How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are an excellent method to reduce energy consumption and also heat a room. They do require some maintenance.

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

How to Start a Wood Fire

The scent and sound of a woodfire is an excellent addition to any house. It is essential to understand how to build a fire in your stove. Incorrect techniques can lead to a fire that doesn't burn effectively and produces creosote or smoke. These tips will help you begin an efficient fire that will heat up your home quickly and effectively.

Check the condition of your coals and logs before you begin the fire. If they're wet, it will smother your fire and hinder proper burning. You may also want to open the flue to let out any ash that has been deposited into the stove.

Start by placing some small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean into your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. When they begin to ignite, add a layer of larger pieces to the top of the pile. This should be done in a crosshatch pattern so there will be air between each piece of wood.

If you have a wood stove with an automatic combustion control that will automatically deliver an air stream controlled to your fire as it builds. This will allow the fire to burn at a steady pace without having to constantly open the stove door to tend it.

It is important to not use too much tinder, as it can cause a fire that burns at a high rate and doesn't make use of the fuel as efficiently as it can. If you have a solid pile of tinder and some kindling in your stove, start the main fire by placing two large base logs on 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 a fireplace will produce an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't engulf larger base logs.

Once the fire is established Close the damper and ensure it stays closed. The fire can be smothered by opening the damper before it has fully established. This can also affect the efficiency of the fire.

view are not just beautiful home décor pieces they can also help you save money by providing efficient wood heat. They can be used alone or together with central heating or a furnace system to provide the additional heating required in large homes or homes with many rooms. Many of the new stoves that are clean-burning utilize a superior combustion method that differentiates the burning of volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar by supplying air in two different stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization, while the second stage is to supply pre-heated fresh air. This improves the process of combustion and helps to reduce the smell.

The amount of heat you get from your stove depends on both the species of wood and the moisture content as well as the size of the logs. To allow the wood to dry, logs should be kept in a ventilated area for a couple of months prior to burning. If the logs are not dry enough they will create plenty of steam that is basically wasted energy.

It is best to add wood to the pile in intervals and not all at once. In addition, adding too much wood at once can cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, causing an air vortex that pulls smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into flames. This could decrease the efficiency of your stove.


Avoid using other combustibles in your stove, like paper or cardboard because they are not wood. They have different physical properties and are unable to be burned without causing dangerously high temperatures. Also, avoid using compressed combustibles, such as wood briquettes, as they have a distinct chemical and physical composition to actual firewood and are not type-approved for burning in wood burning stoves.

It is important that you have a professional install and test your wood stove. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety and also ensure that your chimney is operating correctly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your chimney and stove in top condition. They can check the accessible areas of your chimney for leaks, 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 of an emergency.

Adjusting the Damper

When you're not using your stove, a damper regulates how much heat is lost through the chimney. In addition, it can help you control the fire. If the flue is open but the damper is not closed enough, the fire won't be able to burn properly and will release smoke into your living area. To ensure you have the best fire with your damper adjusted properly you have to experiment with different locations and observe how each affects the flames.

You want to keep your damper open to let air be able to enter and exit the flue while a fire is burning. This lets the fire start a fire and helps it stay lit so you can enjoy it for hours. The right opening will also keep the fire from being starved of air and will keep it from blowing smoke.

To be able to adjust your damper, you have to first ensure that the fireplace is heated and the stove is hot. This will ensure that the chimney is warm and has an adequate draft. After that, the wood stove damper can be adjusted.

Once the fire has smolder for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its full position. This will prevent warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still permitting smoke to escape.

This is the best way to stop the fire from becoming too hot while still keeping it lit. If you close the damper too far it could stop the draft from working, but when it's too open, a cold wind could blow through your home.

Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will inform you how much the damper has sunk. If you can feel a small draft pushing on your hand it is probably in the open position.

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

Clean up

After an incident, it is important to clean the stove and flue. This will reduce the risk of an explosion in the chimney which is the main cause of fires caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be very dangerous. Moisture and unburned particles of wood that are unable to escape the fire are responsible for this chemical. It could also be caused by improperly lit fires.

Regular cleaning helps stop the buildup of creosote. This can be done by cleaning your chimney once every year. It is recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year as well.

Also, it is a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and the grates regularly. It is best to burn only seasoned wood because it produces less creosote. Avoid burning cardboard, paper and plastic. These items can release dangerous chemicals for the air and flue, which can be released into your home.

It is also necessary to wash the glass of the wood burning stove regularly. The majority of newer wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, which means that they don't require a lot of scrubs. If you're not able to get the glass on your wood stove as clean as you'd like There are stove glass cleaners available that can be used on the window.

Other tips to maintain your wood stove include lowering the vent when you're not using it and opening doors or windows to improve airflow. This will help keep the fire burning longer and more efficiently, since it won't have to exert as much effort to circulate the air. It is a good idea not to stack logs, or let them sit on the fire for a long period of time. This could cause splits and warping. It is also a good idea to avoid using compressed combustible logs in your wood stove, because the paraffin in them could melt and spill into the flue which could cause damage to the stove.