Woodburning stoves are a fantastic way to heat your home during the winter months. They are efficient, they provide great ambiance, and can last for many years. With that being said, it is not always easy to keep them running at their best performance level. This article will go over some of the most important tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your wood-burning stove in cold weather.
Maintain The Stove To Maximize Heat Output
Clean and dry the stove regularly to prevent creosote and rust. Creosote is a flammable residue that accumulates inside your wood-burning stove when it isn’t properly maintained, while rust can damage the metal parts of your appliance. If you won’t be using your fireplace for long periods of time (such as during summer), remove ashes from the firebox or ash pan daily so they don’t clog up air passages in the combustion chamber.
Ashes contain fine particles which may catch on fire if not removed frequently enough. At least once every three months, clean out all surfaces of any debris leftover after cooking with an open flame such as grease spills or food bits and pieces, and thoroughly rinse them off with water. Finally, if you have a black residue on the glass window of your wood stove or are seeing soot building up around it, burn only dry hardwood that has been split into small pieces to prevent too much moisture from being released during combustion.
Restart writing here when you’re done with the above. If there is anything else to add, feel free to do so in your list of bullet points or numbers below:
- Note that not all stove glass gets dirty and will need cleaning – check before doing too much work!
Use The Airwash To Help Keep The Glass Clear
Be sure to use the airwash feature of your wood stove! This will help keep the glass clean and should be used regularly. The way this works is that there is a small hole at the top or bottom of your window which allows cold air into the space in front of it. As hot gases rise from below, they mix with fresh oxygen outside and burn away any smoke particles before leaving through the chimney.
If you do not open up this vent occasionally (such as when starting fires), soon enough soot will build upon each side of every piece of glass inside your unit! Not only does look bad aesthetically speaking, but also reduces heat output by trapping heat between two layers instead of one single sheet.
Leave A Layer Of Ash At The Base Of Your Stove
When you’re done using your stove for the night, it’s important to leave a layer of ash at the base. This will ensure that there is still fuel in its reservoir when you wake up and use it again later on. It also helps protect the wood-burning stove from rusting or corroding while not in use so that it can be used longer than expected!
Leave as much ash as possible at the bottom of your wood-burning stove after your fire has burned out. This helps protect it from rusting or corroding, which can make it last longer!
Check That The Wood Is Dry Enough
When you are picking out wood that you want to turn on your stove, make sure that it is dry. If there is too much moisture content on the inside of the logs, they will not be able to burn as easily which means they won’t stay lit for very long or produce nearly as much heat since most of their energy was used up evaporating water first instead of generating heat.
Also if the wood has an excess amount of moisture then it can cause some issues with creosote building up and potentially starting a chimney fire. Make sure when selecting wood for burning that it feels light even after being picked up because this will indicate low moisture levels within them.
Use Newspaper To Spread The Fire To The Wood More Quickly
Using newspapers to spread the fire is one of the most popular tips. It does not matter what kind of paper you use, but make sure it’s thin and dry before using it on your stove. Here are some reasons why this tip can be very helpful:
- It will help your fire spread faster and thus it’ll catch up more wood.
- Use Newspaper To Spread The Fire To The Wood More Quickly
- It’ll speed the process of heating a room by using charcoal as kindling material.
- It’s a good way to use up old newspapers instead of letting them pile on your table.
- If you’re using newspaper as kindling material, it is recommended that you don’t put the entire paper inside since this might slow down the fire and not allow oxygen flow necessary for the combustion process. Instead, crumple some papers into balls or place twisted sheets with twigs and small logs so they can ignite easily.
Use Smaller Bits Of Dry Softwood As Kindling
- Use a small amount of dry softwood kindling to get the fire going. Do not use large pieces of hardwood as they will take more time and effort to ignite, which is counterproductive in cold weather when you most want the stove up and at full speed quickly. Once it has started burning well, then add larger chunks of solid fuel for longer-lasting warmth once your fire gets established.
- Shorter pieces of kindling are easier to ignite than larger logs, so use kindling that is around two inches long.
- Softwood contains resin which acts as an accelerant for the fire – making it burn hotter and longer once lit. Some people recommend soaking large chunks of wood in water before adding them to a stove or fireplace because they believe that will make these chunks last for even longer periods of time.
