How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a space and conserve energy. However, they require some level of maintenance. Many modern wood stoves conform to EPA emission guidelines. You can check for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure your stove isn't releasing harmful pollutants. How to start a Wood Fire The scent and sound of a woodfire can be a welcome addition in any house. It's essential to know how to create an effective fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in a fire which does not burn efficiently, and produces smoke or creosote. The following tips can help you create an efficient fire that will warm your home quickly and efficiently. Examine the condition of your logs and coals before you begin a fire. If they're too damp they will choke the flame and stop it from burning properly. You might want to open the chimney to get rid of any ash that's fallen into the stove. Begin by placing some small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean in your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and kindling. When the tinder and the kindling have begun 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 your wood stove is equipped with an automatic combustion control, it will automatically pump air into the fire as it expands. This will help the fire to burn at a steady rate without having to constantly open the stove's door to tend it. Avoid using too much tinder, as it can cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not utilize the fuel efficiently. Once you've got a good base in your stove with sparks, tinder and kindling, start the main flame by placing two large base logs on the grill. Then, you can lay an additional layer of smaller logs that are perpendicular to them and on top of the base logs. This top-down method of building a fireplace will produce a long-lasting, efficient fire that doesn't engulf larger base logs. Close the damper when the fire is established and kept it closed. The fire may be smothered by opening the damper prior to it being fully established. This can also affect the effectiveness of the fire. Adding Wood Stoves can be used to efficiently heat your home and save you money. They can be used on their own or in conjunction with central heating or furnace system to provide the extra heating required in large homes or homes with many rooms. The latest clean-burning stoves on the market employ a superior combustion process that separates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage permits the combustion of volatile compounds, while the second step provides fresh air that is pre-heated. This enhances the combustion process and helps to reduce the odors. The amount of heat you will get from a stove is contingent upon the species and the moisture content of the wood as well as the size of the logs. To allow the wood to dry, logs should be stored in a well ventilated location for a couple of months prior to burning. If the logs are wet, they will produce plenty of steam that is essentially wasted energy. It is best to add wood to the pile at intervals and not all at all at. The addition of too much wood all at once can cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating the formation of a vortex that pulls smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into flames. This could reduce the effectiveness of your stove. You should avoid the use of other combustibles such as paper or cardboard in your stove, as they are not wood and have very different physical properties and cannot be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. It is not recommended to burn compressed combustibles like wood briquettes since they are different in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not approved to be used in wood burning stoves. It is important that you have a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician can test your installation to ensure it is safe and functional. large wood burning stove can also make sure that your chimney is functioning properly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in good condition. They can look for leaks in the areas connected to your chimney and repair any problems they find. They will also make sure that all house occupants are aware of and adhere to the evacuation procedures for fire in case in the event of an emergency. Adjusting the Damper When you're not cooking on your stove, a damper controls how much heat is lost through the chimney. It can also be used to control the fire. If the flue opens, but the damper is not closed, the fire will not be able to burn as it should and smoke will billow into your home. To get the most effective fire using your damper set correctly, you must test different settings and observe how each affects the flames. You want to keep your damper open to allow air to be able to enter and exit the flue while a fire is burning. This will let the fire start and remain lit for a number of hours. The right opening can stop the fire from becoming depleted of air and stop it from blowing smoke. In order to properly adjust your damper you need to first ensure that the fireplace is heated and the wood stove is warm. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and it also has a strong draft. Once this is accomplished the damper for the wood stove can be adjusted. Once the fire has smolder slightly, you need to shut the damper down to about three-quarters of its full position. This will prevent the warm air in the room from venting up the chimney while still allowing the smoke to escape from the wood stove. This is the best method to keep your fire burning and keep it from getting too hot. If you close the damper too tightly, it may stop the draft from working, but should it be too open a cold breeze could enter your home. You can test how much the damper is open by holding your hand near the top of the of the flue pipe. If you can feel a small draft pressing against your hand, it's likely to be in the open position. The damper settings can differ from one stove to the next and even between different kinds of wood. Experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you might have to keep adjusting it until you have found the ideal setting for your stove. Clean Up After a fire, it is important to clean the stove and flue. This will help lower the risk of a chimney fire, which is the most common reason for wood stove-related fires in homes. Creosote is a sticky material that builds up on the inside of the stovepipe and is extremely dangerous. It is caused by moisture and unburned wood particles that cannot escape the fire. This can also be caused by fires that are not lit properly. A regular cleaning schedule can help keep the buildup of creosote at bay. The most effective method for doing this is by sweeping the chimney each year. It is recommended to have your stove and fireplace professionally inspected and cleaned at least once a year. Also, it is a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only seasoned wood for burning, as this will produce less creosote as well as ash. It is also a good idea to avoid burning paper, cardboard plastic, and other waste items. They could release harmful chemicals for the respiratory tract and the atmosphere, which may be released into your home. The glass on the wood stove has to be cleaned regularly too. Many newer wood stoves are designed with self-cleaning glass, meaning that they do not require much scrubs. If you're not able to clean the glass of your wood stove as clean as you would like you can use stove glass cleaners you can use on the window. Other ways to maintain your wood stove include lowering the vent when you aren't using it, and slamming doors or windows to allow more airflow. This keeps the fire burning more hot and efficiently. The wood stove will not have to perform as hard to circulate air. It is recommended not to stack logs or leave them on the fire for a long period of time. This could cause splitting and warping. It is advised to avoid using combustible wood that has been compressed in your wood stove as the paraffin that is contained in the logs can melt and leak into the flue which could cause damage.
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