Starting a fire in a Pendleton Wood Stove Insert
In my opinion, the most safe, least messy, and reliable way to start a fire in a Pendleton Wood Stove Insert requires a little patience, the proper use of procedure, and the right tools. I discovered this method over time by trial and error subsequently hoping to find the seemingly simplistic but elusive formula for starting a fire in this stove without smoking up the room. I have found this method to be safe and successful. I will list the tools first, then the procedure second. Incidentally, as I’m sure you know other methods are available from the internet which sounds workable and safe so my opinion here is based purely on my own personal success. Good luck.
Tools:
- Electric Charcoal Starter Wand
- Ignite-O Firestarter Packets
- Small slender pieces of dry wood to help start fire (around ten inch length stacked in tic-tac-toe grid fashion).
- Dry logs that fit freely lengthwise (from left to right) inside stove – ALWAYS USE DRY WOOD TO START FIRE – Get a hot fire going if you put on wet, green, or damp wood—DRY WOOD ALWAYS RECOMMENDED.
The Procedure:
1) Insure no more than one inch of ash remains in stove.
2) Place the smaller slender pieces of wood in tic-tac-toe grid fashion up to several layers and insert one Fire Starter Packet between one of the layers.
3) Place one or two dry logs on top.
4) Close the air vent completely. (Check cool air flow by placing your hand inside stove close to the top left corner to get an idea of air flow. If you feel cool air blowing over your hand then you know the draft requires reversing—this is usually the case. If not, just play safe and continue with this procedure.).
5) Place the heating wand inside the stove. ( Lean the heating element end up against the top front corner of the stove on the same side as door hinges—do not lean heating element against the glass door—position element a few inches from the glass door. The heating wand won’t damage the glass but will leave a dark smoky spot. A nice clear glass door is what you want for viewing the fire.).
6) Next, plug the wand into an A/C outlet or extension cord if you need one—I think you will. (Close the door as much as possible and leave the wand to heat up the stove for twenty minutes.).
7) After the stove has heated for twenty minutes, slowly open the door. (Again, place your hand inside close to the top left corner as before to determine if cool air is still flowing. If cool air is not flowing then strike a match and hold the match to the top left corner to determine the direction of air flow (draft). The flame of the match should draw towards the back of the stove. Blow out the match and observe the smoke from the match. It should be sucked up toward the rear of stove indicating the draft has now been reversed. IF NOT, THEN HEAT UP THE STOVE FOR TEN MINUTES AND TRY AGAIN AND REPEAT THIS STEP.).
8) Remove the wand from the stove.
9) Light the Fire Starter Packet and close the door.
10) After the wood begins burning, open the air vent just a crack to provide oxygen to the fire to promote burning and increase draft. (If smoke seems to build up too much then don’t panic, just open the air vent a little more or as much as needed to clear out the smoke and increase the fire and the draft—a proper finessing here is needed.).
Remember, if you try and start a fire in this stove by lighting a crumpled piece of paper and the draft does not reverse then you are stuck with smoke, and that smoke has to go somewhere. With this method you will know when the draft is reversed. If the draft has not reversed then you can start again with step 7.
In conclusion:
Closing the air vent while heating up the stove is the key to reversing the draft—hot air builds up inside the stove until finally it’s drawn up into the flue thus reversing the draft. Yes, this is a drawn out explanation of how to start a fire but drawn out only in words. The procedure is quite simple once you go through it a few times. Again, you will need that twenty minutes of patience, maybe fifteen—you’ll have to experiment there to make this work but start with twenty minutes. I hope this helps someone. Your responses are appreciated.
Edward Hall
Canton, GA.
[email protected]
In my opinion, the most safe, least messy, and reliable way to start a fire in a Pendleton Wood Stove Insert requires a little patience, the proper use of procedure, and the right tools. I discovered this method over time by trial and error subsequently hoping to find the seemingly simplistic but elusive formula for starting a fire in this stove without smoking up the room. I have found this method to be safe and successful. I will list the tools first, then the procedure second. Incidentally, as I’m sure you know other methods are available from the internet which sounds workable and safe so my opinion here is based purely on my own personal success. Good luck.
Tools:
- Electric Charcoal Starter Wand
- Ignite-O Firestarter Packets
- Small slender pieces of dry wood to help start fire (around ten inch length stacked in tic-tac-toe grid fashion).
- Dry logs that fit freely lengthwise (from left to right) inside stove – ALWAYS USE DRY WOOD TO START FIRE – Get a hot fire going if you put on wet, green, or damp wood—DRY WOOD ALWAYS RECOMMENDED.
The Procedure:
1) Insure no more than one inch of ash remains in stove.
2) Place the smaller slender pieces of wood in tic-tac-toe grid fashion up to several layers and insert one Fire Starter Packet between one of the layers.
3) Place one or two dry logs on top.
4) Close the air vent completely. (Check cool air flow by placing your hand inside stove close to the top left corner to get an idea of air flow. If you feel cool air blowing over your hand then you know the draft requires reversing—this is usually the case. If not, just play safe and continue with this procedure.).
5) Place the heating wand inside the stove. ( Lean the heating element end up against the top front corner of the stove on the same side as door hinges—do not lean heating element against the glass door—position element a few inches from the glass door. The heating wand won’t damage the glass but will leave a dark smoky spot. A nice clear glass door is what you want for viewing the fire.).
6) Next, plug the wand into an A/C outlet or extension cord if you need one—I think you will. (Close the door as much as possible and leave the wand to heat up the stove for twenty minutes.).
7) After the stove has heated for twenty minutes, slowly open the door. (Again, place your hand inside close to the top left corner as before to determine if cool air is still flowing. If cool air is not flowing then strike a match and hold the match to the top left corner to determine the direction of air flow (draft). The flame of the match should draw towards the back of the stove. Blow out the match and observe the smoke from the match. It should be sucked up toward the rear of stove indicating the draft has now been reversed. IF NOT, THEN HEAT UP THE STOVE FOR TEN MINUTES AND TRY AGAIN AND REPEAT THIS STEP.).
8) Remove the wand from the stove.
9) Light the Fire Starter Packet and close the door.
10) After the wood begins burning, open the air vent just a crack to provide oxygen to the fire to promote burning and increase draft. (If smoke seems to build up too much then don’t panic, just open the air vent a little more or as much as needed to clear out the smoke and increase the fire and the draft—a proper finessing here is needed.).
Remember, if you try and start a fire in this stove by lighting a crumpled piece of paper and the draft does not reverse then you are stuck with smoke, and that smoke has to go somewhere. With this method you will know when the draft is reversed. If the draft has not reversed then you can start again with step 7.
In conclusion:
Closing the air vent while heating up the stove is the key to reversing the draft—hot air builds up inside the stove until finally it’s drawn up into the flue thus reversing the draft. Yes, this is a drawn out explanation of how to start a fire but drawn out only in words. The procedure is quite simple once you go through it a few times. Again, you will need that twenty minutes of patience, maybe fifteen—you’ll have to experiment there to make this work but start with twenty minutes. I hope this helps someone. Your responses are appreciated.
Edward Hall
Canton, GA.
[email protected]
