High Efficiency Hearth

FlameWorks, LLC

Wood Burning Tips

TIPS ON BURNING WOOD IN GENERAL

Why buy a wood burning stove

If you heat your home with wood, the following steps can be taken to minimize expense, health and environmental effects:

1. Never burn: Plastics, painted or treated wood, particleboard, plywood, glossy magazines or newsprint, foil or metallic-coated gift wrapping, household garbage (diapers, plastic bags, etc.), rags or fabric made of synthetic materials

These items release toxic chemicals into the air that can be harmful to your health and damage your stove or fireplace.

2. Burn seasoned firewood only – cut, split and stack it in a place sheltered from the weather. Cracks in the ends of the wood show its been properly seasoned and ready for burning. You can also test whether the wood is fully seasoned by striking two pieces together. Dry wood gives a sharp ‘crack’ while unseasoned wood sounds more like a dull ‘thud’.

3. Store wood outside, covered on top with sides open to air.

4. Store only a small amount of wood inside your home.

5. Split wood into pieces 4-6 inches in diameter. It will burn cleaner with more surface area exposed to the flame. Only use larger pieces of wood when the fire is well established.

6. Make sure your fire is getting enough air. This will ensure it burns hot and clean. A properly burning fireplace is hotter, produces less smoke and is more efficient. This means more warmth for less money and less impact to your health.

7. Don’t stuff too much wood inside the firebox. Refuel more often with small loads with the air inlet open wide to keep it burning briskly.

If you collect your own wood, or prefer to buy unseasoned wood, plan to get it a year ahead.  It takes green wood at least one year to dry out sufficiently to ensure it will be fully seasoned.  Some manufactures recommend three years seasoning. 

TIPS ON STARTING A NON-CAT WOOD STOVE

Coming Soon….

TIPS ON STARTING A CATALYTIC WOOD STOVE

Most of the information about starting a non-catalytic stove applies to starting a catalytic stove.  The key differences are that the fire has to be hot enough to start the chemical secondary burn in the catalyst before you shut down the air and, where applicable, change the smoke path.  FlameWorks does not typically stock catalytic stoves, but many models feature a catalytic probe thermometer to give indication of when the catalyst has engaged.  On some simpler stove the catalyst can be visually seen and the glow will be apparent through the window glass.  Once the catalyst has engaged you should be able to operate the stove at a broad range of levels as long as the chimney draft is sufficient.  Keep in mind that the less heat that goes up the chimney (low fire) the less draft is available to power the stove.  Your chimney is the engine that drives your stove and the heat is the fuel for the engine. 

TIPS ON STARTING A WOOD FIREPLACE

Keep in mind there are many types of wood fireplaces.  If you are moving into a home with an existing fireplace it might take some detective work to determine what you have.  Also bear in mind that with most of these fireplace types there may be added some type of insert or heat exchanger separate from the fireplace it’s self.

1. Site Built masonry fireplace

2. Site Built form fireplace

3. Site built masonry heater fireplace

4. Engineered fireplace, builder grade

5. Engineered fireplace, heater grade

6. Engineered fireplace, furnace grade

The most common fireplace type in North America is a open, site built masonry fireplace or it’s sister a site built form masonry fireplace.  These units may or may not be equipped with doors, but are required to be equipped with operable screens.  Screens are meant to be closed when in use, but the VAST MAJORITY of doors are to be FULLY open when in use and only closed near the very end of the burn cycle to reduce the amount of warmed air pulled out of the house during shutdown.  Usually doors cannot be closed until the fire is at least half way through the last stage of combustion, many times until there are just traces of embers remaining. 

The procedure for starting and operating will depend on the fireplace type that you have.

Heater Grade Engineered Fireplaces (number 5) are similar to Builder Grade Engineered Fireplaces (number 4) but usually have heat exchangers and may be equipped with doors that have ceramic (rather than tempered) glass that can be closed during operation and therefore be used to provide some heat from the wood fuel.  Many units also have a insulated firebox and higher quality construction as well.

Furnace Grade Engineered Fireplaces (number 6) are almost always EPA certified or EPA equivalent certified units and essentially are modern, high efficiency wood burning stoves and the general instructions about stoves (available in both Non-Cat and cat versions) apply.  See above.

 

Masonry Fireplaces

Engineered Fireplaces