#WOOD BURNER DRAFT CONTROL CRACK#

Once the stack is caught, add more kindling on top and close the door.ДЄs the kindling starts to compact itself, add small pieces of fuel to the top of the fire.

#WOOD BURNER DRAFT CONTROL CRACK#

Light the newsprint in several places, then close the door almost all the way, leaving just a crack for extra air flow. Continue for 3 or 4 layers, but not so much to compress the newsprint. Lay several pieces of kindling parallel to one another on the bottom of your fire box, then lay several more perpendicular to the first. Crumple 3 or 4 sheets of newsprint (preferably containing good news) to loosely cover a single layer on the bottom of the fire box. Once the stack is caught, add more kindling on top and close the door.

Light a commercial firestarter and set it on top of the stack, then close the door almost all the way, leaving just a crack for extra air flow.

вЂњFull Log CabinвЂќ Method: Lay several pieces of kindling parallel to one another on the bottom of your fire box, then lay several more on top, perpendicular to the first.

Start with all of your air controls open 100%. WeвЂ™ve found a few methods that tend to work very well for small stoves. Try various methods for starting fires to find what works best for you and your stove. Use plenty of kindling to quickly burn down to a thick, hot bed of coals, and your fire will be burning cleanly and efficiently in no time. Flames are nice, but coals are what make a fire self-sustaining. A common beginner mistake in starting a fire in a wood stove is to focus too much on the flames. If you donвЂ™t get the flue warm enough fast enough, your stove will start spewing smoke out of its air intakes.

Get the flue system warm to get the draft moving.

When starting a fire, you want to accomplish two things as quickly as possible: Matches, zippos, or aim-a-flame style lighters work well. Ideally, your fuel should be no longer than the width of your firebox. ItвЂ™s helpful to have small, medium, and large sizes of fuel available so that you can choose the right size of fuel depending on the needs of your fire. Dry pieces of wood that will easily catch fire from the tinder. Commercial fire starters or newsprint are popular options. Materials that can easily be lit with a single match. If youвЂ™re using coal in your stove, you may want to restrict the secondary air flow to route the majority of the combustion air through the bottom of the coal bed. Coal fires, however, burn from the bottom up. Restricting the primary air supply to a wood fire will help prevent the coals from burning out prematurely, and feeding lots of fresh air to the top of the fire box will generally make for a cleaner, more efficient burn. Wood fires burn from the top down, so itвЂ™s usually best to feed the fire mostly with air from the top, through the secondary air supply, and restrict the primary air once the fire is going.

Wood burner draft control