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How to Properly Operate a Woodburning Stove Wood stoves are a fantastic option to heat your home. They're also cheap. Smoke from wood stoves can be harmful to your health. It is important to know how these appliances function and how to use them safely. Many modern stoves rely on a catalytic or secondary combustion to limit their emissions. Older stoves and open flames release large amounts of particulates. The firebox The firebox is the heart of any fireplace system. It's where you create a fire to heat your home and provide ambiance. It's a simple concept, but there are many important details that must be accounted for to keep your wood burning stove safe and efficient. The firebox is thought of as a combustion chamber that has walls and lid. The majority of fireplaces have prefabricated metal fireboxes or a masonry firebox. The type of box you choose depends on your preferences as well as the type of fireplace you have. The majority of wood-burning stoves employ the constant flow of air to produce the fire and burn the fuel. Fresh air is drawn in through adjustable dampers that are located within the doors of the stove. This lets the fuels burn properly and reduces the harmful gasses that result from incomplete or unburnt burning. The exhaust gases will then be drawn through the chimney and safely away from your home. Modern stoves with catalytic secondary combustion employ a special catalyst that reburns unburned gases to create additional warmth. This results in a cleaner and less polluting emission than traditional wood stoves that have no secondary combustion. Modern non-catalytic stoves are available, but they're usually less efficient than stoves that have catalytic secondary combustion. Some wood-burning fireplaces come with backboilers that can be used for space heating and water heating. They are known as “combination” or “hybrid” stoves and have been around since the beginning of the 20th century. Wood burning stoves must be used with seasoned wood. Freshly cut wood (green) has an excessive amount of water. This can result in low flue temperatures and excessive creosote accumulation in the chimney. wood stoves near me could lead to chimney fires that cause damage to the stove, and they can even be dangerous to your family's health. If you're looking for a professional who can inspect your wood-burning stove, or make firebox repairs, ensure that the chimney professional you hire has CSIA certification and has reviews from customers on their website. Find out their rates and the type of work they perform. The ventilation pipe Ventilation is required for wood stoves in order to remove fumes and keep the home healthy and warm. Ventilation is necessary to remove carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from the combustion process. It also helps to reduce the impact of air pollution and loss of heat to the outdoors. Wood, gas and pellet stoves all have distinct venting requirements. It is important to maintain the stove's venting system on an annually to ensure security and efficiency. The ventilation system is comprised of the firebox, the vent pipe and the chimney. The chimney and the pipe are used together to create a draft that draws smoke from the stove out through the fireplace. The differences in temperature and densities of the hot wood smoke and cold outside air creates draft. The higher the temperature of the smoke, the better it is able to rise up the chimney and ventilation pipe. Modern wood stoves have been rated as low-emission units by EPA. This means that they produce far fewer pollutants than older models, and contribute to global warming as well as other environmental concerns. Many newer stoves come with pollution controls built-in to limit how much they emit while ensuring that the carbon emissions are burned efficiently. Older stoves with open flues produce a lot more carbon dioxide, a poisonous gas that must not be allowed to escape into your home. Carbon monoxide can be produced when your chimney is dirty or if there is inadequate ventilation. Installing carbon monoxide alarms inside your home is therefore crucial. Before installing a brand new or used wood stove, determine the distance between where the stove sits on the floor to the chimney opening in the wall or ceiling. Multiply this number by two to determine the length of stovepipe you need. You can choose a single-wall or double-wall stovepipes, but you must ensure proper clearance from burning combustibles. The stove's air vent should be adjusted when it first starts to light up and maintained until a stable flame is created in the stove and the combustion process has been stabilized. It is recommended to avoid using briquettes of wood in the stove, since they are not logs, and may contain volatile chemicals that could cause the air vent to fail and cause a hazardous situation. The chimney The chimney might not be something that people think about a lot to, but it's an intricate system that requires care and attention. From top to bottom the chimney is comprised of a variety of essential components, all of which are essential to ensure that your stove works safely and efficiently. The wood-burning stove's combustion gases are emitted to the outside through the firebox, the vent pipe, and the chimney. This process is critical in preventing harmful emissions and also reducing carbon dioxide levels in your home. To achieve this the chimney and flue should be hot enough to move the gases from the fireplace without cooling. This can be achieved by using a woodburning stove with an extremely high heat output, and by regularly adding new logs to the fire. Modern woodburning stoves have a taller chimney than older systems to increase the effect of drafting. However, this can be a disadvantage if the size of your chimney is greater than the maximum allowed for your particular location. If this occurs, the chimney may compete with the house stack for draft, which can cause the gases to cool prior to exiting. This can impede the flow of gases and create creosote buildup which could pose a fire hazard. The most common error homeowners make is to open the fireplace door and close it frequently. This can negatively affect combustion. It is important to keep the fireplace door closed whenever you can and only open it when you're required to add more ash or firewood. The door should not be left open for too long. This allows hot air from the stove to escape, making the logs cooler and less likely to light. Another mistake that many make is to use other kinds of combustibles with their woodburning stoves, which could result in higher emissions or even chimney fire. The fact is that woodburning stoves are built and optimised to burn firewood and not other types of combustibles. The flu To ensure proper air flow, woodburning stoves require a flue that is the proper size. The flue should be at a minimum 25 percent larger than the stove pipe that connects the chimney and stove to allow for sufficient smoke circulation. A wood stove must be placed on an uncombustible hearth that has a clear space in front of the fireplace opening. Modern stoves come with catalytic combustion systems that reduces the amount harmful byproducts that get released into the chimney. This feature can also help to increase the efficiency of wood stoves by burning a fire that produces more heat and less polluting. Using other types of combustibles than firewood, however, can cause problems with lower efficiency and higher levels of emissions. It is crucial to use dry or seasoned wood when you are burning wood in your stove or fireplace. If your wood is not seasoned or dry it will release high levels of creosote and water vapour into the chimney. This could lead to low flue temperatures and a chimney fire. Another way to avoid a chimney fire is to have a professional inspect and clean your flue system on a regular basis. This includes the stovepipe, the chimney and the chimney itself. A dirty stove or flue system can cause an unclean draft in your chimney, which could cause carbon monoxide to accumulate in your home. This could be hazardous for your family members and should never be allowed to happen. A good rule of thumb is to have your stove and chimney cleaned by a professional every year. This will keep your stove and chimney in good working order.