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How to Properly Operate a Woodburning Stove

Wood stoves can be an affordable and cozy method to heat the home. Smoke from wood stoves can be harmful to your health. It's important to understand how these appliances work and how to use them correctly.

Modern stoves employ secondary or catalytic combustion to reduce emissions. However, older stoves and open fires generate large amounts of particulates.

The firebox

The firebox is the heart of any fireplace system. It's where you create a fire to heat your home and provide ambiance. It's a simple concept, but there are many important details that must be accounted for to keep your wood burning stove safe and efficient.

The most straightforward way to think of the firebox is that it's an open-air combustion chamber that has walls and an entrance. Most fireplaces have an already-built metal or the masonry fireboxes. old wood stove of firebox you select will depend on your preference as well as the type of fireplace that you have.

Most fireplaces with wood burning make use of a constant flow of air to create the flame and burn fuel. Fresh air is pumped into the stove through dampers that can be adjusted within its doors. This allows the fuels to be burned correctly, and also reduces the toxic gasses that result from burning that is not complete or properly burned. The exhaust gases will be drawn up the chimney, and then safely away from your home.

Modern stoves with catalytic second combustion employ a special catalyst to reburn the unburnt gasses to create additional heat. This creates a cleaner and less polluting fume than traditional wood stoves that do not have secondary combustion. Modern non-catalytic stoves are available, but they're generally less efficient than stoves that have catalytic secondary combustion.

Certain wood-burning stoves come with backboilers that are used to heat water in addition to space heating. These are referred to as "combination" or "hybrid" stoves and have been around since the early 20th century.

Wood burning stoves should be lit with seasoned wood. Freshly cut (green) wood has a high moisture content, which can cause low flue temperatures and a lot of creosote accumulation in the chimney. This can cause chimney fires that damage the stove, and they can be hazardous to your family's health.

If you're in search of an expert who can examine your wood-burning stove, or make repairs to your firebox, make sure that the chimney technician you choose is certified by CSIA certification and provides testimonials from their customers on their website. You can inquire about their prices and the type of work they perform.

The pipe for ventilation

Ventilation is a must for wood stoves to help eliminate fumes and keep the home safe and warm. Venting carries away carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and excess moisture from the combustion process. It also helps reduce the amount of air pollution and loss of heat to the outdoors. Wood, pellet and gas stoves have different requirements for venting to accommodate the different ways they operate. Maintaining the stove's ventilation system on a regular basis is crucial to ensure safety and efficiency.

The ventilation system consists of the firebox, the vent pipe, and the chimney. The ventilation pipe and chimney work together to create draft, bringing smoke from the stove through the fireplace and into the outside air. Draft is caused through the variation in temperature and density between hot wood smoke and cold air outside. The more hot the temperature, the more smoke rises through the pipe of ventilation and chimney.

Modern wood stoves are certified by the EPA as low-emission units. This means they emit less pollutants than older models, and contribute to global warming as well as other environmental concerns. Many newer stoves come with pollution controls built-in to limit how much they release while ensuring the emissions are disposed of in an efficient manner.

Older stoves with open flues emit a lot more carbon dioxide, poisonous gas that should not be allowed to escape into the home. Carbon monoxide can be produced when your chimney is dirty or if there is inadequate ventilation. Installing carbon monoxide alarms inside your home is therefore crucial.

Before installing a new or used wood stove take note of the distance from the point where the stove is on the floor to the chimney opening on the ceiling or wall. Multiply this distance by two to find the length of stovepipe you require. Single-wall or double-wall stovepipe and must ensure that you have adequate clearance from combustibles.

When the stove is lit for the first time then adjust the air vent until a stable flame has been established and the combustion process is stable. It is advised to avoid using wood logs in the stove since they could contain volatile chemicals that can cause the air vents to malfunction.

The chimney

The chimney might not be something that homeowners think about a lot to, but it's an intricate system that requires care and attention. The chimney is composed of many important components that are essential to the safety and efficiency of your stove.





The wood-burning stove's combustion gasses are vented outwards through the firebox, the ventilation pipe and the chimney. This is essential to lower carbon dioxide levels and prevent harmful emissions. To do this the chimney and flue must be hot enough to remove the gases from the fireplace without cooling. This can be accomplished by using a wood-burning stove that has a high output of heat and by adding new logs frequently to the fire.

Modern woodburning stoves are taller chimney than older models to enhance the drafting effect. This could be a problem in the event that your chimney's height exceeds the maximum for your location. In this situation the chimney may compete with the house's stack for airflow, which causes gases to cool before leaving. This could result in a pause in the flow of gas, and a buildup on creosote.

The most common error homeowners make is to open the fireplace door and close it too often. This can adversely affect the combustion. It is important to keep the door of your fireplace as shut as you can and only open it to add firewood or ash. The door should not be open for long. This allows the hot air from the stove to escape, making the logs cooler and less likely to light.

Another common mistake that people make is using other kinds of combustibles inside their woodburning stoves, which could cause higher emissions or even chimney fire. The fact is that woodburning stoves are built and designed to burn firewood and not other types of combustibles.

The flue

To ensure that the airflow is proper, woodburning stoves require a flue that is the proper size. Typically, the size of the flue has to be at 25 percent greater than the stove pipe (which connects the stove to the chimney) to provide enough space for smoke circulation. In addition the stove must be set on an open hearth made of a non-combustible material and has a clear, unobstructed space in the front of the fireplace opening.

Modern stoves are equipped with an engineered combustion system that reduces the amount of harmful byproducts that get released into the chimney. This feature is also able to improve the efficiency of wood stoves by burning a fire that produces more heat and less polluting. Making use of other types of combustibles, other than firewood however, can result in problems, such as lower efficiency and higher levels of emissions.

When burning wood in a fireplace or stove it is essential to use dried or seasoned wood. If your wood isn't seasoned or dried, it will release a lot of water vapor into your chimney. This could result in low flue temperatures, and possibly a chimney fire.

A professional can also assist you in avoiding the possibility of a chimney fire by regularly inspecting and cleaning the flue system. old wood stove includes the stovepipe, chimney and the chimney itself.

A dirty flue and stove could result in a poor chimney draft that could result in carbon monoxide being released into your home. This could be hazardous for your family and should never be allowed to occur.

A good guideline is to hire a professional chimney sweep sweep your stove and chimney every year. This will keep your chimney and stove in good condition.