Technique questions..

[ianb42]

Im extremely new to wood burning. Only 4 days into it. I had a stove installed last sunday and im still trying to figure it all out.

The firebox is 1.8 cubic feet. I only have an 1100 sq ft. rancher. I was told that my stove is more than big enough to heat the house.

I would like any advice on how to use my damper, air flow control, when to reload, and basically anything else that will help me out.

I usually start by using a starter log, and some small pieces of spilt 2x4's. Then once I get a decent fire going I add some small (about 10" long 2"diamter) pieces of spilt hardwood.

When those burn down and im left with coals... whats the best thing to do? reload with large logs? How much of a base of coals should I have before I load it up full? I've read that raking the coals to the front of the stove helps. And that making a groove down the center of the coals helps too. Can someone explain why I should be doing that? Like I said, im very new to this.. im 25 years old and never had a woodstove growing up.

I've read through a lot of posts on this forum, and I can see its filled with experts on this stuff. So any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[fossil]

The best thing to do right now is to relax and tell us more about the stove and how it's intalled, the house it's in, and what you're using for fuel. Rick

 

[ianb42]

The stove I have is here http://www.flame-intl.com/product.aspx?CategoId=1&Id=398

Its installed straight up through my attic out of the roof, with about 13 ft of pipe from my stove to the cap. My house is a small 2 bedroom rancher, with only 1 room being occupied. Im burning Oak, but I have a feeling its not seasoned enough. This weekend im going to have to breakdown and by a cord or 2.

 

[cmonSTART]

Well, you rake the coals to the front of the stove because that's where the air enters first. It will heat up the coals very well this way most of the time. Different stoves may vary. As for the channel down the center, A lot of us Englander owners do it because there is one air jet in the front middle of the stove. It's to make a passage for this air to penetrate the wood load well and get things burning hot.

www.woodheat.org has a great section devoted to tips and techniques, and some killer pictures illustrating raking the coals and why it's done. Definitely worth a read some evening.

Welcome! You'll be a pro in no time.

 

[cmonSTART]

Oh ya, almost forgot:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

Corny but good video on using a modern stove. It seriously should be a prerequisite for member registration.

 

[LLigetfa]

Well, you rake the coals to the front of the stove because that's where the air enters first. It will heat up the coals very well this way most of the time. Different stoves may vary. As for the channel down the center, A lot of us Englander owners do it because there is one air jet in the front middle of the stove. It's to make a passage for this air to penetrate the wood load well and get things burning hot.

www.woodheat.org has a great section devoted to tips and techniques, and some killer pictures illustrating raking the coals and why it's done. Definitely worth a read some evening.

Welcome! You'll be a pro in no time.

Nice tips on that site. Either he stole the tips from me or great minds think alike. LOL

One tip on newspaper... I don't roll it, I gather it like an open curtain. Works much better than rolled. Also, I don't use printed newspaper any more. I hate the ink getting on my hands. I buy paper that moving companies use to pack with. It is unprinted newspaper.

 

[Slow1]

Oh ya, almost forgot:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

Corny but good video on using a modern stove. It seriously should be a prerequisite for member registration.

I too am rather new to this art (or is it a sport?). I tried the link but it seems the site has moved that video. Not sure what to search for to find it, can you update the link and/or give me a hint on what search terms I may want to use to find it on that site?

Thanks.

 

[Jags]

Oh ya, almost forgot:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videosWoodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv

La page que vous recherchez a été changée

 

[cmonSTART]

Somehow there was a typo in there.

http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/videos/Woodstove_mgt-Eng.wmv