Five uses for your wood-burning stove ashes

‘No hot ashes’ is the traditional message provided by dustbins to their owners. But once our ashes have cooled down, most of us throw them straight into the bin.

This is a bit of a waste really, so here are five examples of ways in which you might like to put your ashes to better use.

1. On your garden

Wood ash contains lots of goodness for your plants, including potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. Someone more green-fingered than Gr8fires will be able to tell you which plants will particularly benefit from your ashes. Continue reading

Tips on cleaning a wood-burning stove

Tips on cleaning a wood-burning stove

The chances are you installed a wood-burning stove either because you like the aesthetics or to save you money on your heating bills. For either of those reasons, cleaning is a vital part of ensuring you continue to reap the benefits of your stove.

Not only does regular cleaning keep your stove in immaculate condition, it also ensures that it continues to perform as efficiently as possible.

It’s not really possible to ‘over clean’ your stove. As a bare minimum you should give your stove a thorough clean every three months. Continue reading

Shut that door! The importance of closing the door on a wood-burning stove

Shut that door

Something that often causes confusion among wood-burning stove newcomers is the door. Should it be open? Should it be closed?

The short answer is closed.

And in most stoves it’s better to close the door as soon as possible. The reason is quite simple. With the door closed, your stove is up to 60% more efficient than if you have the door open. That means more heat in the room and less expense for you.

The confusion probably stems from people who are used to that instant blast of heat that comes from lighting an open fire. With a wood burner, you’re not supposed to feel the heat from the flames. Not directly, at least.

The flames in the firebox heats the metal panels that make up your stove. They, in turn, heat the rest of the room. It’s a more efficient way of heating your home than an open fire because less heat escapes.

If you think about it, closed is the obvious answer. Otherwise some enterprising company would have stopped putting the doors on and sold them at a cheaper price!

When to close the door

Assuming you’ve set your stove with newspaper and kindling, as soon as you’ve lit the newspaper is usually the best time to close the door. You should already have the air vents open while lighting the stove, so there is still a good air supply.

Some stove manufacturers prefer you to keep the door slightly open during these initial stages of the lighting process. Check your manufacturer’s manual to see if this is recommended for your stove.

You’ll soon learn what works best for your stove from experimenting. Even if you are leaving the door ajar, as soon as the stove is properly lit you should close the door.

For more information on wood-burning stoves, please visit Gr8Fires.

Get the fireplace accessories that complement your wood-burning stove

Get the fireplace accessories that complement your wood-burning stove

A wood-burning stove is the perfect feature for any fireplace. But just like when you make a big purchase for your wardrobe, it’s accessorising that really completes the look.

You need accessories that make looking after your stove easier, and add to the character of your fireplace. Here a few ideas of some fireplace accessories that fit both both those criteria. Continue reading

Types of fuel for use in wood burners and multi-fuel stoves

Types of fuel for use in wood burners and multi-fuel stoves

If you’re wondering what fuel is best to use in your stove, we’ll aim to give you some guidance in this blog post.

While we’ll try to keep the advice as general as possible, it’s worth pointing out that anything your manufacturer says in the user manual about the type of fuel that’s best for your stove should take precedence over our tips.  Continue reading

What does the heat output of a wood-burning stove mean?

What does the heat output of a wood-burning stove mean

The obvious answer is that the heat output of a wood-burning stove is a measure of the amount of heat the wood burner is pumping out. But you’re probably more interested in what that means for you before you buy a wood-burning stove.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the higher the number, the more heat your stove is producing. Heat output is provided by stove manufacturers in kilowatts (kW). So a 6kW stove will give out more heat than a 4kw stove. Continue reading

Top 10 ways to improve the efficiency of your wood-burning stove

Top 10 ways to improve the efficiency of your wood-burning stove

Once you’ve got your wood-burning stove installed, there’s the obvious temptation to throw on lots of wood and just enjoy not having to use the central heating.

At Gr8Fires, we thoroughly understand that sentiment. But once the euphoria has partially subsided and you’ve got your thinking cap back on, we would suggest you follow these tips to make sure you’re stove is costing as little as possible and heating as much as possible.

1.Use dry kindling to light your stove
Lighting your fire with fast-burning kindling heats the firebox quickly. You’re essentially getting your stove heated up so your logs have less work to do. Continue reading