10 Easy Ways To Figure The Stove Wood Burning You're Looking For How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves can be an ideal option to conserve energy and also heat the room. However, they need some level of maintenance.

Many modern wood stoves meet EPA emissions guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or beneath it to ensure that your stove doesn't emit harmful pollutants.

How to start a Wood Fire

The smell and sound of a wood fire can be a welcome feature in any home. But it's important to learn the proper way to make a fire on your stove. Incorrect methods can result in the fire not burning effectively and can cause creosote or smoke. These tips will assist you in starting a fire that will heat your home with minimum effort and ensure your security.

Before you start a fire, check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet they will choke your fire and hinder proper burning. It is also possible to open the flue to let any ash that has been deposited into the stove.

Begin by putting a few small dry newspaper pieces in the stove. This will help ignite the fire. When the tinder and the kindling are beginning to burn, you can add an additional layer of larger pieces on top. This should be done in a crosshatch fashion so that there is air between each piece of wood.

If you own a wood stove that has an automatic control for combustion, it will automatically feed a controlled stream of air to the fire as it grows. This will help the fire to burn at a consistent pace without the need to open the stove's doors to maintain it.

Avoid using excessive tinder since this will cause the fire to burn at a rapid rate and not use the fuel efficiently. Once you've got a good bed in your stove of sparks, tinder and kindling to start the main flame, you can do this by laying down two large base logs on the grate. Then, you can lay small logs perpendicular to these and on top of the base logs. This method of creating an ember called a "top-down" fire can result in a successful and long-lasting fire that will not overtake the larger base logs.

Once the fire is established shut off the damper and keep it shut. The fire may be smothered if the user opens the damper before it has fully established. It will also reduce the effectiveness of the fire.

Adding Wood

Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and help you save money. They can be utilized in conjunction with central heating systems or furnace to provide additional heating for large homes. Many of the new stoves that burn clean utilize a superior combustion method that separates the burning of volatile compounds from the combustion of combustible gases and tar by providing air in two distinct stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization and the second is to provide fresh air that has been pre-heated. This enhances the combustion process and helps reduce odors.

The amount of heat that you get from your stove depends on both the species of wood used as well as the amount of moisture in it, as well as the size of the logs. To allow wood burner to dry, the logs should be stored in a well ventilated space for a couple of months prior to burning. If the logs are not dry enough they will release a lot of steam that is in essence wasted energy.

While you're burning the fire, you should add more wood to the stack at intervals, and not all at once. Addition of too much wood at once could cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, creating a vortex which draws smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into the flames. This could reduce the efficiency of your stove.

It is recommended to stay clear of any other combustibles, such as paper or cardboard in your stove, because they are not wood and possess different physical properties and cannot be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. Also, you should not use compressed combustibles like wood briquettes as they have a very different chemical and physical properties from actual firewood and are not suitable for use in wood burning stoves.

It is essential to have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician can test your installation to ensure that it is safe and efficient. They will also check that your chimney works correctly. They provide maintenance services for your chimney and stove to ensure they remain in top condition. They can check the areas accessible to your chimney for leakage, and fix any issues discovered. They will also make sure that the residents of the house understand and comply with the fire evacuation guidelines in case in the event of an emergency.

Adjusting the Damper

A damper controls how much heat is lost up the chimney when you aren't using your stove. In addition, it can help you control the fire. If the flue opens, but the damper is too closed the fire won't ignite properly and smoke will erupt into your home. To ensure you have the best fire with the damper properly adjusted, you have to play around with different positions and observe how each one affects the flames.

Typically, you should keep the damper open enough to let air in and out of the flue when the fire is burning. This will allow the fire to begin and stay lit for many hours. The proper opening will stop the fire from becoming starved of air, and also prevent it from blowing smoke.

In order to properly adjust your damper, you have to first make sure the fireplace is preheated and the wood stove is warm. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has an adequate draft. After that, the damper for wood stoves can be adjusted.

After the fire has been burning for a while, you should shut the damper around 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 way to keep your fire lit and keep it from getting too hot. If you shut the damper too tightly, it could block the draft from working, but should it be too open, a cold wind could blow through your home.

You can test how much the damper is opened by placing your hands near the top of the inside of the flue pipe. If you can feel a small draft pushing on your hand it's probably in the open position.

The damper's setting can vary a little from one stove to the next, and even between different kinds of wood. Playing around with different settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you may need to adjust it until you have found the ideal setting for your stove.

Clean Up

It is important to clean your flue and stove after the start of a fire. This will reduce the risk of an ensuing fire in the chimney which is the most common reason for fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that cannot escape the fire. It could also be caused by poorly lit fires.

A regular cleaning routine can help prevent the buildup of creosote. The best way to do this is by sweeping the chimney every year. It is also recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a yearly.

It is also a good 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 and ash. It is also recommended to avoid burning paper, cardboard or plastic items. These items can release dangerous chemicals into the air and flue, which can be released into your home.

It is also essential to wash the glass of the wood-burning stove on a regular basis. The majority of newer wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require any cleaning. If you're not able to make the glass on your wood stove as clean as you would like, there are stove glass cleaners that can be used on the window.


Other tips to maintain your wood stove include turning down the vent when you're not using it, and slamming doors or windows to increase airflow. This will keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently, since it won't need to be as active to circulate the air. It is also a good idea not stack logs or keep them in the fire for prolonged periods of time as this could lead to warping and splitting. It is recommended to avoid using compressed combustible wood in your wood stove since the paraffin in the wood can melt and then flow into the flue which could cause damage.