Others claim this method wastes fuel since much of the water boils off anyway, releasing its heat energy into the atmosphere rather than heating your home with radiant heat from the flames themselves. The jury is out on whether or not you should soak hardwood before burning it. Wood has been used by humans throughout history without doing so first, but there are some arguments to be made in favor of doing so.
- Make sure that the pieces you choose will fit easily into your fireplace or wood stove, as well as burn long enough for your purpose – which is heating a room and supplying heat throughout the night if necessary.
- Use smaller bits of dry softwood kindling to get the fire going. Do not use large pieces of hardwood as they will take more time and effort to ignite, which is counterproductive in cold weather when you most want the stove up and at full speed quickly. Once it has started burning well, then add larger chunks of solid fuel for longer-lasting warmth once your fire gets established.
Shorter pieces of kindling are easier to ignite than larger logs, so use kindling that is around two inches long. Softwood contains resin which acts as an accelerant for the fire – making it burn hotter and longer once lit. Some people recommend soaking large chunks of wood in water before adding them to a stove or fireplace because they believe that will make these chunks last for even longer periods of time.
Others claim this method wastes fuel since much of the water boils off anyway, releasing its heat energy into the atmosphere rather than heating your home with radiant heat from the flames themselves. The jury is out on whether or not you should soak hardwood before burning it. Wood has been used by humans throughout history without doing so first, but there are some arguments to be made in favor of doing so.
Use a small amount of dry softwood kindling to get the fire going. Do not use large pieces of hardwood as they will take more time and effort to ignite, which is counterproductive in cold weather when you most want the stove up and at full speed quickly. Once it has started burning well, then add larger chunks of solid fuel for longer-lasting warmth once your fire gets established.
Shorter pieces of kindling are easier to ignite than larger logs, so use kindling that is around two inches long. Softwood contains resin which acts as an accelerant for the fire – making it burn hotter and longer once lit. Some people recommend soaking large chunks of wood in water before adding them to a stove or fireplace because they believe that will make these chunks last for even longer periods of time.
Others claim this method wastes fuel since much of the water boils off anyway, releasing its heat energy into the atmosphere rather than heating your home with radiant heat from the flames themselves. The jury is out on whether or not you should soak hardwood before burning it. Wood has been used by humans throughout history without doing so first, but there are some arguments to be made in favor of doing so.
- Make sure that the pieces you choose will fit easily into your fireplace or wood stove as well as burn long enough for your purpose – which is heating a room and supplying heat throughout the night if necessary.
- Use smaller bits of dry softwood kindling to get a fire going quickly. Do not use large pieces of hardwood as they will take more time and effort to ignite, which is counterproductive in cold weather when you most want the stove up at full speed quickly. Once it has started burning well then add larger chunks of solid fuel for longer-lasting warmth once your fire gets established.
Fully Open The Air Vents Before Starting A Fire
Before starting a fire in your wood stove, open up all the air vents as wide as possible. This includes any built-in dampers that you have and also make sure to crack the door of the stove itself. Although this may seem counterintuitive because it allows more oxygen into the oven to fuel combustion, what happens is that preheating actually reduces creosote buildup inside your chimney over time by burning off volatile gases before they can condense later on.
So fully opening up everything for around fifteen minutes will ensure an optimal burn from start to finish with no dangerous after-effects like smokey smells or fireside cleanups!
Always Use Gloves When Operating A Stove
When you’re building a fire, always wear gloves to protect your hands from the heat. If you don’t have any available, then hold onto something that’s not hot like a shovel or poker, and keep it between yourself and the stove as much as possible.
If you have long hair, be sure to tie it back before working with the stove. Having your hair near open flames is never a good idea!
Always keep at least three feet of space between the stove and anything that can burn – including people, clothing, or furniture. If something catches on fire too close to the wood-burning stove then you’ll need enough time to get away without getting burned by hot coals flying out of it. Making sure there’s always plenty of room around an operating stove will help make this possible if it does happen.
Warm The Flue To Maximize The Draft
A cold chimney will not run well and can make the stove perform poorly. If your house is very cold, you may want to warm the flue before starting a fire in order to get it operating at full capacity. You should do this any time there has been a significant drop in temperatures outside of the normal seasons when you would light fires anyway (fall and winter).
