10 Top Facebook Pages Of All Time About Stove Wood Burning How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a space and save energy. They require some care.

Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker either under or on the grate to make sure your stove doesn't generate a lot of harmful pollutants.

How to Start a Wood Fire

The smell and the sound of a woodfire can be a welcome addition in any house. It's crucial to learn the proper way to create a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in the fire not burning effectively and produces smoke or creosote. wood stove burning following tips can aid you in starting the fire that will warm your home with minimal effort and maximum safety.

Make sure to check the condition of your coals and logs before you begin an fire. If they're wet they will choke your fire and hinder proper burning. You may also want to open the flue to let any ash that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by placing a few small newspaper pieces that are dry in your stove. This will help ignite the sparks. When the tinder and the kindling have started to ignite, you can add an additional layer of larger pieces on the top. This should be done with an arc pattern so that there is air between each piece.

If your wood stove comes with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically supply air to the flame as it grows. This will allow the fire to burn steadily without you having to open the stove's door constantly to tend to it.

Do not use excessive tinder since this will cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not utilize the fuel effectively. Once you've made a solid base in your stove with sparks, tinder and kindling, start the main flame by laying two large base logs on the grill. Next, place a layer of smaller logs that are perpendicular to them and on the top of the base logs. This "top-down" method of creating a fireplace will produce a long-lasting, efficient fire that doesn't completely engulf larger logs from the base.

Once your fire is well established, close the damper and ensure it stays closed. The fire could be smothered if you open the damper before it has 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 on their own or together with a furnace or central heating system to provide the supplemental heat required in large houses or homes with many rooms. The latest clean-burning stoves on the market utilize a superior combustion method 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 stage is to supply fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves the process of combustion and reduces the odors.

The amount of heat that you will get from your stove depends on the kind of wood used as well as the moisture content as well as the size of the logs. To let the wood dry, logs must be stored in a ventilated space for a few months prior to burning. If the logs have too much moisture, they will create steam that is in essence wasted energy.

When you are burning the fire, add more wood to the pile at intervals, but not all at one time. In addition, adding too much wood at one time causes the temperature inside the firebox to rise and creates a vortex that draws smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame which could reduce the efficiency of your stove.

Avoid the use of other combustibles like cardboard or paper in your stove, as they are not wood and have very different physical properties and cannot be burned safely without creating dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. You should also not use compressed combustibles such as wood briquettes, as they have a completely different chemical and physical properties from real firewood, and are not approved for burning in wood burning stoves.

If you're planning to install wood-burning stoves into your home, it's essential to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test the installation for proper operation and safety as well as make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. They offer maintenance services for your chimney and stove to ensure they remain in top shape. They can check the areas that are accessible to your chimney to determine if there is leakage and fix any issues that are found. They will also make sure that all occupants of the house are aware of and adhere to the fire evacuation procedures in case of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

If you're not making use of your stove, a damper can control the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney. It can also be used to control the fire. If the flue is open but the damper is too closed the fire will not burn properly and smoke will billow into your home. You can adjust the damper to achieve the most effective flames by playing around with different settings.

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 begin and stay lit for many hours. The right opening will prevent the fire from being deprived of air and stop it from blowing smoke.

To adjust your damper correctly first, make sure that the fireplace is heated and that the wood stove is hot. This will ensure the chimney is warm, and also that it has a strong draft. Once these are done the damper for wood stoves can be adjusted.

After the fire has been burning for some time, you need to close the damper approximately three quarters of the way. This will stop warm air from the room from escaping into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.

This is the best method to ensure that your fire is lit and keep it from getting too hot. The draft could be stopped if you shut the damper too far but a cold wind could enter your home when the damper is left open.


You can test how much the damper is open by placing your hands near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you feel a slight breeze rubbing against your hand, the damper is likely to be open.

The damper settings may differ from one stove to another and even among different types of wood. Experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you may have to keep adjusting it until you have found the perfect setting for your stove.

Clean Up

It is essential to clean your flue and stove after a fire. This will reduce the risk of a fire in the chimney which is the most common reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote, a sticky substance which can build up in the stovepipe, is extremely hazardous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that cannot escape the fire. It can also be caused by improperly lit fires.

Regular cleaning helps prevent creosote buildup. This can be done by sweeping your chimney at least once a year. It is also recommended to have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and checked at least year.

It is also an excellent idea to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only wood that is seasoned to burn, since it will create less creosote and ash. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper or plastic items. These items could release dangerous chemicals to the air and flue, that could end up in your home.

It is also important to clean the glass of the wood burning stove on a regular basis. Many modern wood stoves come with self-cleaning windows, which means they don't require as much scrubs. If you are not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you would like you can use stove glass cleaners available that you can use on the window.

Other tips for maintaining your wood stove are to turn the vent down when you're not using it and slamming a window or door to increase air flow. This will keep the fire burning longer and more efficiently. The wood stove won't have to work as hard in order to circulate air. It is recommended to not stack logs or place them in the fire for long durations of time, since this can lead to warping and splitting. It is also a good idea to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove, because the paraffin they contain can melt and then flow down into the flue, which could damage it.