Practical Tips for Efficient Wood Heating

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It’s a good idea to take advantage of thermal mass by placing your woodstove near dense building materials such as bricks, stone or concrete. These materials slowly absorb and then release heat.
It’s a good idea to take advantage of thermal mass by placing your woodstove near dense building materials such as bricks, stone or concrete. These materials slowly absorb and then release heat.
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Tips for efficient wood heating. Why not heat your home with a woodstove? Wood is a renewable fuel, and it’s often cheap and local, too.
Tips for efficient wood heating. Why not heat your home with a woodstove? Wood is a renewable fuel, and it’s often cheap and local, too.
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Another reliable method for starting fires is to begin with two parallel logs. To build a fire this way, just place two split logs in the firebox and put some twisted newspaper between them. Add some fine kindling — 1 inch square or less — on the newspaper and more kindling of various sizes across the two logs.
Another reliable method for starting fires is to begin with two parallel logs. To build a fire this way, just place two split logs in the firebox and put some twisted newspaper between them. Add some fine kindling — 1 inch square or less — on the newspaper and more kindling of various sizes across the two logs.
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To get the most out of your woodstove, you’ll also want to carefully consider where you place the chimney. A chimney installed outside the house causes sluggish fires.
To get the most out of your woodstove, you’ll also want to carefully consider where you place the chimney. A chimney installed outside the house causes sluggish fires.
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There’s more than one way to build a fire, but not all fires are equally efficient. It’s worth taking some time to learn how to build more efficient fires: It makes wood heating more convenient, keeps your home more comfortable, and if you’re buying firewood, it can save you money, too.
There’s more than one way to build a fire, but not all fires are equally efficient. It’s worth taking some time to learn how to build more efficient fires: It makes wood heating more convenient, keeps your home more comfortable, and if you’re buying firewood, it can save you money, too.
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In the article, the author describes several methods for building fires. This is the top-down approach, the author’s favorite method for building fires because it produces little smoke. Just place three or four split logs on the firebox floor. Place six or eight pieces of medium kindling across them. Then put 10 or so pieces of fine kindling across the heavier kindling. Now take four or five full sheets of newspaper and roll each one up corner-to-corner and tie a sloppy knot in it. Place the knots on top of the fine kindling. Light the paper and watch as the fire burns down through the light kindling, the heavy kindling and into the bottom logs.
In the article, the author describes several methods for building fires. This is the top-down approach, the author’s favorite method for building fires because it produces little smoke. Just place three or four split logs on the firebox floor. Place six or eight pieces of medium kindling across them. Then put 10 or so pieces of fine kindling across the heavier kindling. Now take four or five full sheets of newspaper and roll each one up corner-to-corner and tie a sloppy knot in it. Place the knots on top of the fine kindling. Light the paper and watch as the fire burns down through the light kindling, the heavy kindling and into the bottom logs.
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A straight-up chimney installation is a much better choice for efficient fires.
A straight-up chimney installation is a much better choice for efficient fires.

Save time, energy and money with these tips for efficient wood heating to get the most out of a woodstove. If you decide to heat your home with wood there are a few tips and tricks to consider.

Practical Tips for Efficient Wood Heating

Considering the amount of work involved in full-time wood heating, it just makes sense to burn efficient fires. The payoff is lower cost if you buy your wood and less work if you process your own. When you make smoky fires a thing of the past, you’ll never again worry about flammable creosote causing chimney fires, and you’ll need to sweep the chimney less often. The door glass of your stove or fireplace will stay clear longer, and there will be less chance of smoke roll-out when you open the loading door.

Let’s see: lower cost, less worry, less maintenance and better indoor air quality. Do those advantages make it worth your time to try out some new wood heating skills? I thought so.

The secret to high efficiency wood heating is to pay attention to the smoke. When a piece of firewood is heated, it begins to smoke. The smoke is made up of sticky tar droplets and some combustible gases. If a piece of wood were heated and allowed to smoke until only charcoal remained, more than half of its energy content would be gone — up in smoke, you might say. It is important to burn the smoke because any that escapes from the firebox unburned is wasted fuel that will stick in the chimney as creosote or be released as air pollution. Wood smoke is not a normal byproduct of wood combustion, it is waste. Visible smoke at the top of a chimney is always a sign that energy is being wasted.

  • Published on Aug 27, 2008
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