Eight tips for burning wood
Tip 1
Air!
The wood is utilised in the best way when
the draught control is fully open and the
flames are intense. That will also reduce
pollution, because gas particles are
combusted and produce heat instead.
Once your home is warm, the temperature
is regulated by the amount of wood, not
the air control.
Tip 2
Small amounts of smoke is a good sign
You want a minimal amount of smoke coming from your
chimney. Smoke is not "exhaust" – it contains high
energy gases that were not burned. That's why it is a
good idea to go outside and take a look at the smoke
from the chimney. Dense, black smoke is a sign that the
combustion is not optimal, usually because the fire in
the wood stove is not intense enough. When the wood
stove burns optimally, only a bit of steam and some
light, odour-free smoke escapes from the chimney.
Tip 3
A clean wood stove is a warm wood stove
Remove soot from your wood stove and the flue
pipe once a year. That way, your wood stove will
get warmer. A soot layer of even a few
millimeters reduces the effect because the heat
is not conducted so well, but will go up and out
the chimney. Clean it more often if you burn a
lot of pine wood which leaves more soot than
other types of wood.
Tip 4
Different types of wood provide different
levels of heat
Hardwoods provide more heat than softwoods
with the same volume, but per kilogram, the
different wood types will give off the same heat,
and softwoods are often cheaper to buy.
Softwoods are the perfect firewood at the start
and end of the winter when it is less cold. They
provide a cleaner burn without making the house
into a sauna. It will burn quicker, but it can be
extended by burning with a hardwood log.
Tip 5
Overnight heating
Very few wood stoves can burn longer than two to three
hours on one wood load. The old way of closing the air
supply so that the coals will smoulder overnight is a
source of pollution and creates the risk of a chimney fire.
In addition, the heat benefit is poor as the gases are not
combusted and the energy is not utilised. The last wood
load in the evening should be some bigger hardwood
logs that burn as normal with the air vents open. Even if
the fire dies out, the insulation in the house will keep
the heat in. The stove and chimney will still be warm in
the morning and it is no problem to get the fire going
again.
Tip 6
Turbulence helps!
Turbulence is important when lighting the fire because
when the temperature is low, the oxygen does not mix
with the molecules in the wood. Swirls of air bombard
the smoke gases with oxygen and makes the lighting
easier. This is the reason why the firewood catches fire
more easily when the door to the wood stove is left
ajar. Some houses are so sealed with insulation that
you should open a window when lighting the fire. A
blow pipe is also an excellent aid to get the fire going,
much more so than bellows.
Tip 7
Lighting from the top is better
Many of the modern wood stoves were designed
to burn from the top down. Take a look at the
user manual or get a new one from the Internet if
you burned it. Lighting from the top down is done
by stacking logs of wood quite tight and then
lighting a small fire on top of the wood so that
the fire burns downward. The wood stove will
reach its operating temperature quicker, the
gases will burn better and the wood load will last
longer.
Tip 8
Always more than one log
You should always put two or three logs on the
fire at a time – one log on its own will often die
out. The reason is that the burning of a log
happens in three stages, and one single log is not
able to keep its own process going. More logs
have a bigger surface, creates more turbulence
and keeps the burning process going.
How to light a fire
Step 1
Air and logs of wood
Ensure that all air vents in the fireplace are
open. Put the logs on the bottom of the
fireplace. It is important that the wood is
cleft and dry. The logs may be as thick as a
fist or thicker.
Step 2
Kindling wood
Add a layer of small logs of about 4 cm, and
then one or two layers of kindling. Remember
that air is important – approx. 1 cm between
the pieces of wood is the perfect spacing.
Step 3
Fire briquettes
Put a couple of fire firelighters on top of
the layer of kindling wood or use some
newspaper. Be aware that newspaper
produces unnecessary amounts of ashes
and contributes to more soot.
Step 4
Light it!
The last step is easy, just light it and close the
door! Some chimneys take more time to create
good draught than others. If the draught is
insufficient, it might be an idea to open the door
to the wood stove slightly until it is properly
burning. If the house or cabin is "too" insulated,
you might want to open a window. The same
applies if the kitchen ventilator is on.
Some closing comments
As the wood gradually catches fire, the amount of smoke gases
emitting from the wood, will also increase. Wood stoves from
Jøtul are cleanburning wood stoves. This means that the
combustion chamber is designed to burn flue gases before they
enter the flue pipe and in this way reduce polluting emissions.
When the chimney heats up, you will discover that the draught
increases. That's why it can be a good idea to reduce the air
supply when the fire is increasing.
If you follow these instructions and light the fire with a couple of
large logs, the first wood load will last for about an hour. When
this has turned into charcoal, you can gently open the door and
add more wood. A good tip is to keep the door ajar for a few
seconds before you open it completely. In this way, the draught
in the chimney will ensure that the flue gases are removed from
the combustion chamber and you avoid smoke flowing into the
room.