How do I get a wood burner or open fire ready for the season?

A stove or open fire that was fine in March is not necessarily fine in October. Seals perish, birds nest, and the wood bought in spring may still be too wet to burn properly, which is the cause of most poor performance and most chimney deposits.

Safety

Step by step

1. Book a registered sweep before September.Annual sweeping for wood is the standard recommendation, and more often for heavy use. Sweeps are booked weeks out by October. Keep the certificate — insurers ask for it after a chimney fire.
2. Check for nests before lighting anything.Jackdaws nest in chimneys through spring and summer and the debris blocks a flue completely. The sweep will find it; lighting a fire under one fills the room with smoke at best.
3. Inspect the rope seals on a stove.Around the door and the glass. Press a sheet of paper in the closed door and pull — if it slides out freely, the seal has flattened. Replacement rope and adhesive is inexpensive and makes a real difference to control.
4. Check the glass and the baffle.Cracked glass needs replacing before use. The baffle plate at the top of the firebox warps and burns through over time, and running without it damages the stove and wastes heat.
5. Clear the fire bricks and grate.Cracked fire bricks are normal and replaceable; missing ones expose the steel body. Clear the ash pan and check the grate is not burnt through.
6. Find and clear the air vents.Both the stove's own air controls and any room vent supplying combustion air. Vents get blocked by furniture, decorating or draught-proofing done in between.
7. Test the carbon monoxide alarm.Press the button, and check the expiry date on the unit itself. Required in the same room as a solid fuel appliance in most of the UK, and the only warning you get.
8. Check the wood is actually dry.Under 20% moisture. A moisture meter costs very little and settles it. Wet wood produces little heat, coats the flue in tar and is the main cause of chimney fires and blackened glass.
9. Buy fuel now and store it properly.Off the ground, covered on top, open at the sides for airflow. Wood bought in autumn and stacked badly will not be ready by December.
10. Use approved fuel where required.Sales of wet wood and traditional house coal are restricted, and smoke control areas require an exempt appliance and authorised fuel. Check what applies where you live.
11. Do a test burn before you need it.Light a small fire on a mild day with the windows openable. Smoke coming into the room, a poor draw or an unfamiliar smell all want investigating now rather than on the first cold night.

Tips

• Sweep certificates matter to insurers. Photograph it and keep it with the house paperwork rather than on the mantelpiece.
• Clean stove glass with damp newspaper dipped in cool wood ash — it works better than most proprietary cleaners and costs nothing.
• Blackening glass within an hour of lighting is a reliable sign the wood is too wet, not that the stove needs cleaning.

Common mistakes

• Burning wood that has not been properly seasoned — Most of the energy goes into evaporating water rather than heating the room, and the unburnt volatiles condense in the flue as tar — which is what catches fire.
• Skipping the sweep because the fire was used lightly — Light use often means cooler smoke, which deposits more tar rather than less. Annual sweeping is the standard regardless.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask