Wood stoves have become an economical and efficient home heating source in Maine, yet it is crucial that proper safety precautions be taken when using one. Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors throughout your house and regularly test them.

Put the stove on a noncombustible base, with enough clearance between it and combustible materials such as floors, walls, or draperies that might catch fire – and ensure its chimney is in good repair.

Installation

Wood stoves provide an efficient source of home heat, but can become dangerous fire hazards when installed improperly or carelessly used and maintained. Most wood stove fires are caused by creosote build-up from burning wood combustible fuels; to reduce fire hazards through proper installation, regular chimney maintenance, and careful use.

Wood-burning stoves must be placed with sufficient clearance from surfaces such as floors, draperies and furniture that could catch fire, such as carpeting. The distance required will depend on factors like manufacturer guidelines, the National Fire Protection Association requirements and local building codes. It is crucial that before every heating season begins that stoves, fireplace chimneys and flues be properly inspected to ensure they meet these requirements and remain functional.

Stoves should be placed on noncombustible hearth pads made of concrete or masonry. Fireproof plasterboard, metal and asbestos millboard may also be used as floor protectors; in noncombustible floors a heat rated wall material of 36 inches in thickness should also be installed to stop radiant heat reaching combustible surfaces and thus preventing an outbreak of fire beneath the stove.

A chimney connected to a wood stove must be properly sized and vented outside, without venting into other rooms within the home, nor sharing its flue with another solid fuel or fossil fuel heating appliance. Chimneys should be inspected by a mason in order to ascertain its proper size for use with the stove.

Creosote deposits can be avoided by only burning dry and well-seasoned hardwood with a small, brisk fire for at least 20 minutes before adding more wood. A quick fire burns more thoroughly, helping reduce creosote deposits in your flue further. Regular chimney inspection and cleaning also helps minimize creosote build-up.

Creosote deposits on newer high efficiency wood stoves tend to build up more rapidly due to their higher emission levels and lower flue temperatures, so more frequent inspections of these wood stoves is recommended to detect excess creosote deposits.

Venting

Wood stoves must be properly vented to minimize fire risks or dangerous fumes, so their installation must be handled by professionals. Venting systems must not pass through walls, floors or any obstructions; rather they should exit safely into a chimney flue. Wood stoves should never be connected to an oil furnace’s venting system since this can release harmful unburnt vapors into both stove and room; new wood stove installations require custom venting systems either built from scratch or modified according to manufacturer instructions.

Venting systems should consist of lengths of insulated stovepipe that connect a wood stove to an approved chimney (lined, masonry or factory built), with clearances of 36 inches or greater between any combustible materials near the stove and any part of its pipework that runs along walls. Furthermore, any flue vent that passes through a wall must be secured by metal thimbles that extend at least 18 inches beyond this wall surface.

Avoid overfiring the wood stove by not adding more logs than it can safely burn, as this will lead to smoke and volatile compounds escaping into the room. Woods with higher Btu content tend to cost more but produce fewer toxic gas emissions compared to lower-Btu woods.

Avoid burning other combustible materials in your stove, such as rubber, plastics, coal or garbage. Doing so could damage its flue pipe or chimney as well as produce toxic fumes that could potentially clog them up and pose health hazards to users. If it’s being placed on a floor combustible floor it should be elevated on at least a two to six inch pedestal that’s noncombustible; cover this platform with flooring material approved by both manufacturer and local building codes.

Make sure that all house occupants are aware of and practice their family escape plan in case of fire, and practice regularly evacuating from their home quickly in an emergency situation. In addition, make sure carbon monoxide and smoke alarms are installed and tested at least annually; additionally it’s wise to have regular chimney cleanings performed so as to remove creosote build-up that could potentially spark a chimney fire.

Chimney

Chimneys and wood stoves provide an effective means of heating a home, but can become dangerous if not installed and maintained correctly. Chimneys should always be placed at least 36 inches from anything combustible (wood furniture, drapes). In addition, chimneys must be inspected prior to each use to help prevent fires as well as carbon monoxide poisoning.

Chimneys are vertical passageways used to vent flue gases produced from wood-burning stoves and fireplaces to the outside atmosphere, protecting homes from rain, snow and sleet. Chimneys may be constructed of brick, stone or concrete as well as being covered with metal or clay caps for extra insulation.

Chimneys do not need to be built from scratch; rather they should meet local building codes and be rated according to their load capacity. A qualified mason should conduct an inspection prior to using a stove, as cracks in its flue lining or mortar joints could allow heat, flames or carbon monoxide leakage into living spaces.

Creosote build-up in chimneys typically causes fires. If exposed to excessive heat or the wrong kind of fuel, creosote may combust and explode causing an inferno in your chimney. You can reduce creosote build-up by maintaining a constant, fast burning fire, burning only dry wood that has been stored outside for at least six months and maintaining an efficient chimney sweep program.

Installation of a stainless steel chimney liner and addition of a smoke shelf are also highly recommended to avoid potential down drafts and collect ash and debris from your fire, especially in homes where children or animals reside. A smoke shelf can help avoid these potential risks by collecting these deposits safely away from children or animals who could come nearer the fire than expected.

Wood stoves should never be connected to chimneys that vent other solid fuel, fossil fuel, or gas burning appliances as this could result in fire in those appliances and damage the chimney itself. Furthermore, oil burner flues can release potentially fatal unburnt vapors into living spaces if connected.

Operation

Wood stoves are increasingly popular, but must be handled carefully in order to avoid fires and other hazards. Each year thousands of home fires are caused by improper installation and operation of these heaters – but a few simple precautions can prevent most such incidents from igniting into flames.

Wood-burning stoves must be properly vented to work efficiently. Their vent should run through short pipes that do not penetrate walls or floors, exiting through the flue to the chimney. Modern, manufactured wood burning stoves may safely share chimney flues with fossil fuel or gas fire appliances that were in operation prior to installation of their new wood stove if the prior appliance burned exclusively solid fuel.

Chimneys and flues should be carefully evaluated annually to assess for signs of wear-and-tear and ensure proper functioning. Any crack or hole should be repaired promptly, while regularly sweeping with a stiff wire brush to clear away creosote — an accumulation of sticky tar deposits caused by smoke — from accumulation may help avoid overheating issues in both chimney and stove; it should also help decrease creosote buildup before heating season begins, thus helping avoid creosote blockages or blockages altogether; thus it should be thoroughly examined prior to starting this heating season begins, in order to minimize buildup from accumulation of creosote accumulation and ensure optimal operation for safe heating purposes and stove usage.

Only well-seasoned, dry firewood should be burned in wood stoves. Unseasoned firewood with high moisture levels produces excess smoke that results in incomplete combustion and carbon monoxide emissions; additionally, burning an excessively large pile at one time may also result in incomplete combustion, overheating and creosote formation.

During the heating season, it is beneficial to open windows to allow fresh air circulation. Ventilating helps reduce humidity levels in a room while keeping chimney flue temperatures at an appropriate level in order to control creosote build-up.

Children and pets should never come close to a wood-burning stove as this could result in them knocking out a fire from the fireplace or dropping burning embers onto combustible surfaces. Stoves should always be placed on an approved stove board for increased safety against heat and sparks; additionally it would be wise to install a childproof gate around this area of the fireplace.

Wood stoves should only be operated by adults who understand fire safety and evacuation procedures. As adding a wood burning stove into any household will often change its fire evacuation procedures, all house occupants should familiarize themselves with its new emergency escape routes before installing one in their home.