Best Woodstove Practices
Wood stove experts recommend a proper methodology for running a woodstove. Always use quality, seasoned and dry firewood.
The first step is warm the draft. Burning some newspaper at the top of the wood stove will heat up the flue and get the draft started.
The second is building a top down fire. Putting medium size logs at the bottom and then crisscross smaller and smaller pieces as you build up to the top of the fire. Plus scraps of cardboard throughout the stack and some newspaper under the kindling on top. This way the fire will burn hot from the top down.
Creating this hot fire will lessen creosote and get the draft started. Keep the stove door open a crack and let this initial stack burn hot and get the entire stove warmed up. Once the flames die out you can rake the coals to the front of the firebox and add more logs to the back.
Give it a few minutes with the door open a crack for the embers and coals to start the wood and then close the door.
Air washes across the front of the glass on a wood stove. Raking the coals and embers to the front of the stove will give the coals more air and provide a hot wash of air across the glass to keep it clear of soot.
The best (and inexpensive) tool I’ve found for use with a wood stove to rake coals and embers to the front is this all metal garden tool I found on Amazon.
Sold as a garden hand rake or mini hand cultivator is a heavy duty carbon steel garden rake tillers with a rubber grip. Uses are listed as for gardening, lawn or leaves. Basically it is an all metal short handled rake which makes it perfect for working on a wood stove. I’ve seen similar rakes sold specifically for wood stoves at two or three times the price of this nicely made rake.
