| If you're interested in owning a wood stove, you | | | | step, but easy to overlook. Modern stoves don't |
| probably done some research. Maybe you've | | | | create a lot of waste, but from time to time |
| heard the buzz about the efficiency of modern | | | | you'll want to clean out wood ash. When excess |
| stoves and their small environmental footprint. Or | | | | ashes start to build up, it's time to service your |
| you may already be a stove owner, in which case | | | | stove with the equivalent to a quick oil |
| you've started basking in that radiant heat. Either | | | | change--only it's much, much easier! Collected ash |
| way, you're wondering how to ensure that your | | | | can obstruct the air vents of your stove, |
| stove turns out to be one of those peak | | | | depriving the fire of oxygen. This makes it hard |
| performers--and a smart investment to boot. If | | | | to control the burn rate of your fire, and |
| so, you're asking the right questions, because | | | | compromises efficiency. Heating your home is |
| today's stoves a designed to pay great dividends. | | | | hard work, so the last thing you want to do is |
| Capitalizing on your stove's potential begins with | | | | making your stove short of breath. |
| choosing the right type of fuel. But beyond that, | | | | Third, take an outsider's perspective on your |
| here are three steps to help stoke your stove to | | | | wood stove. By "outsider" I mean outside your |
| its full heating potential. | | | | house. When a wood stove is burning with |
| First, take the temperature of your wood burning | | | | maximum efficiency, it creates almost no visible |
| stove. A lot of today's stoves come with | | | | smoke. So when you have a good blaze going, |
| thermometers preinstalled, which makes this step | | | | walk outside and inspect your stove flue or |
| easy. If this isn't the case, it's not difficult to | | | | chimney. If you see dark fumes, you should vary |
| attach a stack thermometer to your stove's | | | | the stove's oxygen flow and wood supply, then |
| flue--that pipe that carries the exhaust outside. | | | | check again. A well-tended fire with good fuel will |
| Once you have a thermometer in place, you'll be | | | | eliminate that smokiness. When there's no smoke, |
| able to check the temperature of gases as they | | | | and just a shimmer in the air, you'll know your |
| exit the stove. For the average wood stove, the | | | | stove is reaching its potential: burning clean and |
| ideal temperature range falls between 300 and | | | | hot. |
| 400 F. If the stove is burning within this range, it | | | | Feel like you're getting the idea? Modern stoves |
| is producing heat efficiently while causing the least | | | | are designed to take most of the guesswork out |
| pollution possible. You can target this optimum | | | | of all this. Feeding your stove the right woods and |
| spectrum by adjusting the stove's burn rate or | | | | following the "common sense" tips above will turn |
| changing the quantity of fuel. | | | | your stove into a radiant heating machine. |
| Second, do stove maintenance. This a simple | | | | |