How to Use a Wood Burning Stove
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- Starting a fire with a wood burning stove takes patience and a bit of know-how.
Read the corresponding written guide, visual notes and summary here: clearingfarm.c....
Here's also a quick cheat to starting your fire and keeping it running efficiently.
1. Make sure your damper is vertical! (The video shows clearly where that is.)
2. Use dry twigs. If the twigs are dry, they snap easily. If you can't find dry twigs, establish a base fire with match-light charcoal.
3. Avoid paper if possible! It's always better to start your base with twigs or match-light charcoal. If you can't find any of that, use cardboard instead of paper.
4. Blow on the fire a lot. The more you blow, the better. Don’t use an electrical fan though as that might smoke out your space.
5. Remember the basics: Heat rises. So always focus on creating your initial bed of fiery coals before moving onto other steps.
6. Smaller is always better! Big logs will suffocate your fire. Use the smallest wood you can find, particaurly in the early stages of starting the fire.
7. Be patient and enjoy art of making a fire with a wood burning stove.
I'm a retired chemist, new to wood stoves and I've watched dozens of videos. This one covers the science and theory, in lay terms, BEST on the subject, that I have seen. Thank You
Walt?
@@kanonmata1100Sorry, I'm not "Walt".
Been burning wood for 25 years, this guy is really putting way too much time and effort into getting his stove up and running. There are many much better vids out that demonstrate techniques that are quick, effective, with much less time involved. I'm surprise that you put so much value on this vid.
Mr.white?
Hmm, well I'm sure you we're/are a fine chemist but you don't know squat about running a wood stove. So you watch this guy spend gobs of time and energy getting his stove up and running which in my mind is the slowest and least efficient method of getting a stove up and running that I've seen for a while. There are plenty of vids out there that do a much better job. If you are a complete novice and never built a campfire in your life maybe this vid could help you some, but anyone who actually has run a wood stove for an extended period of time would never follow this man's advice, you'll spend many hours over a years' time just starting up you stove when you could cut that time by 75% if you used the right techniques.
Great video, but one suggestion, build the fire upside down. Put a couple logs on the bottom, then your medium branches on next, followed by your vine bark and birch bark on top. Light the birch bark first. As the fire burns, the coals will fall down into the layer below igniting it and building your bed of coals and ultimately your logs. You get a lot of instant heat up the chimney with this method helping to clear any cold blockages. Works a charm each time.
I agree, I put a couple of pieces of kindling in first to allow air to get under the small (3"/4") logs that I put in, build it upside down from there. Works great every time.
Called the upside down fire. Been doing it as long as I can remember.
This works for me too. Much better to get it started too.
The top down fire is what I use as well. It's counterintuitive if you're used to outdoor burning but it works in a stove! Also I use a Mapp gas torch to lite it, ain't nobody got time for all this lol.
What if your electricity goes & u have no blower? How can my wood burning oven keep me warm?
I'm new to wood stoves and this was the video I was looking for. Everything put into simple terms and explaining the functions of everything. You're a lifesaver man.
Ive built hundreds of fires this way-and still do sometimes. But nowadays when im at home i just use a propane torch, kindling in a can. I use regular kindling splits and blast it with the torch, and alternately blast the chimney pipe with my torch too, to force heat to the insode of my chimney pipe and induce draft. Getting a draft started is the biggest help to starting a fire quickly. Also, if ur wood stove sat unused for several days and ur trying to start a fire in damp chilly wet weather its best ti blast the outside of ur chimney pipe with the torch for a bit to push that heavy plug of damp cold air out of ur chimney and help prevent an inversion, which is when ur stove reverses on start up and smokes out ur house
Thank you 👆🤌
This was the information, terminology, and detailed explanation I was looking for!
I really need to understand WHATS going on to be able to take in the process. Or else I'll never remember it. This is 🔥 BURNED into my brain!
I'm moving into a log cabin in the woods with a wood stove, so this is great for me! Thanks!
