The most important factor for clean, trouble-free burning is chimney draft (pressure differential). Draft depends directly on the temperature difference between inside and outside air, and therefore varies across seasons.
As a rule, draft is significantly stronger in cold winter weather than in mild spring or autumn conditions. On damp, overcast transition days, an air lock of cold, heavy air can sit inside the flue. In such cases, gently pre-warming the flue by lighting a small piece of firelighter paper near the damper can establish draft before lighting the main wood stack.
Step-by-Step Lighting Guide:
- Open all combustion air controls fully before striking a match.
- Stack larger, dry logs at the bottom with slight space between them.
- Place smaller kindling sticks crisscrossed on top, along with natural eco-firelighters (top-down lighting technique).
- Ignite the firelighter from the top. As the kindling catches, it heats the flue immediately, establishing rapid draft with virtually zero smoke or soot.
- Once the fire is burning vigorously and a stable coal bed has formed, adjust the combustion air lever to nominal burning mode.
- When adding more wood, open the door slowly by a few centimeters first to equalize pressure before opening fully, preventing any smoke escape.
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