How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove

Wood stoves are a warm method to heat a room and save energy. They do require some maintenance.

A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emissions guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker on the underside or next to the grate to make sure your stove doesn't create a lot of harmful pollutants.

How to Start wood burning stoves and smell of a fire made from wood can be a welcome feature in any home. It's crucial to learn the correct method to build a fire in your stove. Improper techniques can result in an unburned fire that doesn't burn efficiently, and produces creosote or smoke. The tips below will aid you in starting a fire that will heat your home with minimum effort and with the highest safety.

Make sure to check the condition of your logs and coals before you start an fire. If they are too wet they could smother the flame and stop it from burning properly. You might also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has fallen into the stove.

Begin by putting a few small newspaper pieces that are dry and clean into your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and kindling. Once these begin to burn, add a layer of larger pieces of kindling to the top of the pile. This should be done with a crosshatch design so that there is air between each piece.


If your wood stove is equipped with an automatic combustion control it will automatically feed air to the fire as it grows. This will enable the fire to burn at a steady rate without having to open the stove's doors to tend it.

It is essential to avoid using excessive tinder as it can cause a fire that burns at an excessive rate and doesn't use the fuel as efficiently as it can. After you've built a solid bed in your stove of igniters, tinder, and embers to start the main flame, you can do this by laying two large logs of the base on the grate. Then, on the top of these base woods put a layer of wood perpendicular to them. This "top-down" method of creating the fireplace will create an effective and long-lasting fire that doesn't engulf larger logs from the base.

Close the damper once your fire has been established and keep it closed. The fire could be smothered if the user opens the damper before it is fully established. It can also decrease the effectiveness of the fire.

Adding Wood

Stoves can be used to efficiently heat your home and help you save money. They can be used by themselves or together with a furnace or central heating system to provide the additional heat required in large houses or homes with many rooms. A lot of the clean burning stoves that are available use an advanced combustion principle which separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses and tar. This is accomplished by supplying air in two different stages. The first stage is for the vaporization process, and the second is to provide pre-heated fresh air. This improves combustion and decreases the odors.

The amount of heat that you can get from a stove is contingent upon the species and the moisture content of the wood used as well as the size of logs. The logs must be stored in a ventilated area for several months prior to when you try to burn them, to allow the wood to dry out. If the logs are not dry enough they will release plenty of steam that is essentially wasted energy.

When you are burning the fire, you should add more wood to the stack at intervals, not all at one time. Addition of too much wood at once can cause the temperature to rise in the firebox, creating a vortex which pulls smoke and unburned volatile compounds back into the flames. This can reduce the effectiveness of your stove.

Avoid using click through the following page inside your stove, like paper or cardboard because 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 such as wood briquettes because they have a distinct chemical and physical properties from real firewood, and are not approved for burning in wood-burning stoves.

If you're planning to install a wood burning stove in your home, it is important to have it properly installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test the stove for proper operation and safety as well as make sure that your chimney is working properly. These professionals can also offer maintenance services to keep your stove and chimney in good condition. They can check the accessible areas of your chimney for leaks, and repair any problems discovered. They will also ensure that the occupants of the house understand and follow the fire evacuation procedure in case of an accident.

Adjusting the Damper

If you're not using your stove, a damper controls how much heat is lost through the chimney. Additionally, it can help you control the fire. If the flue is opened but the damper is not closed enough, the fire will not burn as efficiently and it will billow out smoke into your living space. To ensure that you get the best fire with your damper adjusted properly you must test different positions and observe how each one affects the flames.

Typically, you should keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue while the fire is burning. This allows the fire to start a fire and also helps keep it in good shape so that 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 properly adjust your damper, you need to 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 wood stove damper may be adjusted.

After the fire has burned for some time, you need to close the damper about three quarters of the way. This will prevent warm air in the room from getting into the chimney, but still allowing smoke to escape.

This is the best way to keep your fire lit and to prevent it from becoming too hot. The draft may be stopped if you shut the damper to far, but a cold wind could enter your home in the event that the damper is not closed.

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

The damper settings can differ between stoves and even among different types of wood. The process of experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what to look for, but you may need to tweak until you get the ideal setting for your stove.

Clean up

It is crucial to clean your flue and stove after an incident. This will help lower the risk of a chimney fire which is the most common cause of wood stove related fires in homes. Creosote is a sticky substance which can build up within the stovepipe, can be extremely dangerous. Moisture and unburned particles of wood that cannot escape the flame are the reason for this substance. This can also be caused when fires aren't properly lit.

A regular cleaning schedule can help keep the buildup of creosote at bay. This can be done by sweeping your chimney at least once every year. It is also recommended to get your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a every year.

It is also a good idea to clean the ash tray and grate regularly. It is best to burn only wood that is well-seasoned, as it will produce less creosote. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning cardboard, paper plastic, and other waste items. These materials can release harmful chemicals into the air and flue which could be released in your home.

The glass in the wood stove has to be cleaned regularly too. Many newer wood stoves are made with self-cleaning glass, which means they don't require a lot of cleaning. If you're not able to clean the glass of your wood stove as clean as you'd like, there are stove glass cleaners that can be used on the window.

Other tips to maintain your wood stove are to turn the vent down when you're not using it and cracking a window or door to increase the flow of air. This will keep the fire burning more hot and more efficiently, since it won't have to exert as much effort to circulate the air. It is advisable not to stack logs or let them sit on the fire for a long period of time. This could cause warping and splits. It is also best to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove, because the paraffin they contain could melt and spill into the flue which could cause damage to the stove.