Once your wood-burning appliance is properly installed, building an effective fire requires good firewood (using the right wood in the right amount) and good fire building practices. The following practical steps will help you obtain the best efficiency from your wood stove or fireplace.
Season wood outdoors through the summer for at least six months before burning it. Properly seasoned wood is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when smacked against another piece of wood.
Wood burns best when the moisture content is less than 20 percent. You can purchase a wood moisture meter to test the moisture content of your wood before you burn it. Store wood outdoors, stacked neatly off the ground with the top covered. Burn only dry, well-seasoned wood that has been split properly.
Start fires with newspaper and dry kindling or consider having a professional install a natural gas or propane log lighter in your open fireplace.
Items you should never burn in your appliance
Never burn household garbage or cardboard. Plastics, foam and the colored ink on magazines, boxes, and wrappers produce harmful chemicals when burned. They may also damage your wood-burning appliance.
Never burn coated, painted, or pressure-treated wood because it releases toxic chemicals when burned.
Never burn ocean driftwood, plywood, particle board, or any wood with glue on or in it. They all release toxic chemicals when burned.
Never burn wet, rotted, diseased, or moldy wood.
Keep all flammable household items—drapes, furniture, newspapers, and books—far away from the appliance.
Start fires only with newspaper, dry kindling and all natural or organic fire starters. Never start a fire with gasoline, kerosene, or charcoal starter.
Do not use logs made from wax and sawdust in your wood stove or fireplace insert – they are made for open hearth fireplaces. If you use manufactured logs, choose those made from 100 percent compressed sawdust.
Build hot fires. For most appliances, a smoldering fire is not a safe or efficient fire.
Information for this article was obtained from the website: epa.gov/burnwise.
