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How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves are a comfortable way to heat a space and save energy. However, they require an amount of care. Many modern wood stoves conform to EPA emissions guidelines. You can check for an EPA sticker on the grate or beneath it to make sure your stove isn't releasing harmful pollutants. How to Start a Wood Fire The smell and the sound of a woodfire is an enjoyable addition to any home. But it's important to learn the proper way to create a fire on your stove. Incorrect techniques can lead to a fire that doesn't burn efficiently and creates creosote or smoke. These tips will aid you in starting the fire that will warm your home with minimum effort and ensure your safety. Before you start a fire, check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet, it will smother your fire and hinder proper burning. It is possible to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that falls into the stove. Begin by putting wood burner clearance sale of small, dry pieces of newspaper in your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. After the tinder and kindling have begun to burn, you can add a layer of larger kindling pieces on top. This should be done in a crosshatch fashion so that there will be air between each piece of wood. If your wood stove comes with an automatic combustion control it will automatically feed air to the fire as it expands. This will enable the fire to burn at a steady pace without having to constantly open the stove's doors to tend it. It's important to avoid using too much tinder, as this could result in a fire that burns at a high rate and doesn't use the fuel as efficiently as it could. Once you've made a solid bed in your stove of tinder, kindling and embers, start the main flame by placing two large logs of the base on the grill. Then, on the top of these base logs lay a layer parallel to them. This “top-down” method of building a fireplace will result in an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't completely engulf larger base logs. Once the fire is established shut off the damper and ensure it stays closed. Doing this too soon can cause the fire to be smothered, and it will not allow for proper air flow, which will lower the effectiveness of the fire. Adding 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 alone or together with a furnace or central heating system to provide the supplemental heat needed in large homes or homes with multiple rooms. Many of the new clean-burning stoves on the market use a superior combustion principle that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gases and tar by providing air in two distinct stages. The first stage is for the vaporization, while the second step is to supply fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves combustion and decreases smells. The amount of heat that you can get from a stove depends on the species and the moisture content of the wood you use and also the dimensions of the logs. To allow the wood to dry, the logs should be kept in a ventilated space for a couple of months prior to burning. If the logs are soaked with excessive moisture, they will produce steam, which is basically wasted energy. When you are burning the fire, add more wood to the stack at intervals, and not all at all at. The addition of too much wood all at once could cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating the formation of a vortex that pulls smoke and unburned volatile compounds back into the flames. This could decrease the efficiency of your stove. It is recommended to stay clear of any other combustibles, like cardboard or paper in your stove, because they are not wood and have very different physical properties that can't be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures and exorbitant emissions. You should not burn compressed combustibles like wood briquettes since they differ in chemical and physical composition from firewood. They are also not approved by the type to be burned in wood-burning stoves. It is important to have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician will examine your stove to make sure that it is safe and efficient. They can also make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. These professionals offer maintenance services for your chimney and stove to keep them in top condition. They can look for leaks in the areas that are accessible to your chimney and repair any issues they spot. They will also make sure that all house occupants know and follow the evacuation procedures for fire in the event in the event of an emergency. Adjusting the Damper A damper regulates how much heat escapes up the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. In addition to this it can also help manage the fire. If the flue opens, but the damper is closed the fire will not be able to burn as it should and smoke will erupt into your home. You can adjust your damper to achieve the most effective flames by testing different locations. Typically, you'll want to keep the damper open enough to let air enter and out of the flue when a fire is burning. This will allow the fire to begin and remain lit for a number of hours. The right opening will prevent the fire from being starved of air and prevent it from blowing smoke. To be able to adjust your damper you need to first ensure that the fireplace is heated and the stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney stays warm and has a good draft. Once this is accomplished the damper for the wood stove may be adjusted. After the fire has been burning for some time, you need to close the damper about three quarters of the way. This will prevent warm air in the room from venturing into the chimney, while still permitting smoke to escape. This is the best method to keep your fire burning and prevent it from getting too hot. The draft might be stopped if you close the damper too far, but a cold wind can enter your home when the damper is not closed. By placing your hands on the top of the flue pipe will show you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a slight breeze pushing against your hand, the damper is likely to be open. The damper's setting can vary a little from one stove to the next, and even between different kinds of wood. You can experiment with different settings to get a sense of the best setting for your stove. Clean Up It is important to clean your stove and flue after the start of a fire. This reduces the chance of a fire in the chimney, which is the primary cause of fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that accumulates on the stovepipe's interior and can be extremely hazardous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that cannot escape the fire. This can also be caused when fires aren't properly lit. A regular cleaning schedule can help keep the buildup of creosote at bay. The best way to do this is to sweep the chimney at least once a year. It is recommended to have your stove and fireplace professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year as well. It is also recommended to clean out the Ash tray and grate frequently. It is a good idea to only use seasoned wood for burning, as it will create less creosote and ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. They can release chemicals that are dangerous for the respiratory tract and the atmosphere, which may be released into your home. It is also essential to clean the glass of the wood burning stove regularly. Many modern wood stoves come with self-cleaning windows, which means they don't require as much scrubbing. If you are not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like, there are stove glass cleaners that you can use on the window. Other helpful suggestions for maintaining your wood stove are to turn the vent off when you're not using it, and opening windows or doors to allow more air flow. This will ensure that the fire is burning hotter, and more efficient. The wood stove will not need to work as hard in order to circulate air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or leave them in the flame for long periods of time as this could lead to warping and splitting. It is also best to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove as the paraffin they contain could melt and spill into the flue which could damage it.