Best explanation for new woodstove owners I've seen on youtube so far. Building a nice bed of coal, giving the fire all the air it needs to build the coalbed and after that feeding the large stuff to it, regulating the air down for your heating needs when you have the fire up to speed.
blowing through the fingers is the best tip ever!
This is why i love TH-cam for videos like this, i so appreciate you for this video my beautiful brother please don't stop making these, thank you so much, you just never know how many people need this info, i just bought a wood burning stove and i am very glad to have found your video, this is valuable to an amateur such as myself
Just bought a new Home that has a Pellet Stove upstairs and a wood burning stove in the basement. This was a great help.
I have the same exact stove. The instructions said to not install a damper on the stove pipe. Doing so stops your secondary burn. The way this stove works is when it gets up to temp.(close to 1000 degrees) you close the primary air and the draft will cause oxygen to enter through the secondary air tubes at the top of the fire box that burns the smoke. This is why this stove is so efficient.
ohh thats why I almost never can see the smoke out of chimney! Such a fine system! I was asking myself what all those holes are for???..
What is the name of this stove? I’m shopping around right now for a wood burning fireplace and so far this one looks like exactly what I’m looking for. Also, how is it holding up for you?
I was looking everywhere to figure out what the little knob was on the front of my wood stove. You were the first video I found it on and I hugely appreciated the instruction on how to use the airflow.
My new house in a rural area has an oil furnace but also used to have a wood stove, the chimney has a hole for the stove. I like the idea of the wood stove as it looks cozy. Thinking about getting a stove put in.
Thanks for the informative video.
Thanks! Currently at rustic cabin in the north. First night I was very patient and things went well. The next morning I just wanted to get the stove going and get my coffee fix. Certainly did not work! I don’t own a stove, but will know from now on what steps to take when I’m semi rough camping. Excellent lesson.
Nice guy, happy to watch to the end.
Yeah, I been heating with a wood stove since I was a kid. I’ve cut hundreds of cords in my life. Get it cut and split in the spring and let it bake in the sun all summer and you’ll have dry wood to burn in the fall and winter. Keep it out of the rain and snow! Split some kindling and start it with newspaper. Pretty simple!
Been burning wood for many years. I don't do as much tree falling as I use to do and now buy some of my wood, old age - lol. Yeah, your right, the key word here is simple. This guy is making the simple process of getting your stove fired up complicated, time consuming, and tedious. My advice to the many newbie stove folks is to think and experiment, you'll figure it out if you do that rather than listen to this guy. There are situations where one would use this technique, for example very small fire boxes, or camping perhaps. For most stoves there are much easier methods.
@@itsopinion7430 we had a fireplace as a kid, but now I've inherited a wood stove in a home purchase. They are not the same beast and figuring out this wood stove has been a chore, especially since I've been inconsistent in successfully getting a fire and this has been a very cold April here in the rust belt.
I disagree that he's making this tedious but rather thoroughly explaining the importance of starting small and building big. I have been using fire starter squares but i haven't had any small twigs to build the fire.
@@jalie26 Dry kindling is the key, it's worth the time in the off season to get enough dry kindling for a season. With the right wood and paper, a person should get a hot fire up and running in 5 minutes.
@@itsopinion7430 I agree. Have never had a fireplace of my own, sadly enough. But have lit plenty of fires.
I dont understand why this guy is talking so much. Just throw some paper (or birch bark in this case) Put some tiny twigs ontop, some bigger sticks on that and then the logs. Light it and keep the door open for the first minute or so so it can get plenty of air. Takes 1 minute
Thank you so much for this video!!! Super helpful this is our first year with being in charge of a wood stove in our home and we've had such frustration. This has made all our errors obvious and we should be better with it now... best learning video I've found for us
Thanks alot! Got a wood stove in our new house, this was really helpful!
Diamond hack is awesome, gonna show my kids they will love it. Thanks bro!
Thank you so much. Newly divorced and needed sone tips. You’re awesome!
Some tips. Couldn’t edit
Very helpful video. You made the instructions clear and easy to follow. Thank you for posting!
