Three tips to a hot fire for your wood burning fireplace insert:

1. Use dry, seasoned wood

2. Make sure wood isn't too big

3. Use enough kindling

Purchase your wood from a reputable dealer, or make sure you season your wood if you cut it yourself.

Wood that is seasoned will have darkened ends with cracks or "checks".  The wood will have a hollow sound when you hit two pieces together and will be lighter in weight than wood that is not seasoned. 

Green wood contains up to 50% more water than seasoned wood.  When you burn a stove load of green wood, you can have up to a gallon of water from the moisture content of the wood. The extra moisture has to burned out of the wood.  You use the energy of the fire to evaporate the water instead of producing more heat. 

Wood does not dry well until it is split.  Use a splitting maul or a hydraulic splitter to split your wood. Make sure you keep lots of kindling wood for your fires.

After you cut your wood, it is important that you stack it correctly so it dries properly.  Stack you wood so that air can flow around the split logs.  Keep the top of the stack covered.

Once your wood is completely seasoned, store it so that it is protected from the rain and snow.  Cover it with a tarp or keep the seasoned wood in a wood shed. 

For more firewood tips, read Wood for Stoves: 3 Tips for the Best Firewood.