Wood Burner stoves provide a great deal of heat, look great and provide many years service for you. One of the main issues when someone buys a wood burner stove for the first time is knowing what sort of wood to burn.
To start with, you should never burn:
- Any form of plastic
- Fabrics made from synthetic materials
- Foil or metallic coated gift wrap.
- Household rubbish
- Magazines, especially those with a glossy print finish
- Wood that has been painted or treated in any form
- Plywood
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Many of these listed above when burnt are dangerous for your health, can damage your stove and are far from an environmentally way to heat you home!
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Tips on preparing your wood:
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Split the wood – It is important that you only put dry wood on a stove. Freshly cut wood is full of water, so all you will be doing is boiling logs if you use fresh wood, which will blacken the glass screen on your stove. Wood dries from the outside in, and so splitting the wood will mean it will dry fully, quicker.
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Use dry wood – As mentioned above, only use dried wood. For wood to become fully dried it takes time, typically around 12 months. You can tell if the wood is dry as usually the ends of the wood will appear chapped or split, indicating the wood is ready for your stove!
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Storing wood – If you are keeping your firewood outside, ensure the top is covered and that air can get to the sides. This helps keep out moisture and allows the wood to try as quickly as possible. Moving logs into your home to dry quicker can be counter productive, as this may produce excess humidity.
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Burning wood:
Size matters – Try and add cut wood with around a 4 to 6 inch diameter, and use smaller wood to start the fire, then add the larger logs, when the fire is more settled.
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Don’t overload – Do not be tempted to add too much wood to the fire. A good fire needs air, and stuffing the stove with too much wood will mean air will not be able to circulate as effectively.
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Watch this video created by us, showing how to light a wood burning stove.