Thanks so much. Very well taught for first time wood burning stove owners.
Great explanation of key points of how to get a fire started in the wood stove. Thank you, greatly appreciate the tutorial!
Wow. Thank you for this video. For years we used electric and propane heater.
I plan to install wood burner soon as i expect the price of propane and everything else to skyrocket. We live in the country where we have lots of trees. Thank you.
Get it cut and stacked with plenty of chance for sun 🌅😎 and air to dry it. Do it as soon as you can to get it dry. Best to build a lean too woodshed. Make your kindling of branches and dead dry standing.
We’ve been getting ready for our wood heater for at least a year know; harvesting wood, splitting, stacking, etc. I’ve saved all the scraps created when splitting the wood. It will make some fine kindling, along with the dryer lint that my wife has been collecting. I’ve also invested in a really nice moisture meter. Spot checking my wood racks shows a moisture reading of no higher than 12%. Everything I’ve read says keep it below 20%. My Buck Model 81 will be installed in a few weeks. We’re pumped. Thank you for the info!!
cotton balls and petroleum jelly over lint. Get a ziplock and put a bunch of cotton balls and petroleum jelly in there. Mix together. Pull one out when you need it. Works like a charm.
Lint these days has a whole lot of plastic (synthetic fabrics are overwhelmingly common) in it. Don’t want to use that stuff at all.
@@_Ag- Never thought about that. Good call. Thanks!!
@@rogerknight2267 No prob. (BTW, someone else just told me about Swiss/Swedish top down fire-building. Fascinating stuff you might be interested in as well.)
I use a wood stove to heat my house when it’s real cold…like it is now, at -30. There were some tips in here that I didn’t know about. Great video, very informative
Google the Swiss fire method. That's the correct way of doing it nowadays. And since you face -30 you will benefit greatly from the Swiss method.
this is an absolutely fantastic video and it helped me get a wonderful little fire going. unfortunately i realized that my problem is that i am not getting a draft because the vent in the room is sealed from the outside, which became clear after filling my house up with smoke, lesson learned lol
always see the sky from your fireplace first, then try to start the fire!
You explained this really well. Definitely gonna save and re-watch a few times. I look forward to more videos!
Thank you! We just posted a new video yesterday and plan to start updating the channel regularly.
This is everything I always wanted to know about wood stoves - thank you!
thank you for this! so informative with tips and tricks and clear explanations, this video is a life saver, thanks so much!
Great video man! I completely understand all the logic behind it. I don't know if i miss it but i wonder how the air intake mechanics works in this one
I’ve been adding a few corn chips to my kindling. It works great. I learned this from an episode of The Big Bang Theory!
If you have to leave your door open when you are starting your fire, you are using too much fuel during the starting process.
An efficient fire doesn't smoke much and it won't die when the door is closed. Provided that your draft is working properly. I open all dampers to ensure full draft through the stove in the beginning.
Try creating a space that will hold the heat but allow good air flow. I usually put a larger piece on either side and build my fire between them. I start with newspaper, then some small kindling, and a few small, thin flat pieces on top to help hold heat. It will smoke a bit for a minute or two. I let the fire mostly consume the kindling before adding larger pieces. About 5 minutes. But my door is closed as soon as I light the paper. You are aiming to create air flow but hold enough heat to keep the fire.
By leaving the door open, you could be venting gas into your living space. If you can smell the fire, it's venting into your home.
Go small in the beginning and add sparingly. Just enough to keep it going. A soft wood builds the best bed of coals in the beginning. Poplar, cottonwood, aspen, birch, etc. I've found that pine or spruce starts the best. As soon as there is a nice bed of coals built, front to back, between the 2 larger pieces, you can fill your stove as full as you need, preferably with hardwoods like oak or maple, and get the draft shut down.
