While wood stoves sound good in theory, some of you may have no idea on how to operate them. To help you out with this, we thought it would be useful to put together a brief article discussing this subject. If this is something that you want to learn more about, read on for a beginner’s guide on using a wood stove.
How Do Wood Stoves Work?
To truly understand how to correctly use a wood stove, it’s important to educate yourself on how they work. Some of you may think that a wood stove is just a simple firebox with a flue outlet. That’s not entirely accurate as there is more to a wooden stove than just that. A feed at the base provides the right amount of oxygen to the firebox and feeds the fire. The main chamber is also enclosed in high-intensity insulation, so it’s easy to keep the fire stoked. And lastly, there’s a fluid-operated air valve that controls how much oxygen reaches the firebox. When it’s fully open, it provides maximum airflow, which stokes a roaring fire, but when it’s fully closed, the fire dies down. To make sure that wood burning in the stove doesn’t suffocate and go out, or to avoid filling your space with fumes, there has to be a place for the smoke to go. This is addressed through the use of the chimney.
What Type of Wood Should You Use?
Not all types of wood are appropriate for a wood-burning stove. Selecting the correct type of fuel for a wood-burning stove is like selecting the correct fuel for any other appliance: it needs to be suitable for the task at hand. This can be a difficult task due to the sheer number of choices you have. Indeed, there are so many types of wood available in stores and different varieties of wood feature unique characteristics that can either help or hinder their ability to fuel a stove.
The best type of wood to burn in your wood stove is to mix both a variety of soft and hardwoods, this provides the best results in heat output and efficiency. Among the top wood types in the UK are ash, apple, oak, birch, and beech. Each one requires a longer seasoning time than others, but they also have a more intricate interior structure that enables them to burn for a longer period of time.
How Should You Stack the Wood?
One of the easiest mistakes to make when creating a wood stack inside in readiness to light your stove is to simply pile the wood as tightly within the unit as possible. In many cases, the mistake is made because people think that the more wood they have burning, the better. In reality, stacking the wood in a tight stack doesn’t help and actually hinders the stove. Ideally, it would be wise to start with just a few logs stacked in a cross pattern so that there are spaces between each log for sufficient airflow to get through. The airflow will allow the flames to produce more heat and burn longer than usual, increasing efficiency and reducing how much wood needs to be burned.
Once you’ve set up the logs the right way, it’s important to light your stove properly. Be sure to light your stove in the right way to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. When lighting your wood stove, it would be best to start from the top. This is to ensure that it burns downwards.
Conclusion
We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping you use your wood stove effectively. As you can see, wood stoves aren’t that difficult to work with as long as you know what you’re doing. Feel free to look back on this article if you ever need a little more help in figuring things out.
Are you looking to buy the best log-burning stoves in Scotland? Stove Scotland has got what you need! We will work with you to ensure that your stove will perfectly fit the style and dimensions of your room. Contact us today to learn more
