All you should require to start the fire in your wood burning stove is dry newspaper and kindling. You need to use dry softwood for kindling as it is less dense than hardwood and so burns faster. Add a lot of scrunched up single sheets of newspaper (although not scrunched up too tight or it will not ignite) and lay a good handful of kindling tepee style against the newspaper. Light the paper at multiple points and almost close the stove door.
The air inlets on your stove should all be completely open at this point and it's usually favourable to leave the door just ajar. The fire should be crackling away in no time and now bigger pieces of wood can be added carefully. Be careful not to smother the fire with massive chunks of wood. Your patience will pay off within a couple of minutes once your stove is going strongly.
Lighting a wood burning stove differs in one crucial respect from lighting an outdoor fire. As well as initiating the fire itself, you're also priming the flue which will be full of air and cold. Air is heavier than smoke and needs to be displaced before your chimney will work. A cold chimney can slow down the initial flue gases to stalling speed and needs to be warmed up swiftly. Sometimes, in very colder weather conditions or with an exposed or uninsulated chimney, the flue will need warming up even before trying to start the fire, otherwise you will just fill the room with smoke. It can be surprising how little heat is required to make a substantial difference between a healthy draw and a stubbornly resistant chimney. Either way, it is an straightforward fix.
Burn a good bunch of newspaper first, all at one time, then start again, adding kindling this time. Card ripped into strips and added judiciously to a young fire can generally defeat the most recalcitrant of chimneys. Or you can even use a hair-dryer!
Some experts advocate building your nest of kindling on top of a bed of logs (sometimes called an upside down fire). This is a great system which optimises combustion and lowers the risk of collapsing the fire thru piling logs on top.
There are numerous imaginative paths to prepare the kindling and it's likely that you are going to soon find your own favoured pattern.
The air inlets on your stove should all be completely open at this point and it's usually favourable to leave the door just ajar. The fire should be crackling away in no time and now bigger pieces of wood can be added carefully. Be careful not to smother the fire with massive chunks of wood. Your patience will pay off within a couple of minutes once your stove is going strongly.
Lighting a wood burning stove differs in one crucial respect from lighting an outdoor fire. As well as initiating the fire itself, you're also priming the flue which will be full of air and cold. Air is heavier than smoke and needs to be displaced before your chimney will work. A cold chimney can slow down the initial flue gases to stalling speed and needs to be warmed up swiftly. Sometimes, in very colder weather conditions or with an exposed or uninsulated chimney, the flue will need warming up even before trying to start the fire, otherwise you will just fill the room with smoke. It can be surprising how little heat is required to make a substantial difference between a healthy draw and a stubbornly resistant chimney. Either way, it is an straightforward fix.
Burn a good bunch of newspaper first, all at one time, then start again, adding kindling this time. Card ripped into strips and added judiciously to a young fire can generally defeat the most recalcitrant of chimneys. Or you can even use a hair-dryer!
Some experts advocate building your nest of kindling on top of a bed of logs (sometimes called an upside down fire). This is a great system which optimises combustion and lowers the risk of collapsing the fire thru piling logs on top.
There are numerous imaginative paths to prepare the kindling and it's likely that you are going to soon find your own favoured pattern.
About the Author:
The New Forest Woodburning Centre installs wood burning stoves across the counties of Hampshire and Dorset in UK. Their showroom has a wide range of models to fit all needs and tastes. Their staff are experts and can guide you in the selection, installation, use and maintenance of wood burning stoves.
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