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How to Properly Start a Wood Burning Stove Wood stoves are an excellent option to conserve energy and heat the room. However, they need an amount of care. A majority of modern wood stoves comply with EPA emission guidelines. Look for an EPA sticker under or beside the grate to make sure your stove doesn't create lots of harmful pollutants. How to Start a Wood Fire The smell and sound of a fire made from wood can be a pleasant addition to any home. However, it is important to know how to properly create a fire on your stove. Incorrect techniques can lead to the fire not burning effectively and produces smoke or creosote. The following tips can help you start a fire that is safe and can heat your home quickly and effectively. Before you begin a fire, check the condition of your logs and coals. If they are wet, they will smother the fire and prevent it from burning efficiently. You may also want to open the flue to let any ash out that has fallen into the stove. Begin by placing a handful of small dry pieces of newspaper into your stove. This will help ignite the tinder and ignite the kindling. Once these begin to ignite, add a layer of larger pieces of kindling to the top of the pile. This should be done with the crosshatch pattern to ensure that there is air between each piece. If you own a wood stove with an automatic control for combustion, it will automatically feed a controlled stream of air to the flame as it heats. This will allow the fire to burn at a steady pace without the need to open the stove's doors to maintain it. Avoid using too much tinder, as it can cause the fire to burn at a fast rate and will not be able to use the fuel efficiently. If you have a nice fire and a bed of tinder in your stove, you can start the main fire by laying two large base logs on the grill. Then, on the top of these base logs put a layer of wood perpendicular to them. This method of constructing an ember known as a “top-down” fire can result in a successful and long-lasting fire that does not completely consume the larger base logs. Once your fire is well established, close the damper and keep it shut. Doing this too soon can cause the fire to smother and will not allow for the correct air flow, which will decrease the efficiency of the fire. Add Wood Stoves can be used to heat your home efficiently and also save you money. They can be used by themselves or in conjunction with a furnace or central heating system to provide the additional heat needed in large homes or homes with many rooms. Many of the new clean burning stoves that are available on the market use advanced combustion principles that separates the burning volatile compounds from combustible gasses as well as tar. This is accomplished by supplying air at two different stages. The first stage is to aid in the vaporization, while the second stage is to provide fresh air that has been pre-heated. This improves the combustion process and helps to reduce the odors. The amount of heat that you can get from a stove is contingent upon the type and amount of moisture of the wood used and also the dimensions of the logs. The logs must be stored in a ventilated area for several months prior to when you try to burn them to give the wood a chance to dry. If the logs contain too much moisture, they'll produce steam that is in essence wasted power. When you are burning the fire, add more wood to the pile at intervals, not all at all at. The addition of too much wood all at once could cause the temperature to rise within the firebox, creating an air vortex that pulls smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned back into flames. This could decrease the effectiveness of your stove. You should avoid the use of any other combustibles, such as paper or cardboard in your stove, since they are not wood and have different physical properties and 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 are different in chemical and physical composition from firewood. They are also not approved by the type to be burned in wood-burning stoves. If you're planning to install wood-burning stoves into your home, it is crucial to have it installed and tested by a qualified. A certified WETT technician will test the installation for proper operation and safety and also ensure that your chimney is working correctly. best woodburners offer maintenance services for your chimney and stove to ensure they are in good shape. They can check for leaks in the areas that are accessible to your chimney and fix any issues they discover. They will also ensure that all house occupants understand and comply with the evacuation procedures for fire in the event in the event of an emergency. Adjusting the Damper A damper controls the amount of heat that is lost up the chimney when you aren't using your stove. It can also be used to manage the flame. If the flue is opened but the damper is closed too much the fire will not burn as efficiently and it will release smoke into your living area. You can adjust the damper to ensure the best flames by experimenting with different settings. Typically, you should keep the damper open enough to let air in and out of the flue when a fire is burning. This lets the fire get going and helps it stay lit so you can enjoy it for hours. The right opening will prevent the fire from becoming depleted of air and 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 it also has a strong draft. After this the damper for the wood stove can be adjusted. After the fire has smolder for a while, you can reduce the damper to around three-quarters of its maximum. This will stop the warm room air from escaping through the chimney, while allowing smoke to escape from the wood stove. This is the best method to keep the fire from becoming too hot while still keeping it lit. If you shut the damper too much, it could block the draft from working, however when it's too open a cold breeze could enter your home. Holding your hand at the top of the flue pipe will show you how much the damper has opened. If you feel a slight breeze rubbing against your hand, the damper is likely in an open position. The damper settings can differ a little from one stove to the next and even between different kinds of wood. The process of experimenting with the various settings will give you an idea of what you should look for, but you may need to tweak it until you have found the perfect setting for your stove. Clean Up It is important to clean your flue and stove after a fire. This will lower the risk of a chimney fire which is the primary reason for wood stove fires in homes. Creosote is a sticky material that forms 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 the fire. It can also be caused by improperly lit fires. Regular cleaning can help keep away the buildup of creosote. This can be accomplished by sweeping your chimney once a year. It is also recommended that you have your stove and fireplace professionally cleaned and examined at least yearly. Also, it's a good idea for you to clean the ash tray and grates regularly. It is a good idea to use only wood that is seasoned for burning, as this will result in less creosote and less ash. It is also an excellent idea to avoid burning paper, cardboard or plastic items. These items can release dangerous chemicals to the air and flue, which can be released into your home. It is also necessary to clean the glass of the wood-burning stove regularly. The majority of modern 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'd like on your wood stove. Other suggestions to keep your wood stove in good condition include lowering the vent when you're not using it and opening doors or windows to improve airflow. This will keep the fire burning hotter and more efficiently since it won't need to be as active to circulate air. It is advisable not to stack logs or leave them on the fire for a long period of time. This could cause warping and splits. It is also recommended to not use compressed combustible logs in your wood stove, because the paraffin in them can melt and then flow down the flue which could cause damage.