Are they as good as people say they are?
Yes, as long as you use them properly! So, here is my fools guide to using a wood-burning stove.
Step 1 – Use dry wood
If your wood is a little damp or green, it won’t burn as well and you won’t get as much heat out of your wood. One way to check if your wood is properly dry is to knock it together, and if it sounds hollow it is dry.
Step 2 – Start the fire right
Use small pieces of wood to start your fire so that you can get a hot fire burning quickly. Make sure you leave the stove door open for approx. a minute to get it burning well before closing it.
Step 3 – Adding wood
Make sure you add one large piece of wood at a time and top it up as needed instead of filling your fire with wood all at once. This helps to keep your stove burning hot and stops smouldering which produces lots of smoke and less heat.
Step 4 – Keep the doors closed
Make sure you keep the doors closed unless you are adding wood because when you open the door all the heat is lost up your chimney.
NEVER BURN RUBBISH
The best way to tell if you are using your stove properly is to go outside and look at your chimney. If there is no smoke coming out of it, you’re doing good!
Make sure you get your stove serviced and your chimney swept on a yearly basis to keep your stove operating as it should.
