Wonderful atmosphere with a wood stove

Sales of stoves continue to increase month on month as the UK public look for ways to reduce their heating bills.

Whether you are the proud owner of a shiny new stove, or your thinking to install one, there are a few things that you need to know to really get the most out of that heating machine in the fireplace.

Do not burn green damp wood

This is the most fundamental thing to get right when you’re burning wood. It might be surprising, but green wood is around 45% water. That means that for every kg of green wood you add to the fire, you’re effectively adding around 500ml (a pint) of water. This means that you will need to make sure that your fuel has been dried properly. There are a few ways of doing this, but the simplest are as follows.

Manage the airflow

As far as your stove is concerned, air comes in two flavours. Primary air feeds the bed of the fire, and secondary air feeds the flames above it. Nearly all the energy from wood comes from burning gases released when it is heated – which means that secondary air is much more important than primary.

Golden rules

Never completely close the secondary air vent. It’s the easiest way to create soot and tar and completely coat the glass on the front of your stove with gunk (a technical term)

Remember you’re always looking for a hot, fast burn, as this will be the cleanest, most efficient way of running the stove. A small hot fire is much more efficient than a large slow burning one.

Can we help?

If you would like some assistance, please do contact us and one of our qualified fitters (HETAS registered) will be happy to help.