1 thing that some stoves need is colder temps outside. The cold temps create draw in your flue (pipe). I have problems getting draft above 50 degrees F. So, I will load the flue with newspaper and light it a couple seconds before I light the fire. That encourages the draft to go the proper direction. I have had a reverse draft a couple times.....the stove was drawing the warmer air from outside and venting the exhaust through the air control valve into the house. All because I wanted a fire on a warm but rainy day.
I also have times where the chimney pipe is the entire air flow. It vents fresh air from the outside and the exhaust on separate halves of the pipe. It's kinda cool but impossible to control the burn rate. It happens mostly on windy days.
I use a hair dryer to warm up the pipe when its rainy :)
I guess you missed the part where he showed he wasn’t using bone dry wood? Because yeah. You need more air for damp wood.
@@georgemiller9533
No...I didn't miss it.
But the same principles apply.
For damp wood, you should use even less fuel than dry wood.
The goal is to not over-fuel the heat generated.
Dampness affects the heat...so less fuel should be used to maximize the air flow...
Thanks for this! Our new house will likely have a wood burning stove and I'm now much more confident I WON'T burn the house down. :-)
Thank you! This is a really informative video. Also, I appreciate your production quality. Well done all around.
Thank you so much for your support! We'll be posting more videos soon around similar topics.
Thanks very much for this superguide!!! I now know how to correctly use my woodstove!👍👍👍👍
I agree with all you say. Though the following are more tips: A propane torch is the easiest way to start a fire and advance it to the stage when you just wanna jam it full of wood, set the air and walk away for a few hours. Fooling with the fire and opening it up every hour or so to add just one log loses a lot of heat from your house. After a full night burn push everything to the back and rake the coals to the front. After about 3 days of burning let her die down all day to burn up most of the coals, the bottom might be about half full. After about 5 days of burning you then need to let her die down all day with air damper wide open to remove the ash and restart.
So, essentially count on one cold day every 5 days?
Very helpful and informative video. Some things never thought of before. I like the technique of how to blow the fire without getting all the heat back at your face.
I agree with the helpful hack I've been running a woodstove for 15+yrs & never knew about that ! I guess that's why the old fasion wind things that came with the stove worked so well lol ! good video overall
Perfectly informative. Thank you.
This has been the biggest help. Thank you so much for making this!
This was so helpful-thank you!
City girl gone bush girl here and I need guidance 😁👍
A great video on how to turn an easy job into a difficult job.
Since starting up a wood stove is a ritual for me, I enjoyed learning new things.Im not sure why my installer didn’t put in a damper. I will check with Lopi stoves to see if I can install one.
This was awesome!! Thank you for the additional education on the stove itself. Great, great, great!
Great teacher! Thanks! I appreciate your video!
Thank you so much for this video, I am now able to easily and safely start and maintain fires in my wood burning stove.
This thing can hold a fire!! I burn a lot of wood and it holds up. I would recommend this product.
Wowed by your teaching class today
You have taught me everything I needed to know God Bless You sir!!!
This is incredibly helpful, thank you!
Its great until you and your neighbors have copd.
That diamond thing to blow on the fire was magic. Lol great tip.
Nice video. Thank you for your time and effort Sir.
Excellent detail and explanation, thank you
Thank you! Great video for beginners.
Great video. Very thorough and helpful. 👍🏼 🔥
Wish I was fireproof like you.
Great video thank you.. I am not familiar with wood stoves but defínelly thinking on gettin one for the cold Wyoming winters 🥶🥶 we are waiting for temps as low as -30 this coming week.. I like it but seems like it takes a while to have a good fire 🔥 😅
Glad to learn the diamond tip. I wondered when something eventually hits my eye.
This is a lovely and meditative way to spend time. You wont be wasting your time making a fire like this. There is far faster ways to make fires. Such as using larger kindling and pre prepared fire starters. Bunched up paper covered in mayonnaise can be a fire starter! The best way to make flame is with lighters. The same lighters that most people use for light cigarettes. Nothing beats that for a fast and efficient flame. It also is on your person and wont fail if wet. What will you have on your body if you miraculously find yourself unharmed and flung from a fast moving car in the middle of nowhere in the rain? A lighter! Everything else is for fun. Which it is. Fun. All the creative ways of making flame are absolutely for a last ditch attempt. If you consider yourself a survivalist, a lighter is the ultimate tool. I own a striker and would attempt to make flame using friction if i had the time. If I was in danger, lighter.
