Why does my wood stove smoke into the room?

A cold chimney pushing air down. Warm the flue with a newspaper torch before lighting, and check the room is not starved of air.

Why top-down instead of teepee?

The fire burns down into the fuel: cleaner combustion, no collapsing pile, no reloading for the first hour.

atom · home / heating

Light a wood stove top-down

draft · verifying asked 5 ways distilled today

Build it upside down.

Big logs at the bottom, kindling crosswise above, firelighter on top. Top-down burns cleaner and needs no tending.
Open every vent.

Full air for the start. Choking a young fire makes smoke, soot and a dirty glass.
Warm the flue if it is cold.

A burning strip of newspaper held toward the flue reverses a cold-plug downdraft before it fills the room.
Light the top and close the door to a crack.

The fire eats downward through the kindling into the logs. Leave the door a finger-width open for the first minutes if the stove smokes when shut.
Throttle only when established.

Once the logs are burning with strong flames, reduce the air to cruising. Flames should stay lively, never lazy and smoky.

1 Founder draft core @bernard ⚡ new

#1 becomes the Core. This atoma is young: submit a better distillation and take the seat.

No gear needed. Your pot, a timer and ice are enough. That is the point.

Founder draft

@bernard · challengers welcome

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A cold chimney pushing air down. Warm the flue with a newspaper torch before lighting, and check the room is not starved of air.
The fire burns down into the fuel: cleaner combustion, no collapsing pile, no reloading for the first hour.

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how to light a wood burner · top down fire method · wood stove smoking problem · start fire in fireplace · stove draft cold chimney +5 phrasings, one home