Whether you are lighting a fire in your fireplace, wood stove or fire pit, you will want to light it quickly and keep it burning well for as long as possible. There are tricks to getting a fire burning just right, and once you know the basics and a few scientific principles, you’ll be lighting every fire with confidence and keeping it going right through the day or night.
Here are 6 tips to help you get the best performance from your fireplace wood stove or fireplace
6 tips to help you get the best performance from your fireplace wood stove or fireplace
Air
Air, or more specifically oxygen, plays a very important part in the fire lighting and burning process. When lighting a wood stove, ensure the draught control is fully open. When lighting a fireplace or fire pit, ensure there are air gaps between logs and blow on the kindling as you ignite it. You can use a blowpipe or a set of bellows to really get the air flow going.
But Not Too Much Air
While air is great for starting a fire, high winds can play havoc with a fire pit. To avoid burning embers from being blown out of the fire bowl, select a location that offers some protection from the wind.
The Clean Start
It’s always important to inspect your wood stove, fireplace or fire pit is free from any soot, ash or debris before you start a fire. This will help to ensure that heat is distributed evenly and that less acrid smoke is produced.
Different Types of Wood Produce Different Levels of Heat
Softwoods might be cheaper to buy, but hardwoods produce more heat. However, softwood is perfect to use at the start and end of winter when temperatures are not so harsh. You can also mix things up a little by adding a hardwood log to extend the softwood burn.
Why a Top-Down Wood Stove Fire is Better
While air is great for starting a fire, high winds can play havoc with a fire pit. To avoid burning Traditionally, fires are lit from the bottom-up. However, lighting a wood stove fire from the top-down is infinitely better. Using seasoned wood is essential. Stack larger logs on the bottom and build up with progressively smaller logs, then kindling and then finally, newspaper on top. Light the newspaper and let the fire slowly burn down to the larger logs below. The end result is a longer and cleaner fire.
Always Use More Than One Log
When lighting a fire, always use two or three logs at a time - one will often die out quite quickly. A log burns in three stages, and one log will not keep the process going on its own. Adding more logs gives the fire more surfaces to spread to, creates more turbulence and keeps the burn going to longer.
For More Advice and the Best Firewood
Come to ArborTech if you are looking for high quality seasoned firewood that will give you the best results. We offer a range of sizes and would be delighted to give you more advice on choosing, storing and using your firewood. Give us a call at (413) 525-0060 or contact us through our website.