That diamond tip was so awesome
I bought a property in a cold whether and I have one of those thank you for the explanation
Really informative video. I enjoyed it a lot and I don’t even have a wood stove or a fireplace 😂😂😂 but can’t stop me from dreaming of having one in the future 😂
Me in the future 😂🤣😂🤣
Thank you for making and sharing this video. I just had a brand new woodstove (same model as yours) installed, but it does not have a damper. Does this change any of the instruction you have provided? I did not grow up with either a woodstove or fireplace, so this is all very new to me.
not having a damper means your going to lose lots of heat the damper is there to hold the heat while allowing the smoke to go up the pipe you really should have a damper unless it's built into the stove some have them built into the stove
Hi Kim., how much it cost you the stove If you don’t mind
@@darwinalvarez6215 With raised pad, tile & install it was just under $4k USD. Well worth the investment!
@@KimRadlo thank you have fun
Side note if you have a good newer wood stove do not ever put in a damper this will make the wood stove run bad!! These newer wood stoves are made to run properly without a damper 🙂
Good information, but you forgot to mention pre-heating the flue before starting the fire. This step seems to be missing from most wood stove videos on YT. I struggled to understand why my house would fill with smoke for the first few minutes, despite the fact that I was doing everything shown in the videos. I eventually learned that not pre-heating causes cold air to push down on the fire and prevents smoke from exiting the flue (until it warms up).
Naw, your stove setup is wrong or something. You shouldn't have to preheat the chimney..lol
Been heating with a wood stove for 32 years! Never went through all that nonsense to start a fire!
Your such an expert
Thank you so much for this! I'd buy a little pamphet if you sold em, I saved the PDF guide!
We got a house with one they had converted to Gas, and to do so they drilled a couple holes in the side about the width of your pinky to run gas lines into.
Is it possible to cap those holes and go back to burning wood? I was thinking carriage bolts, maybe with high temp JB weld in any gap left and capping on the outside with a washer and nut.
What did you end up doing? I’d be freaked about doing this, but I have no physics education to back up my fears.
I think this tutorial is as comprehensive as one would wish for.
/s ?
Nothing like a house full of smoke while you’re trying to get that puppy going lol
Then you're doing it wrong. Use the Swiss method to start a fire, try it for yourself, it's the standard nowadays, not what is shown in the video.
I've never heard such a detailed description of building a fire lol
How do you manage the smoke that goes up into the pimp and into the house?
Just finding you on TH-cam. Can you do a video on how to clean out the ashes in this type of wood stove if they build up too high and you aren't ready to let it go out? Our current stove has a bottom grate and ashes fall down to pan. But this type doesn't and we are thinking to buy one with the efficient after burn and front glass door. Thanks.
Thanks buddy. Great video
Hi, i use pine cones to start my fire in old wood stove....wiith little wd. On top...works grt. Thank you, you are v. Consise and clear ....
I just use a self igniting hand held soldering torch that cuts down on time and the need for smaller kindling and helps get the draft going.
I know how to use a wood stove, mines in my basement n it has a long way to exit the chimney. U left out an important factor. U must create up draft. Open window, or bilco door before lighting fire. It also is sensible to use big small n medium sizes of wood. Not bad video u did not bad
I've been heating my house and shop since 1976 and I can tell you I've got a fire going and I'm drinking a cup of coffee long before this gentleman gets his fire going. I'm also a retired firefighter so I clean my chimneys often
This was an instructional video not a video of how he normally does it. Don’t be a dick
Then why don’t you make the video on how to do it, instead of being an asshat. Took him like what 5-10 minutes, I mean any faster then that is just unnecessary.
He's teaching - you were going about your normal routine. Perhaps you could take a lesson or two in arrogance.
