Lighting Your Wood Burning Stove

Once your new stove is installed you are going to be keen to get your first fire lit and to enjoy the warmth. Whilst lighting a wood burning stove isn't rocket science, here are a few tips that we can offer up to make life a little easier.

What Wood To Use.

The wood you use in your stove is the key to providing a good heat output.  It will also  help to keep the glass clean and reduce the build up of soot in your chimney.

• use only seasoned wood or kiln dried wood & kindling with a moisture content less than 20%. The less moisture content, the better heat output and the glass will stay cleaner!
• never use wet or green/unseasoned wood - it can quickly result in the build-up of soot in your chimney/flue which is a fire hazard.
• never use any magazines or glued/painted wood eg. MDF, chipboard, building off cuts or wood with rot resistant treatments. These contain chemicals that can cause damage to flues and chimney liners.

Airs Vents to Open!

Your fire will need a good supply of oxygen to get it started so make sure you open the air vents on your stove. If you're not quite sure you have got it right, take a look at your manufacturer manual.

Making Fire

Use fire lighters, or paper, plenty of kindling wood and a couple of very smaller dry logs to create your initial fire.  We like to stack the kindling like a 'Jenga' tower, with a fire lighter in the middle, as it allows plenty of air flow to get the fire going.  Creating a good initial heat will warm the chimney or flue and create the draw of air which is need for combustion. If you need a little extra airflow to get the fire started just keep the door slightly ajar until the fire is properly alight.

First Lighting

On the first lighting, it can be a little alarming as the stove will smoke.  This isn't from the fire itself but it is the special heat resistant paint & glues going through a curing process.  If possible keep other internal doors closed in your house and open the windows for a bit more ventilation.  This process will only last for about 20-30 minutes. Refer to your manufacturer manual as well for advice on first lighting.

Wood likes to burn from a bed of ash and you won't have this the first time you light your stove. Don't be tempted to remove the ash after each fire.  Let the fire build an ash bed and only remove it when it gets too deep.

From Little Flames...

Now your fire is underway you can top up with additional wood, go for some smaller pieces first before loading more substantial logs.  Once established you can reduce the amount of air flow from the vents until your fire is nicely ticking over. Enjoy!!

We have kindling, firelighters and quality kiln dried wood which will mean it is easy to light your fire and you will get plenty of warmth from it too. We also stock moisture metres which are specially designed for testing logs - perfect if you are using your own seasoned logs.