If you are using a wood-burning stove for supplemental heat, it is not always necessary to make the flue as hot as possible. It may be more comfortable to turn the flue down slightly and have your room warmer by a few degrees than run the chimney hotter in order to get that last bit of heat out of your firebox. If you choose this route, just keep an eye on things so everything stays safe!
However, if you are trying to push all available heat into one or two rooms during extreme cold weather conditions (as might be prudent when using an indoor fireplace), then getting maximum draft can help ensure no unused potential heating escapes up through the chimney instead. In colder cases like these where every degree matters, it is worth trying to warm the flue as much as possible.
As you might imagine, this takes more energy than just running a standard load of wood through your stove. If you are planning on heating with less-than-ideal weather conditions (hot or humid days), then adding heat into the system can be helpful for getting things moving faster and increasing draft before you even start burning fuel inside of your home.
To do this, all that’s needed is some basic insulation around the chimney pipe at its point of entry into the house; if there isn’t already an airtight seal here, try stuffing in some fiberglass batting like what would go between joists in a flooring project – but remember not to block any airflow through the flue!
Then, add a metal collar around this bundle of insulation. You can make one by bending some sheet metal and locking it in place with small bolts or even duct tape if you don’t have anything else on hand (though we would recommend doing things properly). The idea is to create an airtight seal between your chimney and your house so that any heat being produced inside will not escape up into the atmosphere before it has a chance to warm your home. This might be helpful when heating tiny houses where every degree matters – use sparingly though as more often than not the extra amount of fuel required for warming up a cold chimney may cancel out any savings from using less wood.
Bring Wood Inside Before Each Fire
Bring wood inside before each fire. Not only is the stove hotter but your house will smell like a fireplace all day long!
- If you can, store your firewood inside. When it’s time to start a new fire bring the wood in ahead of time and put it next to the stove for easy access. Not only is the stove hotter but your house will smell like a fireplace all day long!
- Be sure to look at your chimney before you start a new fire. If it’s too dirty, the smoke will come into the house instead of out through the top!
- Put on safety gear when starting fires in wood stoves. This includes safety glasses and gloves whenever possible. Don’t forget about long sleeves either as they can also protect against burns or sparks that might fly onto them while working with firewood inside of your stove or fireplace.
- Give yourself at least an hour after lighting a small fire before shutting down for bedtime so plenty of time has elapsed between flames and warmth being produced by way of hot coals beneath burning logs which are now resting comfortably within their chamber below the grate where air enters from beneath allowing the fire to breathe.
- To make it easier for you, your family, and any other visitors who may be using the wood stove or fireplace, keep a log of how often someone uses either appliance so that they know when to let them cool down before lighting another fire in each one.
Take note: don’t forget about long sleeves as this is also a good way to protect against sparks flying onto clothes while working with fires! It’s important not to leave anyone out there by themselves especially those who are less experienced with handling such tools as stoves and open flames inside homes.
Have The Flue Cleaned As And When Required
The flue is the path that the smoke follows to reach outside of your home. When it is not clean, you can get many problems such as poor heat circulation and even carbon monoxide poisoning. If there are any blockages in the flue or if they narrow down at some point on their way out, all this can happen.
For these reasons, we recommend for you have them inspected and cleaned every year by a professional so you won’t run into trouble during cold weather days when having a wood-burning stove becomes really necessary!
Leave The Stove Door Open Before Use
Leave the stove door open before using your wood-burning stove. If you fail to do this, it can lead to a build-up of dangerous gases and toxic fumes that may kill you.
Remember to always leave the stove door open before using your wood-burning stove. If you don’t, it can lead to a build-up of dangerous gases and toxic fumes that may kill you.
Another important tip is never to cover your vent holes with newspapers or other flammable materials while lighting your fire for the first time after moving into a new house because this will cause carbon monoxide poisoning – which can be fatal.
Another important tip is never to cover your vent holes with newspapers or other flammable materials while lightening your fire at home for the first time since moving in because this will cause Carbon Monoxide Poisoning – which can be fatal.
Use Long Matches When Lighting The Fire
place If you are using traditional matches, it can be difficult to get the fire started if there is a strong wind. Instead of lighting the match and then trying to hold onto it while you slide pieces of paper underneath it in order for them to catch on fire too so that they will help light up your kindling, try this little trick instead: use long matches! The longer ones have enough substance so that even if they blow out once or twice along the way, you should still be able to successfully light your fireplace/wood-burning stove with one match (if not more).
