How to light a fire in a wood-burning stove

Lighting a stove well makes the difference between a bright, hot, clean fire and a smoky, smouldering one. This guide describes a widely used method. Because every stove is different, always follow your stove maker's instructions in the manual, and if you have lost it, look it up on the manufacturer's website.

Before you start

• Use dry fuel. Logs should be properly dry (see Ready to Burn explained). Damp wood is the biggest cause of a fire that won't light or burn cleanly.
• Have what you need: firelighters, dry kindling, a few small and medium logs, matches or a lighter, and a stove glove.
• Check the stove is ready: the ash pan is not overfull and the vents are not blocked.
• Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in the room, and check it works. See stove and chimney care.

The top-down method

Many people now light the fire from the top rather than the bottom. It tends to burn more cleanly and needs less attention.

1. Open the air controls fully. Your manual will say which ones.
2. Lay the larger logs at the bottom, side by side, with a little gap between them.
3. Add a layer of medium logs across the first layer.
4. Add a layer of kindling on top.
5. Place one or two firelighters on top of the kindling, then light them.
6. Close the door, or leave it slightly ajar for the first minutes if your manual advises it.

The flame burns downwards, warming each layer as it goes, so you get a hot, clean fire with little smoke.

The traditional method

If you prefer, build the fire from the bottom: firelighter and kindling at the bottom with small logs above. It works, but it can produce more smoke at first as the logs warm up. Whichever you choose, don't pile in too many logs at once.

Once it is going

• Keep the air controls open until the fire is established and the logs are burning well, usually 10 to 20 minutes.
• Then adjust the controls gradually, following your manual.
• Do not turn the air down too soon. Starving a fire of air makes it smoulder and smoke, and coats the glass and flue with soot and tar.

Adding more logs

• Add logs when the fire has burned down to a bed of glowing embers, not when it is still flaming strongly.
• Add one or two logs at a time rather than loading the stove full.
• Place them carefully on the embers and open the air controls for a few minutes so the new logs catch.

What not to burn

• Wet or damp wood.
• Painted, treated or varnished wood, pallets of unknown origin, plywood or chipboard. These can release harmful fumes.
• Household rubbish, plastics or cardboard in quantity.
• Fuel your stove isn't designed for. Check your manual before burning coal, smokeless fuel or briquettes, and if you live in a smoke control area read smoke control areas and what you can burn.

Troubleshooting

• Won't light: the wood may be damp, or there may not be enough air. Try drier kindling and open the controls fully.
• Lots of smoke: usually damp fuel or too little air. Check the moisture, and don't close the controls too early.
• Sooty glass: often a sign of damp fuel or running the stove too cool.
• Smoke coming into the room when you open the door: open the air controls and wait a moment before opening the door slowly, so the flue can clear. If it keeps happening, have the chimney checked.

Ash and safety

• Let the ash cool before you empty it. Embers can stay hot for many hours.
• Use a metal container with a lid for hot ash, and keep it away from anything flammable.
• Never leave a burning stove unattended with the door open.

For the right wood to keep it going, see choosing logs.