This is what should be done to safely use a wood heating system. Before you ever start a fire in your wood heater check the stove pipe and chimney. Look to see they are properly connected and that they have no holes showing. Fumes like carbon monoxide, as well as smoke, could escape into your house through a hole in the stove pipe, as could flames f you ever have a small chimney fire. That could start a house fire.

Open a window some to allow oxygen from outside to enter the room where your heater is burning. The fire burns up the oxygen present in the room when the heater is operating.

It is a good idea to have your heater sitting on a sheet metal base, that stretches out in front of the heater's door. This metal sheet spreads out any excessive heat on the floor and should the fire spit out burning embers when the door is opened for putting wood in, the floor will be protected from burns. This can often happen if the wood being burnt is not completely dry. Some types of wood like spruce will tend to pop and spit embers frequently while burning.

Check the fire proof chord seal around the door of the heater, making sure that there are no holes or gaps present. You want the fire box of your heater air tight when you close the draft lever shutting off the air flow. The draft lever allows you to control how hot the fire burns. Closing the draft lever slows down the fire by stopping its oxygen supply.

You should keep a door seal repair kit on hand. It contains a tube of liquid adhesive and a length of fire proof rope-like chord. If you can see the light of the fire through the edge of the door where the door seal is located, repair is needed.

It is best to do the repair when the door of the heater is still quite warm. Measure and cut the correct length of door sealing chord that will fit all around the door in the groove. Scrape out any of the old chord still inside the heater door groove and when clean wipe it with a rag. Apply the liquid adhesive a few drops at a time to the inside of the groove. The warmth of the door will cause it to become sticky in a few minutes. When the adhesive becomes gel-like, press the chord into the groove with a screwdriver. Hold the chord in place for a few moments while it sets, attaching a few inches of the chord to the groove at a time. When it is all in place, close the heater door. Tighten the door latch as much as possible and let it set for about fifteen minutes.

The chimney must be checked for an excess of soot deposited on its inside. It is a good idea to open the hole for the soot to fall down the chimney and stove pipe into the heaters burning chamber. This is done by turning two fire bricks on their side at the top of the heaters burning chamber.

Wear old clothes. Take hand wiping rag, chimney cleaning brush, and the tools needed to remove the stove pipe cap at the top of your chimney. Carefully climb onto the roof. Take off the chimney cap and brush the soot off the inside of the cap. Look inside the chimney. You will likely see a layer of black soot covering the top of the chimney. Blow it away. Take the chimney brush and carefully push it down and pull it up the chimney. Do this repeatedly until you see no more black near the top of the chimney. When it's clean reattach the cap onto the chimney, clean your hands and tools with the rag and be careful climbing down off the roof. Take your time. It is not worth getting hurt by falling.

Wood heat is a comfortable way of heating your home but it does take some safety knowledge and precautions to do so safely.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Safety