How to light your
woodburning stove correctly

For clean combustion, high temperatures should be reached as quickly as possible, because the formation of pollutants in the flue gas can be minimised only at sufficiently high temperatures. So we would like to give you some brief instructions on how to light your stove correctly.

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  • Make sure that the stove is clean and that the ash pan is empty and closed.

  • Use the following to kindle the fire:
    • An igniter (wood-wool igniter, firelighters, etc.); avoid using paper if possible. If you are going to use paper, make sure that it is uncoated. Do not use glossy paper or paper from magazines. This does not burn very well and its ink produces extremely toxic substances in the flue gas.
    • Small wooden sticks or thin pieces of softwood 
    • Three thicker blocks of wood
    • Extra long wooden matches or a lighter
    • Make sure you have a heat-resistant glove and a riddle grate hook to hand.

  • To light the stove, place 2 thin pieces of wood lengthwise on the combustion chamber floor, one on the left and the other on the right.
    Lay 3 thicker blocks of wood crosswise on top of those thin pieces. Place some more thin pieces of wood on top of the thicker blocks, ideally at right angles to the blocks. Now insert an igniter, such as a firelighter or some uncoated paper, underneath these thin pieces. Pull the riddle grate lever all the way out and open the primary and secondary air dampers. Control of combustion also depends on your chimney draught, so you should adjust the air dampers according to your own experience.

  • Now light the igniter and wait until the thin pieces of softwood properly catch fire.
    After a few minutes close the riddle grate lever and the primary air damper. Then wait a few more minutes and adjust the secondary air damper to its ideal position. During this initial lighting phase, it is important to produce a sufficient basic fire bed.

    For stove models with a rotary control selector, proceed as follows:
    To light the stove, turn the rotary control selector clockwise to the starting position; the primary and secondary air and the riddle grate are fully open. Wait until the thin pieces of softwood properly catch fire. After a few minutes turn the rotary control selector 90° anti-clockwise. The primary air is now closed and the secondary air is fully open. Then wait a few more minutes and adjust the rotary control selector for the secondary air to its ideal position.

  • Do not add wood until there are only glowing embers left in the stove.
    Add about 2 kg of wood (2 thick blocks of wood). The newly added wood will quickly ignite on the embers below. This ignition phase can be accelerated by briefly increasing the primary air. You can now close the riddle grate; the secondary air damper stays in the ideal position. Please proceed in the same manner each time you add more wood.

 

 ATTENTION.
When adding wood, please make sure there is a sufficient quantity of glowing embers. For very low firebeds we recommend initiating a fresh heating process.