10 Failing Answers To Common Stove Wood Burning Questions: Do You Know The Right Answers?
How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove
Wood stoves are a cozy way to heat a room and conserve energy. They require some care.
Many modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. You can look for an EPA sticker on the grate or underneath it to ensure that your stove isn't releasing harmful pollutants.
How to start a Wood Fire
The scent and sound of a wood fire could be a pleasant addition to any home. But it's important to learn how to properly make a fire on your stove. Improper techniques can result in a fire which does not burn effectively, and can produce smoke or creosote. The following tips can help you start the fire that will warm your home with minimal effort and with the highest safety.
Make sure to check the condition of your logs and coals before you start a fire. If they're damp it will dampen your fire and hinder proper burning. You might want to open the chimney to eliminate any ash that has fallen into the stove.
Begin by putting a few small dry newspaper pieces into your stove. This will help to ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. Once the tinder and kindling are beginning to burn, you can add the larger kindling pieces on top. 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 control for combustion that will automatically deliver a controlled stream of air to the flame as it heats. This will allow the fire to burn for a long time without the need to open the door of your stove constantly to tend to it.
It is important to not use excessive tinder as it can cause a fire that burns at a high rate and doesn't make use of the fuel as efficiently as possible. 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 base logs on the grate. Then, on the top of these base woods lay a layer parallel to them. This "top-down" method of creating a fireplace will produce a long-lasting and effective fire that doesn't completely engulf larger logs from the base.
When your fire is established, close the damper and keep it closed. Opening the damper too soon could cause the fire to get smothered and not allow for the proper airflow, which will lower 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 in conjunction with central heating systems or furnace to provide supplemental heating in large houses. Many of the latest stoves that are clean burning available today utilize advanced combustion principles that can separate the burning volatile substances from combustible gasses as well as tar. This is done by supplying air in two distinct stages. The first stage allows the vaporization of the volatile compounds and the second provides fresh air that is pre-heated. This improves combustion and reduces odors.
The amount of heat you get from a stove is contingent upon the species and the moisture content of the wood and also the dimensions of logs. The logs should be stacked in a well-ventilated space for several months before you attempt to burn them, to give the wood a chance to dry out. If the logs are soaked with excessive moisture, they will create steam which is essentially wasted energy.
While you're burning the fire, it is recommended to add more wood to the pile at intervals, not all at once. wood burner added at once causes the temperature in the firebox to rise and creates a vortex that draws smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into the flame which can decrease your stove's efficiency.
Avoid the use of other combustibles, like cardboard or paper in your stove, since they are not wood and have different physical properties that cannot be burned without creating dangerously high temperatures and a lot of emissions. You should not burn compressed combustibles such as wood briquettes since they differ in physical and chemical composition from firewood. They are also not type-approved to be burned in wood burning stoves.
It is essential to have a professional install and test your wood burning stove. A certified WETT technician will test your installation to ensure it is safe and functional. They will also check whether your chimney is working properly. These professionals offer maintenance services for your chimney and stove to keep them in top shape. They can check the areas accessible to your chimney for leakage, and fix any issues discovered. They will also make sure that the occupants of your home know and follow the evacuation procedures for fire in case in the event of an emergency.
Adjusting the Damper
A damper controls the amount of heat that is lost through the chimney when you're not cooking on your stove. Additionally, it can also help manage the fire. If the flue is not open but the damper is closed too much the fire won't burn properly and will release smoke into your living space. To ensure you have the most effective fire using the damper properly adjusted, you should test different locations and observe how each affects the flames.
Typically, you should keep the damper open enough to let air flow in and out of the flue when a fire is burning. This lets the fire get a good fire going and helps it stay lit so you can enjoy it for long periods of time. The right opening will also keep the fire from being starved of air, and also prevent it from blowing smoke.
To properly adjust your damper you need to first ensure that the fireplace is heated and the stove is hot. This will ensure the chimney is warm, and that it has a good draft. Once this is done, the wood stove damper can be adjusted.
After the fire has been burning for an extended period, close the damper approximately three quarters of the way. This will stop warm air from the room from going through the chimney, while allowing the smoke to escape out of the wood stove.
This is the most effective way to keep your fire burning and prevent it from getting too hot. The draft might be stopped if you close the damper too tightly however a cold breeze could be able to enter your home in the event that the damper is left open.
You can determine how much the damper is open by holding your hand near the top of the of the flue pipe. If you feel a slight breeze rubbing against your hand, the damper is likely in an open position.
The damper settings can differ slightly from one stove to another 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
After the fire, it's important to clean the stove and flue. This reduces the chance of an explosion in the chimney which is the most common cause of fires that are caused by wood stoves. Creosote is a sticky substance that accumulates on the inside of the stovepipe and can be extremely hazardous. It is caused by the moisture and wood particles that are not burned that are unable to escape from the fire. It could be caused by improperly lit fires.
Regular cleaning helps prevent creosote buildup. This can be done by sweeping your chimney at least once every year. It is recommended that you have your fireplace and stove professionally inspected and cleaned at least once per year.
It is also a good idea to clean the ash tray and grate it regularly. It is a good idea to only use seasoned wood for burning, as it will create less creosote and ash. Avoid burning paper, cardboard and plastic. These materials can release harmful chemicals into the air and flue that could end up in your home.
It is also necessary to clean the glass of the wood-burning stove on a regular basis. Most newer wood stoves have self-cleaning windows, which means they do not require as much scrubbing. You can apply stove glass cleaners to the glass if you aren't getting the glass as clean as you would like on your wood stove.
Other tips for maintaining your wood stove include turning the vent off when you are not using it, and opening the door or window to increase the flow of air. This keeps the fire burning more hot and efficient. The wood stove will not have to perform as hard to circulate air. It is also a good idea to not stack logs or keep them in the fire for prolonged periods of time as this could cause splitting and warping. It is best to avoid using combustible compressed wood in your wood stove because the paraffin contained within them can melt and flow into the flue which could cause damage.