Wood burning stove tips and tricks

If you are having trouble creating long lasting and hot fires in your wood burner at home then you’ve landed in the right place. We’ve already looked at how to light a fire in your wood burner which gives you the very basics of what you need and how to do it. Now we’re going to show you some wood burning stove tips and tricks that will help you light much better fires that you and the whole family can enjoy this winter.

The hidden wood burning stove secrets

#1 Touch up your stove during the summer

While we don’t tend to use our wood burners during the summer months - although the British weather isn’t exactly reliable! - you shouldn’t just leave it sitting with no maintenance.

One tip that many people don’t do is to keep the door slightly open when your wood burner isn’t going to be in use for a long period of time. This will help protect your wood burner against rust and will limit condensation building up too.

#2 Light from the top down

It sounds a bit ‘out there’. Surely if you are lighting a fire then you light it from the bottom so that the flames catch the stack and the wood on top burns?

Well, yes, this does work but try lighting from the top. There is a growing trend in doing this because, as heat rises, if you start from the top the whole chamber will heat up quicker and create a higher temperature overall.

#3 Start looking at moisture content

If you used to just buy any old logs you saw for your log burner you need to get out of that habit quickly.

One trick to ensure higher quality fires is to start looking at the moisture content of the logs you buy. Logs that have a moisture content below 20% are ideal.

All our ash and birch logs have been dried out in the kiln to remove excess moisture so that they burn longer, hotter and you won’t need to use as many.

#4 Learn about the air vents

Air is crucial to a good fire both in getting it lit in the first place and also ensuring that it has a steady burn.

Find out how to use log burner vents (link to how to use log burner vents) to ensure you get your fire going as quickly as possible and also that it lasts. Regulating the amount of air that filters into your wood burning is an important tip but one that a lot of people don’t take the time to get right.

#5 Disposing of the ashes

You probably just chuck the ases in the bin? Well, there are several uses for the ash that is generated by burning firewood.

It is a great way to combat acidic soil in your garden as it has a liming effect while it contains potassium too and is ideal for putting on compost heap. So, instead of just ditching the ashes from your wood burning it can actually be put to great use.

You can find out a bit more about the uses for ash in your garden here.