Heating properly with wood: lighting, adding wood and the right firewood

With the right firewood, the right way of lighting and a little patience when adding fuel, you get more warmth from your wood-burning stove, less smoke and a cleaner viewing glass. Here are the essentials in brief – you will find everything in detail with film and graphics in the film below and in the graphics. Short answers to the most common questions can be found under FAQ. ## The essentials first - Only burn dry, untreated wood – rubbish and treated wood never belong in the stove. - Firewood must have a moisture content below 25 % (approx. 20 % water content); 15–20 % water content is ideal. - Without a grate, light from the top; with a grate, light from the bottom – and open the air fully for lighting. - Only reduce the air once all logs are burning; add more wood as soon as only a bed of embers and small flames remain. - Do not throw logs in; place them on an ember bed that has been pushed together. - Always put ash in a metal bucket with a lid – even ash that seems cold can still contain embers. - If in doubt, the stove’s operating manual takes precedence. ## Which wood may go in the stove?  - Untreated wood in pieces, including adhering bark, especially firewood logs - Wood briquettes made from untreated wood - Wood pellets with proof of quality (only in pellet stoves) Never burn: rubbish and waste of any kind, treated wood and waste wood, painted or coated wood, wood with wood preservatives, plywood, chipboard, fibreboard and other glued wood, bark briquettes, plastics of any kind. Never use methylated spirits or paraffin for lighting – there is a risk of deflagration. ## How dry does the wood need to be? Below 25 % moisture content (equivalent to approx. 20 % water content); 15–20 % water content is ideal. Depending on the type of wood, storage location and log size, fresh wood needs about one to three years. Store the wood under cover, off the ground and loosely enough for air to flow through the stack. You can check the residual moisture yourself with an inexpensive wood moisture meter.   ## Lighting: from the top or from the bottom? Without a floor grate, light from the top; with a grate, light from the bottom.   ### Lighting from the top (for fireplaces without a floor grate (grateless combustion)) 1. Clean the firebox (unless the manual says to leave ash in place) and open the combustion air fully – setting “Lighting” or “max”. 2. Place two to three logs side by side on the floor with a small gap, split edges facing upwards. 3. Stack finger-thick kindling criss-cross on the logs and place the firelighter (firelighter cubes, pads, wood wool) in between. 4. Check the dampers and shut-off slides – they must be open. 5. Light the firelighter and close the firebox door. After a short time, visible flames will be burning. ### Lighting from the bottom (for fireplaces with a floor grate) 1. Open the grate and open the combustion air fully (setting “Lighting” or “max”). 2. Place the firelighter on the grate and stack about two layers of kindling on top. 3. On top, place two to three not-too-thick logs with a small gap, split edge facing downwards. 4. Check the dampers and shut-off slides, light the firelighter, close the door. ## Heating and adding wood  1. As soon as the flames have reached all the logs, reduce the air supply (exact setting according to the manual). 2. Add wood when there is a bed of embers and only small flames are burning. Open the door slowly so that no smoke escapes. 3. Push the embers together into a compact ember bed and gently place the logs on it with the split edge facing downwards – never throw them in. 4. To ignite quickly, briefly open the air further, then return to normal operation. 5. Stack larger amounts of wood loosely in one direction, not criss-cross.  ## After heating 1. Do not add any more wood and let the residual embers burn out. 2. Only then close the combustion air – this way the room does not cool down. 3. Store ash temporarily in a metal bucket with a lid; even ash that appears cold can still contain glowing pieces. Images: stills from the information film “Richtig heizen mit Holz” (Heating properly with wood). For all slide settings, the operating manual of your stove applies. We will gladly show you everything directly on the appliance at handover – and if you have questions beforehand, we will advise you in our showroom in Ausbüttel.