Safely Operating a Wood Burning Appliance is Simple If You Focus on the Important Items!

Burning things to make heat for your home seems like an easy proposition to the uninitiated, but after many years and many different wood burners, I can tell you that there are all kinds of variables which can cause problems for you when burning wood.

One of the first things to learn is how to light the fire in your burner properly. Never use liquid fuels to start your fire as you could literally blow the burner and yourself up. Always use caution when lighting a large burner as these can create quite a lot more heat than you might at first realize.

Always keep the area around the burner clear of debris and obstructions. This is not the place to store flammables! Study and follow the manufacturer instructions for operating your wood burning appliance. Make sure the chimney is in good working order and that it is cleaned regularly. I tend to do mine before the season starts and another time about mid winter.

Keep a record book for any repairs or problems you have had with your burner. This way if something does go out of control you will have a record that can help you with things like insurance claims. You may also find this useful when you are looking for part numbers of replacement items like door gaskets.

Make sure any wood burning appliance is installed safely and correctly. When in doubt double check the manufacturers suggestions, and also check the National Fire Protection Association information, "NFPA" on-line, or contact a local wood burning stove company which is qualified to work on these appliances. Finally you can always have your local fire department do an inspection to make sure your system meets local codes.

Now selecting the best fuel for your burner can prove to be a very complex issue and one which takes a lot of research and study. Many people think all firewood is good wood, but some just have too many negatives to make them good candidates for use in wood burners. First thing is to find a reliable source of good hardwoods that have been seasoned. We have 10 acres and it is mostly wooded so there is never any trouble finding firewood for our burner. We use a lot of Ash, Cherry, Maple, and Oak in our burner. The best seasoned wood for use in my burner seems to be about 12 months stacked in a cross pattern under a tarp with the sides facing the wind and sun. This can be accelerated, but patience often wins this game.

The thing to know is what types of wood to burn with what others. Stay away from any wood which is prone to attracting bugs like termites, and also stay away from wood that smells bad when burning. Cottonwood is an example of a very smelly wood when burning. While it is tempting to make a fire with pine trees but the sap and soot from these is just not worth the hassle. I am partial to cherry wood as an added log to introduce a nice smell to the fire.

If you want that pine fire smell just put a few small logs in with other hard woods that burn hot. Make sure the wood is cut to the proper lengths that will fit your burner easily. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to jam a long piece into the burner in the middle of a cold night. If you need to cut the logs shorter make sure to use safe practices when operating things like a chainsaw.

Make sure to burn a good hot kindling fire before loading up the burner for the night. this base is what helps regulate the burn rate of your new load of fuel. Do not overload the burner, it is more efficient to run some wood burners at a moderately full level as the controls work more reliably when there is a controllable quantity of fuel in the box.

Make sure to ventilate properly and never burn wood in any burner that has any mechanical damage, missing parts or any air leaks. The carbon monoxide which can leak out past a missing or faulty seal can kill you and your family in your sleep.

Keep some safety equipment on hand, including some fire snuffer powder, two fire extinguishers rated for wood fires, heavy gloves and a bucket of sand in case you need to kill the fire in the burner in a hurry. No air usually means no fire, but it can create plenty of smoke. Once the fire is out open doors and windows to clear the smoke away, and call fire department if you are even the tiniest bit unsure of the status.

Chimney fires burn houses down all over the world every day, and it is nothing you may realize is happening until it is too late. The characteristic signs I have seen are a really strong draft at the air inlet, and a very strong and deep rumbling sound coming from the burner or the stack. Maintain proper temperature monitoring equipment on your stack. I have a surplus dial gauge measuring the burner body, and a temperature probe on the water loop piping, a stack thermometer, and i use a digital infrared temperature monitor to spot check things like stack and door temperatures.

This is all done so that I can avoid having creosote build up which will cause a chimney fire if left to accumulate. Running a typical wood burner so that the stack is between 300 and 550 degrees F, will help prevent any nasty buildup in your stack that can lead to a fire. Periodic and proper cleaning of the stack is essential for safe operation of your wood burner.

Never let anyone who is inexperienced with wood burners work on yours. If they do not know exactly how to load it safely they can get hurt, and may even cause a fire by accidentally letting ash and sparks fly when they open the load door. Back-draft is not just a movie, it is real, and can blast you across the room if you are not careful. There have been plenty of arm hairs and eyebrows lost to people popping the door open too soon after a brief vent off cool down period.

Lastly and most important tip is to never leave any wood burning appliance running unattended. This is not always an easy thing to do but having so much at stake it is simply not worth the risk.

Thank you for reading my articles here on AC-Yahoo!