- It’s much easier when using long matches because all you need is one good strike against any surface in order for them to be lit
- which makes things much easier when you are trying to light a fire outside.
- In colder weather, it can be difficult to get the wood-burning stove heated up inside of your home due to all the cold drafts that end up seeping in from any opening – whether they’re on windows or doors.
Don’t Use Larger Logs Too Early Into A Fire
Don’t use larger logs too early into a fire. This will only result in you having to add more and wait for it to catch, so be patient with your wood-burning stove by starting small. Just like cooking on the stovetop, going from low heat is what makes everything come together at just the right time without overdoing anything or under-firing things either.
If you are using a wood-burning stove to heat your home, make sure that it is located in an area where people spend the most time. This will help ensure that everyone is comfortable and warm while also saving money on energy bills! Since these stoves can be costly, moving them around once they have been installed shouldn’t even be considered. They need to remain in their permanent location for optimal performance because of how carefully engineered they were at manufacture.
Burn Hardwood Logs For Increased Heat Output And Longevity
-Burning hardwood logs (oak, maple, etc.) is the best way to ensure your wood-burning stove will provide you with maximum heat output and longevity. Softwood has less dense material per cord than hardwoods do which means more air pockets in the softwood resulting in an incomplete burn.
These “hot spots” can damage certain areas of your stove over time causing dangerous situations for potential carbon monoxide buildup or even creosote build-up that can potentially become flammable!
Use A Stove Thermometer to Measure Temperatures
If you think your stove might not be burning efficiently, purchasing a basic wood-burning stove thermometer may help. This tool is relatively inexpensive and can be used to check the temperature of an area where heat from your stove will accumulate (such as next to a wall).
It works by measuring how much energy it takes for water in its sensor tip to evaporate at different temperatures. Check it often because the higher the temperature, the more quickly your stove’s heat might be lost.
Don’t Leave The Air Vents Wide Open
While air vents are an important part of your wood-burning stove’s operation, they shouldn’t be open too far. If the vent is left wide open you will lose heat and energy because oxygen isn’t needed to burn the fuel—some manufacturers recommend opening it only one-third or halfway.
Don’t Let The Fire Smolder
Don’t let the fire smolder. This will put a lot of smoke into your house, and can actually make it colder as well since you’re not burning anything to create heat. Instead, keep an eye on the fire so that only clean wood is being burned—and no other objects or trash! If there are embers in a stovepipe after a while, check them every half hour and clear out any remaining debris from these red hot coals.
The article also contains tips for keeping warm during cold weather with alternative heating sources such as electric space heaters and oil-filled radiators. Make sure that flammable materials aren’t too close to open flames or stoves, especially if you have small children at home.
Keep a close eye on kids and pets, who might be tempted to get too close to the stove or fire. Make sure your children understand how hot it can get near an open flame, and teach them not to touch anything that is red-hot. Teach your children to fire safety rules such as “Stop, drop, and roll” if their clothing catches on fire.
In addition, ensure that you have working smoke detectors in every room of your house so that you are alerted if there’s a problem with the chimney flu quickly enough. Keep a box of baking soda nearby for serious fires but never use water because this could cause steam which will only feed the flames further!
Don’t Underutilize Your Stove
Don’t use only the top two or three racks to place your pots and pans. Instead, try placing them on all of your stovetop space so you can take advantage of as much heat from the oven below as possible.
If you have a warming drawer that works well too! You should also avoid opening your door frequently because this will let out any warm air that is being produced by the fire inside, which means it won’t be working efficiently and wasting energy in the process!
You might want to consider throwing a few logs onto a burning wood stove before winter sets in. The extra heat provided will help get rid of any moisture left behind from summertime humidity in your home, and this will keep it from being a breeding ground for mold or mildew.
Keep the oven door closed when you’re not using it to heat up an extra room in the house. It’s best if you can leave it open just a crack so there is still enough oxygen flow going into your stovetop but with less chance of illness! If you have children, however, be sure to teach them safety precautions involving wood-burning stoves before they attempt to use one on their own. And never leave them unattended!