Multi-burner Stove - can the door be kept open?

sunni

Hello

We've a multi-burner stove and ones are saying why isn't the door opened to let out more heat? But I thought you couldn't leave the door open - don't even know where I heard that though.

Anyway, can the door be left open on the stoves?

sunni

Greenfires

If you have the door open you have nothing more than an expensive open fire. You'll use much more fuel and get less heat from the stove, as the massively increased draught will take most of it straight up the chimney. The stove is designed to be used with the door shut, and there should be seals around the door to make it pretty much airtight - the only draught going through it should be going through the air vents and not through the door. There are also baffles inside the stove to restrict the flow of heat up the chimney so more of it ends up in the room.

You're also likely to overheat and damage the stove with an uncontrolled burn, and if your chimney hasn't been swept in a while this could be just what it needs to set off a chimney fire - so the answer to your question is basically "no".

Hope that helps!

Andy

sunni

Thanks very much Andy - great advice. Do you keep the air vents at the top and bottom open or closed?

Greenfires

You're more than welcome!

The air vent position depends on what you're burning. When lighting the stove, have all the vents open. Some stoves will start better with the door cracked open as well. Once the fire is well alight, then you can close the door and start to control it down to a level where you have a clean burn but you're not rattling through the fuel.

For burning wood, close the bottom vent completely and control the fire with the secondary air control. Also, let the ash build up in the stove so the fuel is sitting on ash rather than on the fire grate.

For burning smokeless fuel, the grate needs to be kept cleanish - and the fire is controlled mainly with the bottom air control, which allows air in beneath the fire grate. You can open the secondary air as well a little to help keep the glass clear.

Andy

sunni

Thanks again, so for burning wood I close the bottom vent and keep the top vent open and for burning coal the both should be open - am I right lol

Greenfires

Yep - though you don't need to have the top open all the way for smokeless - just part of the way - the air from below is the important one for that fuel. And for wood the bottom one completely closed - but do make sure your wood is dry and the fire is well alight before you start shutting the vents down.

sunni

Thanks again, oh please save an argument for me on this one lol. Ok so for a bad draught with this stove do I still close the bottom vent when burning wood and keep the top open?

suki1964

For wood you need to be burning on a layer of ash and have the bottom vents closed with the top vent open enough to keep the logs burning as a red hot smoulder ( I think logs burning right in a stove look like molten lava ) rather then roaring flames

sunni

Thanks alot Greenfires and suki1964 for the kind help

John_3:16

We have a wood burning stove and we burn the wood fairky hard eg bottom vent half open with flames all the time if possible. Smouldering wood is not good as you have no flame to burn the smoke off. We have a clean burn ( also a air wash not to be confused) system and without flame I fail to see how this would work?

wood_burning_stoves

Yes Sunni the doorss can be left open