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How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves are a great way to save energy and warm rooms. They will require some maintenance. Many modern wood stoves meet EPA emissions guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker under or beside the grate to make sure your stove won't produce a lot of harmful pollutants. How to start a Wood Fire The sound and smell of a wood fire can be a pleasant feature in any house. It's essential to understand how to build a fire in your stove. Incorrect techniques may lead to the fire not to burn effectively, and can produce smoke or creosote. The tips below will aid you in starting the fire that will warm your home with minimum effort and with the highest security. Before you start a fire, check the condition of your coals and logs. If they are wet they could smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You may also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has fallen into the stove. Begin by placing some small, dry newspaper pieces into your stove. This will help to ignite the sparks. Once the tinder and kindling have begun to ignite, you can add a layer of larger kindling pieces on top. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there is air between each piece of wood. If you have wood stoves that have an automatic combustion control, it will automatically feed a controlled stream of air to your fire as it grows. This will help the fire to burn at a consistent pace without having to constantly open the stove's door to maintain it. Be careful not to use too much tinder as it can cause the fire to burn at an extremely fast rate and not utilize the fuel effectively. If you have a solid pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, you can start the main fire by placing two large base logs across the grate. Then, you can lay an additional layer of smaller logs perpendicular to these and on the top of the base logs. This “top-down” method of creating the fireplace will create an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't consume larger base logs. Close the damper once your fire is established, and keep it shut. The fire could be smothered if the user opens the damper before it has 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 utilized together with central heating systems or furnace to provide supplemental heating in large homes. Many of the new stoves that are clean-burning use a superior combustion principle that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage allows for the combustion of volatile compounds and the second provides fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and reduces the odors. The amount of heat you get from your stove depends on the type of wood used and the amount of moisture in it, as well as the size of the logs. The logs should be stored in a well-ventilated area for a period of time before you attempt to burn them, to allow the wood to dry. If the logs are wet, they will produce a lot of steam that is in essence wasted energy. You should add wood to the pile at intervals and not all at one time. In addition, 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 can't be burned without producing dangerously high temperatures. You should also not use compressed combustibles like wood briquettes as they have a distinct chemical and physical properties from actual firewood and are not approved for burning in wood burning stoves. If you're planning to install wood-burning stoves in your home, it is essential to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test the installation to ensure safe operation and safety, as well as ensure that your chimney is functioning properly. These experts can also provide maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in tip-top shape. They can check for leaks in the areas that are accessible to your chimney and repair any issues they spot. They will also make sure that all residents of the house are aware of and adhere to the fire evacuation procedures in the event of an accident. Adjusting the Damper A damper controls how much heat is lost through the chimney when you aren't using your stove. In addition to this it can help you manage the fire. If the flue is open but the damper is not closed the fire will not ignite properly and smoke will erupt into your home. You can adjust the damper to get the best flames by testing different positions. It is important to keep your damper open to let air enter and exit the flue when a fire is burning. This lets the fire get going and helps it stay burning so that you can enjoy it for hours. The proper opening will keep the fire from being starved of air, and also prevent it from blowing out smoke. To adjust your damper properly, you must first ensure that the fireplace is preheated and the wood stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm, and that it has a strong draft. Once this is done the damper on the wood stove may be adjusted. After the fire has burned for some time, you need to close the damper approximately three quarters of the way. This will stop warm air in the room from venturing into the chimney, while still permitting smoke to escape. This is the best method to prevent the fire from getting too hot while keeping it lit. The draft may be stopped if one closes the damper too tightly but a cold wind can enter your home in the event that the damper is left open. Placing your hand on the top of the flue pipe will inform you how much the damper has opened. If you can feel a slight draft pushing against your hand, it's probably in the open position. The damper settings can differ from one stove to the next and even between different kinds 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 stove and flue after a fire. This will lower the risk of a chimney fire, which is the main cause of wood stove related fires in homes. Creosote is a sticky material that accumulates on the stovepipe's interior and can be extremely hazardous. Moisture and unburned particles of wood that cannot escape the fire are responsible for this substance. This can also be caused by fires that are not properly lit. Regular cleaning helps to stop the buildup of creosote. The most effective method for doing this is to sweep the chimney at least once a year. It is recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year. It is also recommended to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only seasoned wood to burn, since this will produce less creosote and less ash. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. These items could release dangerous chemicals to the air and flue, which can be released into your home. outdoor wood burner on the wood stove has to be cleaned frequently too. The majority of modern wood stoves have self-cleaning windows, which means they don't require as much scrubs. If you're unable to get 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 keep your wood stove in good condition include turning down the vent when you're not using it and opening doors or windows to allow more airflow. This keeps the fire burning longer and more efficiently. The wood stove won't have to perform as hard to circulate air. It is also a good idea not stack logs or leave them in the fire for long periods of time as this could cause warping and splitting. It is also best to avoid using compressed combustible wood logs in your wood stove because the paraffin in them could melt and spill into the flue which could cause damage.