Before you begin. Cold air sinks and hot air rises, and any cold air trapped within your flue can make it hard to start. Before each fire leave the door open for a while to help bring both the flue and fire nearer to room temperature. If it is a damp, or still day, then you may have trouble getting the fire going and have smoke leak back into the room. 

 

You can test the draw before starting a fire by lighting a piece of rolled-up piece of newspaper against the back wall of the fire, directly under the flue. If you can see the smoke from the newspaper disappearing up the flue, then there should be no draw issues. If the smoke doesn’t act as it should, then try opening a nearby window to provide more fresh air to help the flue draw. Also make sure no extractor, or transfer fans are on, as they will remove air that the fire needs to get going.

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Keep the ash. In many situations wood burners run better when they have a bed of ash. An ash layer a couple of inches deep can help to insulate the fire and to burn fuel more effectively. It is also a good habit to lift and turn the ash regularly to prevent it from becoming packed down and hard. Some fires also have secondary air flow tubes along the rear wall of the fire and it is important to not allow the ash to touch or cover that, or it will negatively affect the way the fire runs. 

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Multi fuels fires are the opposite when coal is being burnt – the ash must be kept cleared to allow air to come up through the grate to help the coal burn efficiently. Multi fuel fires, where only wood is burnt, can benefit from being converted into a wood only fire by shutting and then ignoring the bottom controls. Allow the ash to build up so that it comes up through the grate, or cover the grate with some crushed cans to allow an ash bed to build up, so the fire is being built on a layer of ash. Just use the top air control to alter air intake and open then main door if you need a wee bit more draw. This doesn’t work on all multi fuel fires but it is worth a try.

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Use dry and warm fuel. Everyone knows that wood needs to be dry to burn but how dry is often misunderstood. Ideally wood should have no more than 15% moisture content and should be stored with access to air and sunshine – don’t store you wood anywhere you wouldn’t try to dry wet washing. Cold wood also causes problems because it takes more energy to ignite and will likely just smoulder. Starting with room temperature wood helps to get the fire going quickly and speeds up building a hot ember bed.

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Using the fire correctly. The aim is to run your fire like a charcoal BBQ, with a really thick layer of glowing wood coals rather than a lot of blazing hot flames. Softwood is a must for the efficient running of modern low emission burners because it breaks down into the desired coal bed quickly. Start your fire by laying starters and kindling close to the back of the fire, as this heats the flue and gets it drawing faster. Wait for the kindling to burn down to glowing red coals, rake it out around the firebox a bit, and then add bigger pieces of softwood, repeating the process until red burning coals take up the entire base of the fire. Keep the coal bed going by breaking down each bit of softwood before adding a new piece, and only add one log at a time. Burning this way means you are using convection to heat your home, which is more fuel and energy efficient, and far less damaging to your fire.

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Secondary combustion. The vents should be opened fully when starting the fire, and again for a few seconds before opening the door to add more fuel. This helps to heat up the ember bed and to bring the fire up to the right temperature to ignite the smoke produced. The fire should be run with high air intake for at least 10 minutes every time more wood is added, and then be turned down to a lower air flow. Doing this helps to achieve secondary combustion, which is when the waste gases burn rather than being vented up the flue, resulting in more heat from each piece of wood and a cleaner flue. Think of it like how you cook steak, a ripping hot pan, add the meat and leave it on high to sear, then turn it down to cook.

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More fuel isn’t better. Don’t be tempted to overload the fire. Again, think of cooking steak. Overcrowding the pan causes rapid heat loss and a very tough piece of meat. Most manufactures recommend that no more than 25% of the internal space of the fire should be fuel. The space around wood allows for more airflow and for greater flame height meaning you get more heat from each piece of wood. Over stacking also means a greater chance of bumping the top baffle or other parts inside the fire, causing them to shift out of place and not work correctly, or meaning they have to be replaced much sooner

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Fuel choices. Hardwoods such as Eucalyptus (Blue Gum/Gum), native timbers such as manuka and kanuka, and fruit tree wood are very popular because they burn so hot. However, most new model fires are only rated to burn softwood, and burning hardwoods actually causes considerable damage to the internal parts of the fire and sometimes cracks the metal firebox. Gum is particularly bad for fires because of the highly combustible and corrosive oils it contains. If Gum is left to smoulder, it coats the inside of the fire and the flue with a thick tar that is very flammable. However, if it is burnt too hot then it damages the fire, often beyond repair. Old man pine is also a very resinous wood that produces dense black smoke and a thick, soot that quickly coats the flue. This soot sometimes begins to come out the top either as sparks, or as thick black flakes that cause staining to whatever they land on. 

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We recommend a blend of soft woods such as plantation pine, with a medium wood such as Oregon/Douglas fir, with possibly a bit of Macrocarpa for those really cold days. Don’t burn any treated or processed timber - building offcuts, broken down pellets/crates, and driftwood may be free, but their smoke is highly toxic if breathed in and they also cause expensive damage to your fire, flue, and roof. Here is a link to more information about the pros and cons of the most common types of fuel.  https://www.cleansweepchimneysweeps.com/what-s-the-best-wood-to-burn

 

Smoking fires. As a result of modern technology and insulation, most homes have very few drafts. This can cause problems with air supply to a fire because air needs to be constantly available, or the fire won’t be able to draw. If the house is too airtight then a vacuum effect can be created, and this sometimes causes smoke to leak out of the air vents or the door. This can be helped by opening a window to allow a fresh supply of air to enter the room, or a vent or fan system can be installed if it is an often-occurring problem. It is also advisable to ensure that all powered air extractors (range hood, heat transfer systems etc) be turned off when starting a fire, as they remove more air from the room than can be replaced. 

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Air inversion. There is an atmospheric condition, known as air inversion, which is basically heavy, dense air trapped at the level of the flue making it hard for smoke to travel up and out in a plume. During periods of air inversion, fires simply don’t draw properly and there isn’t much that can be done about it. One way to tell if air inversion is causing draw problems is to look at the smoke that exits the flue: if it eddies around the top of the flue or flows downward onto the roof instead of rising as heated air normally would, an inversion layer is most likely present. Air inversion episodes occur most often when cold weather turns warmer, or when warm weather suddenly turns cooler, but it can also happen on those cool, damp, still days that we have from time to time. We call them, “crap fire days” and most fires around the city struggle to perform.

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