If you have a log burner or a wood stove in your home, it’s essential to know how to keep it going effectively. Not only does it provide warmth and comfort, but it can also help reduce your heating bills.
In this article, we’ll cover the steps you need to follow to keep your log burner going and provide you with some useful tips and tricks to ensure that you get the most out of it.
Table of contents
Understanding Your Log Burner
Before you start using your log burner, it’s crucial to understand how it works. A log burner is designed to burn wood and other biomass fuels such as pellets, logs, and briquettes.
Log burners are more susceptible to how they’re used more than they have ever been, this is due to the eco design regulations that have to be achieved.
It relies on a good supply of air to keep the fire burning effectively. The air supply comes from the primary air inlet at the bottom of the stove, which allows air to enter the firebox and combust the fuel.
The secondary air inlet at the top of the stove allows air to flow over the fire and burn any remaining gases.
Preparing Your Firewood
The type of firewood you use is essential to keep your log burner going. Hardwoods such as oak, ash, and maple are best as they burn longer and hotter than softwoods such as pine, spruce, and fir.
Best firewood for a longer burn:
- Oak
- Ash
- Maple
Before using your firewood, it’s essential to ensure that it’s dry and seasoned correctly. Wet or green wood won’t burn as efficiently and can lead to a buildup of creosote in your chimney, which can be a fire hazard.
Firewood should have a moisture content of below 20%. This is crucial to keep a fire going and will make your stove last for longer.
You can generally tell the moisture content of wood by the weight and colour. However, it must always be checked with a moisture reader as it can sometimes be deceiving.
Wood should always be purchased from a Ready to Burn approved local supplier or showcase on the packaging from a retailer.
How to test firewood moisture content?
Firewood should be split and the prongs of a moisture content reader stuck into the centre of the wood. The reading should be less than 20% otherwise the wood should not be burnt.
Lighting Your Fire
It is essential to start your fire the correct way so that it has sufficient structure, fuel and air to keep the log burner going.
To light your fire, start by opening the air vents fully to provide the fire with the oxygen it needs to get going.
Firstly, start by placing kindling in a Jengar style arrangement. It should be atleast three levels high. Then, place a fire starter at the bottom of the wood pile and add some small pieces of dry, seasoned wood on top.
Top Tip: It is good to leave a small 1cm layer of ash on the bed of your wood burning stove at all times.
Light the kindling or fire starters with a match or lighter and let the fire take hold. As the fire builds, add larger pieces of wood to keep it going.
Leave the stove door ajar and air vents open for around 10-20 minutes or until the fire is roaring away nicely.
How to get fire re-ignited quickly?
If your fire keeps going out or has nearly gone out, a quick way re-ignite is to provide more oxygen or use a firelighter. Oxygen should be provided to the bottom of the fire or a firelight can be thrown to the bottom of the firewood stack.
What not to do:
- Do not shut the stove off too early or overnight.
- Do not use any chemicals or gas to keep a stove burning.
- Do not overload with firewood and starve the fire of oxygen.
Finally, when you have a roaring fire the door of the stove can be closed fully to create an air tight seal. The air vents can be open halfway and adapted to sync with the fires heat output.
Maintaining Your Fire
Once your fire is going, it’s essential to maintain it properly to keep it burning efficiently. Keep the air vents open to provide a good supply of oxygen to the fire.
Add larger pieces of wood as needed, ensuring that they’re dry and seasoned correctly. Use a poker or tongs to move the wood around if necessary, and remove any ash buildup from the firebox.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
If you’re having trouble keeping your fire going, there could be several reasons. One common issue is a lack of oxygen. Ensure that the air vents are fully open, and there’s enough air getting to the fire.
Another issue could be that the wood isn’t dry enough, so try using better quality, seasoned wood. If you’re still having issues, it’s best to consult a professional.
Why is my stove not drawing properly?
This is due to a cold flue system or wet wood. The flue can be warmed lightly by a small kindling fire or by a hairdryer to get the initial cold air free from the flue which will otherwise prevent any warm air from escaping.
Wet wood should always be tested with a mositure meter as it can sometimes be deceiving to how dry your wood is. The mosisture content should be below 20% and tested from the centre of the log.
Tips and Tricks
- Use a moisture meter to test the moisture content of your firewood. It should read below 20%.
- Burn hardwoods as they burn longer and hotter than softwoods.
- Use a stove thermometer to monitor the temperature of your stove.
- Keep your chimney clean to prevent a buildup of creosote.
- Consider using a log store to keep your firewood dry and well-ventilated.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s recommended to clean your log burner at least once a year, preferably before the start of the winter season.
No, you should only burn biomass fuels such as wood pellets, logs, and briquettes in your log burner. Burning other materials such as rubbish or paper can be dangerous and could damage your log burner.
Firewood cannot be You can use a moisture meter to test the moisture content of your firewood. It’s best to use wood with a moisture content of 20% or less.
It’s best to keep your fire burning continuously, adding more wood as needed. However, you can let it burn out at night or when you’re not at home.
You can make your log burner more efficient by using hardwoods, keeping the air vents open, and using a stove thermometer to monitor the temperature of your stove.
This is when the air controls are opened permanently for a longer period than required which will allow more oxygen than required into the chamber. Over-firing can wear out parts of a log burner quicker which includes the baffle, bricks, grate and even flue system.
If a log burner is continiously over-fired you run the risk having to replace parts more frequently, cracking the top of the stove or voiding your warranty.
It is common with over-firing for the baffle to warp which will require replacement parts or in the worse senario a new wood burning stove.
It is about getting the balance right between slumbering the stove which is the opposite to over-firing.
Slumbering a log burner is reducing the combustion rate of the fire in a wood-burning stove or fireplace to maintain a slow and steady burn. This process involves adjusting the air vents or dampers to limit the amount of oxygen reaching the fire, which, in turn, slows down the burning of the wood.
Long periods of slumbering is bad for a log burner as you want it to remain smoldering without producing excessive smoke or causing incomplete combustion. You should never slumber or shut off the vents for a log burner overnight.
Slumbering can build up tar and soot in the flue system quicker which will require replacement a lot quicker than the usual guaranteed lifespan.
