Before You Strike a Match

A wood burner rewards a little preparation. Rush it and you will get a smouldering heap, blackened glass and a room that smells of smoke rather than woodsmoke. Take five minutes and the whole business becomes easy.

Start with the fuel. Burning timber needs to contain less than 20 per cent moisture, ideally nearer 15. Kiln-dried logs sold for stoves are usually reliable, and a cheap moisture meter takes the guesswork out. Split a log and press the pins into the freshly exposed face; anything reading over 20 wants another season under cover. Wet wood wastes most of its heat boiling off water, coats the flue in tar and leaves you forever fiddling with the vents.

• Kindling: dry softwood, roughly pencil to finger thickness, split so it catches quickly.
• Logs: seasoned hardwood such as ash, oak or beech for a long, steady burn.
• Firelighters: natural wax or wood-wool types, which beat scrunched newspaper every time.
• Tools: a heatproof glove, a small ash rake or poker, and a metal ash bucket for later.

Give the stove a quick check before you begin. Empty the ash pan if it is overflowing, but leave a thin bed of ash in the firebox — a centimetre or two insulates the base and helps the next fire take. Open the air vents fully so the fire has plenty of oxygen from the first spark.

Building the Fire Bed

There are two reliable ways to lay a fire. The traditional method is to place a firelighter in the middle of the firebox, build a small teepee of kindling over it, and light from below. It works well and it is what most people picture.

The alternative, and the one many stove owners come to prefer, is the top-down method. Lay two or three small logs across the base, stack kindling on top in a loose criss-cross, tuck a firelighter at the very summit, and light it there. The fire burns downwards, so the kindling dries and ignites the logs below without you touching it, and it produces noticeably less smoke from the start.

Whichever way you choose, resist the urge to pack the firebox. Air needs to move through the gaps between the pieces of wood. A tight, cramped pile will choke itself within minutes. Keep the load small — a couple of handfuls of kindling is plenty.

Lighting and Letting the Fire Establish

Light the firelighter and leave the stove door slightly ajar, no more than a centimetre, for the first five to ten minutes. This is the step beginners skip, and it is the one that matters most. The warm air rising up the flue reverses the cold column sitting in the chimney, and once the flue is drawing properly the stove will behave itself.

Watch the glass instead of the fire. If the flames are bright and lively and the glass stays clear, you are drawing well and can close the door. If smoke drifts back into the room as you push the door shut, open it again for another minute or two. Better still, hold a lit taper near the open door — a steady pull towards the stove tells you the draught has established.

Adding Logs Gradually

Once the kindling is burning confidently, add one or two small logs — roughly wrist-thick — placed loosely, not thrown on top of the flames. Let them catch for five minutes before adding anything larger. Building in stages keeps the temperature climbing steadily rather than smothering the fire with cold timber.

Add logs when the previous ones have broken down into glowing embers with a few flames still licking around them, not when the firebox is full of black wood. Two or three medium logs at a time is generally right for a domestic stove. Stack them loosely, ideally criss-crossed, so air can pass between them. Never fill the firebox right up to the baffle plate; flames need headroom to burn cleanly.

Understanding Your Air Vents

Your stove almost certainly has two controls, and understanding them is the difference between a fire that works for you and one that sulks.

• The primary vent sits low, often as a slider beneath the door. It feeds air directly under the fuel bed and is the control you open wide for lighting and reviving a sluggish fire.
• The secondary vent sits above the door, sometimes marked with a small symbol. It supplies air across the top of the fire, which feeds the gases above the logs and keeps the glass clean. This one usually stays partly open during burning, even on a well-controlled fire.

As a rule, open primary air to get going, then close it down gradually once the fire is roaring and rely on the secondary vent for a gentle, clean burn. Modern stoves often have a fixed tertiary air supply as well, which needs no adjustment. If the flames turn lazy, dark and smoky, give the secondary vent a nudge open. If the whole firebox is glowing white-hot and the stove ticks alarmingly, close the primary vent down and let it settle. A stove-top thermometer reading somewhere around 200°C to 250°C is a good target for efficient burning.

Keeping It Burning Sweetly

A well-run fire needs a little attention every twenty to thirty minutes, not constant fiddling. Use the poker to break apart ash and let air reach the embers, then add a couple of logs and open the air briefly so they catch before you close it down again.

Avoid the old habit of banking the stove up and shutting every vent to make the fuel last overnight. That slow, smouldering burn produces far more creosote in the flue than a hot fire ever will, and it is the quickest route to a chimney fire. If you want a long burn, choose dense hardwood and control the air moderately rather than slamming it shut.

Finally, have the chimney swept at least once a year, ideally before the cold weather arrives, and fit a carbon monoxide alarm near the stove along with a smoke alarm nearby. Burn dry wood, keep the flames lively, and your hearth will be the warmest, calmest corner of the house all winter.