside your stove such as paper or cardboard, as they are not wood. They have different physical properties and cannot be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures. You should not burn compressed combustibles like wood briquettes because they differ in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not approved to be burned in wood burning stoves. If you're installing wood-burning stoves into your home, it is crucial to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test the installation for safe operation and safety, and also ensure that your chimney is operating correctly. They provide maintenance services for your stove and chimney to keep them in top condition. They will look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney, and fix any issues they discover. They will also make sure that the residents of the house understand and comply with the fire evacuation guidelines in the event of an emergency. Adjusting the Damper If you're not making use of your stove, a damper controls the amount of heat lost through the chimney. Additionally, it can also help to control the flame. If the flue is not open but the damper is not closed enough, the fire will not burn as efficiently and will release smoke into your living area. To get the most efficient fire, with your damper adjusted properly you have to 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 the fire is burning. This allows the fire to get a good fire going and also helps keep it in good shape so that you can enjoy it for a long time. The right opening will prevent the fire from being starved of air and prevent 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 that the chimney stays warm and has good draft. Once this is done the damper for the wood stove can be adjusted. Once the fire has smolder slightly, you need to reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its maximum. This will stop the warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape. This is the best method to keep your fire burning and prevent it from getting too hot. The draft could be stopped if you shut the damper to far however a cold breeze could be able to enter your home when the damper is left open. By placing your hands on the top of the flue pipe will show you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a breeze pushing against your palm the damper is probably in an open position. modern wood burning stoves can differ between stoves and even among different types of wood. You can experiment with various settings to get a sense of the best setting for your stove. Clean Up It is important to clean your flue and stove after a fire. This can reduce the chance of an ensuing fire in the chimney, which is the primary cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky material that builds up on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. Unburned and moist particles of wood that cannot escape the fire are the cause for this substance. This can also be caused when fires are not lit properly. A regular cleaning routine can help to prevent the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by cleaning your chimney once a year. It is recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once per year. Also, it's a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only wood that is seasoned to burn, since this will produce less creosote and ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. They could release chemicals that can be dangerous for the respiratory tract and the air, and could be released into your home. It is also necessary to wash the glass of the wood stove regularly. A lot of modern wood stoves are designed with self-cleaning glass, which means that they do not require much cleaning. If you're unable to get the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like There are stove glass cleaners can be used on the window. Some other helpful suggestions for maintaining your wood stove include turning the vent off when you are not using it and cracking windows or doors to allow more air flow. This will ensure that the fire is burning hotter, and more efficiently. The wood stove will not need to be as active to circulate air. It is recommended not to stack logs or let them sit on the fire for an extended time. This can cause warping and splits. It is also recommended to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove because the paraffin they contain can melt and flow down the flue which could cause damage.
modern wood burning stoves
