Restarting a fire

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

Jfior1983

New Member
Aug 5, 2024
43
Alaska
Hi everyone, I have a Jotul F 45 V2. When I wake up in the morning, and have a few coals left- here’s my question. I can throw a bunch of logs in, and the fire will eventually reignite, but not without a lot of smoke in the box. Will this smoke cause extra creosote buildup, or is it safe for me to do it this way? Or, should I be throwing in more kindling to try to start the fire quicker? I don’t mind waiting for the fire to start as it smokes,I just don’t want to have a major creosote buildup from all of that smoke. So, is it OK to just throw the logs in and wait it out, or should I be putting in smaller pieces to try to minimize the smoking inside of the fire box? This community has been great to me, By the way, I appreciate you all.
 
Crack the door open until you see some flame and then close it back up.

How dry is your wood and what are you burning?
 
I have burned with a Jotul 3 F CB for the last maybe 14 years, don't know about your stove at all. But my Jotul will not hold a fire overnight and then it might sometimes have some coals in the morning. I've learned that I am much happier and less frustrated if I just pretend those coals aren't there and start the fire from scratch, with newspaper and a match. It took me an embarrassingly long time to learn that when I say, "Oh good, there are coals!" and then start putting bits of kindling or light wood on them, I will wish I had made the coffee first and eventually either get it going that way or resort to newspaper.

I don't know what it is about this Jotul and a bit of coals not working to start a fire. I've heated with wood since 1978 more or less, in different ways with different stoves, and I swear that the notion of getting a fire going with coals in the morning is burned into my head for a reason -- a reason that does not apply to this stove.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Whitenuckler
Definitely put a little kindling down first if burning hardwood and open the door a tad (not the ash pan door) until the fire has started again. The reason is this. All that smoke that accumulates before ignition is wood gas. When it ignites, it can cause a small, to not so small, explosion called backpuff. In the least, this can be disconcerting as it forces smoke out of every pipe joint, the air intake, etc. There have been a few reports of extreme cases where it damaged or blew out the door glass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dix and sixer
I agree, put some kindling or birch bark down. Sometimes even a quick blast of the torch will convert that smoke into flame. You want to avoid the smoke, for sure. I just imagine all of that smoke condensing on the walls of the liner - yuck!