Potential disastrous problems can arise when overfiring your wood burning stove. To burn responsibly and not over the stoves maximum heat temperature is very important. If overfiring is taken place repeatedly, it can lead to progressively getting worse or even permanent faulty to your stove.
Your installation appearing red-hot? See this as a reason for alarm – for this to happen, the temperature has been extremely high for a long period of time, heat must be reduced and cooled down. To cool down your stove, you’ll have to be cautious as well as patient. It is always good to read up on this to stop this from happening again.
What is overfiring?
Overfiring is also known as a ‘runaway burn’. Burning or building your fire too hot for your stove can lead to overfiring. Each stove is uniquely designed with specifications and can withstand a maximum temperature limit. When your stoves fire gets out of control, a few issues may arise, and this will result in an excessive amount of heat that is produced. Your warranty won’t cover for damages where overfiring has been reoccurring for a long period of time. When you have lit your fire, and you can see the flames are becoming more intense, you can partially close the air supply which allows the fire to burn more efficient and safer. Nevertheless, multiple factors could affect your fire and cause it to burn out of control. The cause of overfiring is simply due to an excessive amount of heat being produced, causing damage to your appliance being irreparable and can lead to a chimney fire.
What causes a stove to overfire?
An excess of oxygen or fuel is the cause of a stove overfiring. The three components of a fire are: Oxygen, Fuel and Heat. Increasing any of these 3 components will increase the intensity of the fire. Having too much wood or a lot of air flow, can also cause it to overfire, as these factors can increase the amount of oxygen and fuel. Loading your stove with too much wood, will give off an excessive amount of fuel, this creates a runaway burn, that gets uncontrollably hot while also blocking main tertiary air vents and preventing secondary burn of gases. Too much air flow feeds your fire too much oxygen, that will cause it to burn excessively. Leaving the stove door open, not using the air vent properly or deteriorated rope seals is the result of excessive air flow.
Do check your stoves manufacturer’s instructions, it will contain further information on its optimum air control usage and maximum load.
Signs of overfiring:
Identify signs of overfiring by looking out for:
- Red-hot sections of your stove or flue pipe
- Whooshing or blowing sounds.
- Unusually elevated temperatures in the room
- Blackened stove glass.
On a cooled stove, overfiring is evidenced by:
- Damage to your stove’s exterior (cast iron stoves tend to crack or expand whereas steel bodies tend to warp or bend)
- Disfiguration or warping to your baffle.
- Cracks to firebricks or mortar
You should always take note when your fire is burning too hot. Either visually or by the amount of heat in the room. If you can identify how this was caused, then you can prevent it from happening next time.
What happens if you burn too hot?
Burning for lengthy period at elevated temperatures not suitable for your appliances, will lead to safety concerns and can damage components of your stove.
Firewood is consumed much quicker when burning excessively hot. The need to refuel is much more as it wastes fuel.
When your stoves heat output does not match the size and insulation of your room, the room will be filled with excessive heat and will be uncomfortable, this will lead to the temptation of burning at too low a temperature, causing incomplete combustion.
The body of your stove will reach a high in temperature that would pose a risk to nearby furniture and may result in the material warping, cracking, or bending.
Overfiring can damage your air wash systems, which will affect your stove glass and cause repeating blackening.
When your stove is consistently overfired, consumable deterioration will occur at an increased rate, causing your:
- Chimney fire risk heightens due to the temperature of the gases in your flue increasing, causing any residual debris – such as soot or creosote – to have a higher likelihood of igniting and causing a chimney fire.
- baffle to bend and warp at a faster rate; and
- fire cement to weaken and crack more regularly.
- firebricks to suffer larger, more frequent cracks.
How to avoid overfiring
To prevent overfiring your wood burner, a part of owning a stove is understanding and learning its operations; more often you use your stove the more confident you will be in using your stove.
Just follow these steps:
- Use a stove that is suitable size for your home where its heat output is sufficient to warm the room.
- Operating your appliance according to the manufacturer’s instructions will help you maintain a safe, clean, and efficient burn.
- Only refuel your stove when it is necessary: when your fire is reduced to glowing embers.
- Regularly get your stove serviced by a professional. They will identify and rectify any faults that may be present in your installation and causing your appliance to overfire or underperform.
- Use an appropriate amount of Ready to Burn firewood to ensure you are getting an optimal, clean, and efficient burn – rather than overloading your stove with wet, unseasoned wood.
- Regularly maintaining your stove and getting your chimney swept by our team that will keep your installation functioning efficiently and safely, preventing issues that cause overfiring.
- Simply put, burning responsibly, and keeping your stove well maintained vastly reduces the probability of it overfiring – and will also keep you burning safely and efficiently.
How to cool down an overfiring stove
It is important to be cautious when interacting with an overfiring stove, as it is dangerous. Some inadvisable ways to cool down the stove, can result in additional hazards. It is important to understand the approach.
Cooling down your wood burner
Firstly, you would need to reduce the air flow by partially closing the air vents which then reduces the oxygen intake. This will steadily lower the temperature as the fire’s oxygen supply depletes, calming the fire down and bringing your stove to a more appropriate temperature. You must be patient; it will take some time and you will have to monitor to ensure your fire does not deplete so much that incomplete combustion occurs. Be sure to adjust your air control accordingly once your fire has returned to optimal temperature.
What not to do
It is important that you safely reduce the temperature without producing any other hazards. Do not do the following when trying to cool down your wood burner:
- Do not throw water on the fire.
- Do not open the stove door.
- Do not touch your stove.
- Do not close the air vents fully.
Prevention is better than a cure.
In most cases, we prevent the issue than having to deal with the consequences it brings. Burn responsibly, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and maintain your installation to prevent the risk of a runaway burn.
Is it possible to not burn hot enough?
If it is possible to burn your stove too hot, you can equally not burn hot enough. If the fire is at a lower temperature, it is likely that incomplete combustion may occur, causing issues such as reduced heat and increased emissions.
When purchasing a stove, you must consider the heat output of the stove if it is suitable for the area, it is in. If your stove is too big for your room, you will be tempted to run it at a lower temperature by turning the controls down for the heat to be comfortable in the room. This is what we call “slumbering.” When you start “slumbering” your stove, it can be extremely dangerous and is suggested to be avoided unless your appliance is specifically designed to do so.
Speak to a professional who can advise the correct size for your room.
With overfiring your stove can bring you both monetary and safety issues – your wood burner is specifically designed to withstand up to specified temperature. Going over the maximum temperature can cause an increase in deterioration and damage to your appliance, so it is important to burn responsibly. Do follow the manufacturer’s instructions and keep your installation well maintained so that it can work properly.
If you are worried or uncertain about with regards to your wood burning stove, contact us here at Fireplace Services and we will happily clear up any worries and uncertainties.