Owning a wood-burning stove is fantastic: you can lower your heating bills, become more environmentally friendly and create a cosier home. But there is no doubting that woodburners can be labour-intensive at times. While any work you put in towards operating your stove is usually rewarded in financial savings and the feeling of satisfaction once the appliance is in full flow, these great life hacks will make owning a woodburner easier. 1. Use the ashes to clean the stove glass A couple of labour-intensive activities: emptying the ashes and cleaning the glass. Why not combine the two by using the ashes to clean the glass. Dipping a piece of newspaper into cold ashes, then apply to your glass in a circular motion for an easy glass-cleaning shortcut. 2. Adopt a three-stage seasoning process Ensure a more efficient burn and get your stove roaring more quickly by using a three-stage seasoning process. Seasoning your own wood saves a lot of money on buying seasoned wood from fuel suppliers. Once you’ve got the wood the three stages are: freshly-felled, air dry and house dry 3. Use a moisture meter Check the moisture content of any piece of wood you’re considering burning to find out if it’s suitable for your woodburner. A meter costs less than £25 but has the potential to save you a fortune in fuel costs and stove parts. 4. Cook your dinner at the same time After lighting your stove, reward yourself for the effort by having it cook tea for you. One-pot dishes are particularly well suited to being cooked on top of a woodburner. Some appliances, like the Ecosy Ottowa have a small oven attachment specifically for that reason. 5. Light the stove properly This might seem obvious but if you’re spending time relighting your stove or watching it like a hawk in the minutes after lighting because it looks like it’s about to go out, you’re probably not lighting it well enough in the first place. Lighting a stove properly at the first time saves a lot of time and annoyance. Follow these tips to get your stove roaring in no time. 6. Use a stove thermometer It is possible to run your stove at too high a temperature, which can cause damage to it, or too low a temperature, which results in an inefficient burn. Avoid both of these problems by using a stove thermometer, which will inform you whether the appliance is at optimum temperature. 7. Leave the door ajar when the stove is out of use Leaving the door slightly open when the woodburner is out of use for extended periods will encourage air flow through the stove system, reducing the risk of corrosion and unnecessary expense on replacing parts. 8. Burn hardwood As a rule of thumb, hardwoods will take longer to burn than softwoods because they are more dense. This means less time spent refuelling for you. Do you have some wood-burning stove lifehacks of your own? Feel free to leave them as a comment below.
Owning a wood-burning stove is fantastic: you can lower your heating bills, become more environmentally friendly and create a cosier home. But there is no doubting that woodburners can be labour-intensive at times. While any work you put in towards operating your stove is usually rewarded in financial savings and the feeling of satisfaction once […]