Am I the only one who got freaked out by how careless he was with leaving the door open? And when he blew on the flames, sparks flew out over the logs and kindling. I heat my house with wood and I would never leave the door open, never have dry twigs resting on they stove. When I wake up in the morning there are hot coals in the stove. I throw a few logs in, make my tea and by the time I’ve done the rest of my chores… Voilà …perfect fire
Ok gramps
Great review, my only suggestion..., always best to start with a clean wood stove. Be sure to remove ashes from previous burn. This makes it easier going forward. Thanks again for the post.
You don't need to clean it every time, you should leave a layer of ash on the bottom to insulate the firebrick on the bottom
So a stove kreates negative pressure 🤔 So you have an inlet from the outside to feed air into the fire plase?
Curious on what brand is your Woodstock and how much?
Dad taught me to roll the paper into a bowe tie. Light the ends the middle is denser. If you have to use paper.
What is that wire behind the fireplace? What is it for?
At 4:28 ... How do I get or find some of those types of sticks? Thanks in advance :-) thanks for the video!
You can buy a box of those starter sticks for like $12 that will last a season and then just throw logs on it.
You can never just throw logs on a “starter” fire. The take away from this video is start small and build to a bigger fire
Thank you , how do i use the tiny damper aboce door?
Great video, thank you for this!
I just bought a stove from menards. I need to install it. What did you use around the walls? It looks nice. The foundation looks like cement slabs, is that correct?
I prefer to light the stove from the top. It's simple, efficient and with a minimum of smoke: I put 2 larger oak logs underneath, a few thinner chips across them, then some thinner spruce logs, then more thinner spruce pieces, then finally a pile of chips. The whole pile of wood extends to about 2/3 to 3/4 of the height of the chamber. I stick a fire starter (or paper or very thin chips) under the chips and the preparation is done. It takes about 5 minutes, even with cleaning the stove. When I come home from work, I just light the burner with one match and immediately close the door, the vents open to the maximum. Within minutes a pile of chips ignites brightly and creates a draft in the chimney. At that point I reduce the air intake vents and occasionally check that everything is burning "just right" - a bright fire, but not too fiercely. The fire slowly burns down to bigger and bigger logs. The lowest logs start to burn after about 1 hour and the whole stake burns to glowing ash in about 2-3 hours. Only when the last flames disappear, I open the door, add 2 oak logs and close it again. I leave the bottom flow for a while for a faster burn and then pull the vents down again. Try it out; -)
I hope that you can make more instructional videos for us green horns lol Great job
Great video
What if you dont have a damper on the chimney ? And also, if you have the fire good and going, will you smother it if you knob is too low?
Great job 👍
If you have or had a standing dead pine or similar, the sap will have settled into the trunk and the will be areas soaked in sap. It’s often called fat wood (phat wood?) and great fire starter on match 😁
very informative.
What brand of stove do you have please.
Great video but please can you let people know that this method does not work for all wood burning stoves. Ours has a top oven and back boiler and if we left the door open like that the whole house would fill up with smoke. My mum recenty house sat for us and watched this despite instructions from us, and she has been leaving the door open thinking it was OK but came home to a house stinking of smoke and black ceiling :(
How do I know if wood isn’t seasoned if I’m looking in the woods?
Some of the video is alright, but the lighting technique is D+.
😂
Why smog coming out, my fire alarm rang because of that...please tell me
Ok...i realized
I see you got it figured out, but I thought I’d mention: Someone in the comments above said to always check the flue first to be sure you can see the sky from your fireplace before you light a fire to be sure it’s open and venting properly, then you won’t have that happen. (Also, if you’re searching on this issue, the English word you’re wanting is “smoke”. “Smog” is the word for the haze in the sky that comes from car exhaust and industrial smoke pollution.)
17:00 woah. cool. Can wood stoves be put on floor joist floors or does it have to be concrete?
Saved my ass with this one, thanks for the in depth video
What’s kind of stove looking for that size