Efficiency Depends on Good Fuel

Gasoline, kerosene, charcoal or liquid starters are dangerous and not suitable for starting a fire in a wood stove. The best way is to start with a base of newspaper and small pieces of dry kindling. Once this is burning, add a few pieces of clean, well-seasoned firewood. It is important that the wood you burn has been split and dried properly.

As a rule, firewood that is cut, split and stacked in the spring will be ready for burning the following winter. Properly seasoned wood has just under 20 percent water by weight. The moisture in freshly cut wood can range from 35 to 70 percent and thereby suppress the combustion process – the wetter the wood, the more heat energy required to boil the water out of the wood. As a result, energy is wasted.

Seasoned wood that is properly dried is darker at the ends and weighs much less than freshly cut wood and usually tends to be cracked at the cut ends. Wood pieces should be short enough to fit easily into the firebox of your stove, in a variety of widths ranging from 7.5 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in.) in diameter. Firewood should be loosely stacked outside and off the ground. Never store firewood inside the house, because the indoor heat will support the growth of unhealthy moulds on the wood. Also, never burn particleboard, plywood, ocean driftwood, painted or treated wood, garbage, glossy paper, plastics or rubber.

Kindling a New Fire

The first stage of the fire is usually the smokiest, because the cool wood, the boiling water within the wood and the cool air inside the stove take heat away from the flames. During this stage, all air inlets of the stove should be opened fully in order to create a flow of air to make the hot flame. Although it might appear that this initial burning lets too much heat go up the chimney, it is a necessary part of building an efficient fire. The extra heat “primes” the chimney to produce an upward draft and also helps to keep the flue liner clean by loosening creosote deposits that have built up from previous fires. This initial burning also drives moisture out of the firewood and ignites the smoke that is being released from the wood.

Burn Smaller, Hotter Fires

Most of the energy in burning wood is released as a bright flame. The best fire is one that is hot, with no smell of smoke indoors and very little smoke visible outside. If there is dark, smelly smoke coming from your chimney, it means that the firewood is not burning completely. The result of incomplete combustion, this smoke is unhealthy and pollutes the outdoor air. It can also result in sticky deposits of creosote on the walls of your chimney, which are highly flammable and can provide the perfect fuel for chimney fires if they are allowed to accumulate.

Avoid Slow, Smouldering Fires

When a wood fire is starved for air and the exhaust temperature is not sufficient to produce a strong updraft in the chimney, the fire begins to smoulder and spills smoke into the room when the stove door is opened. It is important to ensure that sufficient air is coming into the fire through air inlets of the stove in order to maintain the flame.