How to Build & Maintain a Wood Fire

As the coldest season of the year is upon us, it is important to keep your house as warm as possible for the winter months. If you are lucky enough to have a wood burning stove at your property, make the most of it and have a real fire this winter.

You will not only benefit from the warmth and attractiveness that real fires bring to a room – and indeed a whole house – but you could save a lot of money on heating bills, too. Starting and maintaining your wood fire is as easy as can be, provided you know the tricks of the trade. Here are some handy tips on how to get your fire up and running.

Starting your fire from scratch

To start a good wood fire, you have to identify firstly where the air will enter to make the combustion happen. Most wood fires have an air inlet at the bottom of the firebox, which lets enough air in to allow for an effective combustion process. Then, ensure you have the relevant materials that will help the fire take and continue. These include:

• A newspaper
• Finely split and bone dry kindling
• Firewood in a range of piece shapes and sizes

You can either use the conventional method of lighting the newspaper before loading on the kindling and logs, though this can be time consuming as you continue to add wood until you have a full fire. As well as this, it can be fairly smoky, so some people opt instead for fire starters or use the top-down method where the heavier kindling sits at the bottom of the fire, with the lighter components nearer the fire’s top. In this process, the top paper is lit and the fire can burn for up to two hours on its own without adding anything to it.

Starting your fire from charcoal

Live coals remain following a fire burning down, and are located toward the back of the firebox in any wood fire. To use their existing heat as an ignition point for your next fire, clear the ash from the front of the fire and bring the live coals forward, closer to the air supply. Following this, use kindling alongside the coals, and expose to the air supply by opening the air inlets and closing the door to ignite a brand new fire.

Flash fires

For short fires which take the edge off a cold room, aim for a flash fire in your wood burning stove. To do this, a small amount of wood is burned very quickly to create a non-smoky, non-smouldering fire which lasts only a short while. Rake charcoal towards the air inlets at the front of the fire and open air inlets fully. When the firebox is full of flames, you can slowly reduce the air supply, allowing for the clean, clean-burning fire that does not require a constant and heavy air supply. When charcoal is all that is left, reduce the air supply completely to prevent the coal from cooling.

Extended fires

For extended fires that you wish to last, rake the coals forward and closer to the air inlets, placing large pieces of wood close together and open the air inlets fully. Reduce the air control in stages after you have experienced a thick layer on the charcoal, and continue until you have reached the desired level of warmth and flames. The charcoal layer insulates the wood, slowing down the combustible gases being released, and thus creating a fire that can burn through the night or for a whole day.

Getting rid of ashes

Though a real luxury, wood fires naturally create a lot of ash and, thus, a lot of mess to clear up. However, this job does not have to be taxing; simply remove the ash the morning after an overnight burn, with the procedure being repeated every other day so that enough ash is left in the firebox each time to maintain burning at times of 24 hour usage.

At the Rotherham Fireplace Centre, we specialise in providing high quality, attractive wood burning stoves to our customers, helping them benefit from them as best they can. For more information, or to arrange for the installation of one of our fires at your property, contact our friendly team today – we’re happy to help with any enquiry.