Using a wood stove insert can reduce your home heating bills. When you finally get it installed, you are anxious to get it fired up.  But make sure you operate your wood stove properly. You don’t want a house full of smoke, and you certainly do not want a chimney fire.

Follow the procedures below to operate wood stove inserts for maximum efficiency and minimum pollution.

What makes a new non-catalytic wood stove burn efficiently and cleanly is “secondary combustion”-a feature that differentiates the new stoves from the older models.

In new non-catalytic wood stoves inserts, the usual combustion process in augmented by a second area of combustion that burns off the smoke before it exits through the flue. In some stoves, the fire of secondary combustion is visible near the air inlets in the secondary combustion zone (it looks like a little jet of  flame coming out of the inlets), and is called “light-off.”

What You Should DO When Operating Non-catalytic Wood Stove Inserts:

• DO burn only dry, well-seasoned wood, not wet or freshly
  cut wood. Season wood at least six months; store outdoors,
  loosely covered, to allow air to circulate freely through
  the pile.

“Green” or wet wood releases less heat because
energy from the fire must first evaporate the moisture
before producing useful heat.

• DO build and maintain moderately hot fires quickly after
  loading the wood. Burn a new load at a higher air setting
  for about 5 to 15 minutes and then turn down the air supply
  to the desired setting. When adding new wood, the dampers
  should be opened to supply air directly to the wood and to
  the flames leaving the wood.

Enough air must be supplied to completely burn the
gases and resins from the wood. The rate at which the wood
burns is related to the amount of air supplied to the wood.
If there’s not enough air, the wood will not burn
completely. high temperatures are necessary to achieve the
secondary combustion that non-catalytic stoves rely on to
reduce pollution and improve efficiency.

• DO use many small or split pieces of wood rather that a few
  large pieces.

Small or split pieces (e.g., 2- to 5-inch
diameter) ignite more quickly and create the hot fires that
non-catalytic stoves require.

• DO pay special attention to the instructions for using the
  secondary air controls. In some models, you can observe the
  secondary air inlets through the glass door to confirm that
  the inlets light-off.

Non-catalytic stoves require secondary combustion
to burn cleanly and efficiently.

• DO burn moderate to full loads of wood that will provide
  several hours of uninterrupted burning and minimize door
  openings.

Minimizing door openings keeps the burn
temperature high and sustains secondary combustion.
Frequent door openings increase pollution both inside and
outside your home.

• DO operate the stove’s internal fans (if your stove has
  them) in strict accordance with the operating instructions.
  Some manufacturers recommend leaving the fans turned off
  for 30 minutes after start-up and refueling, and setting
  them on low for small fires.

Fans remove heat from the fire; cooler fires
result in more pollution.

• DO reload the stove when the charcoal bed burns down to a
  3- to 4-inch depth. De- ash the bed by stirring but don’t
  break up the charcoal or compress the bed.

Heat from the charcoal will ignite the new fuel
and help keep the temperatures high. Larger pieces of
charcoal let air circulate and help the fire revive
quickly.

What You Should NOT Do When Operating Non-catalytic Wood Stove Inserts:

• DO NOT burn freshly cut green wood, or kiln- or oven-dried
  lumber.

The high moisture content of fresh wood hinders
hot, clean burning. Kiln- or oven-dried lumber vaporizes
too fast, leading to excessive pollution and creosote
buildup, with its associated fire hazard.

• DO NOT let the fire smolder at low heat.

Hot fires (i.e., temperatures of 1000 to 1200F)
are required to maintain secondary combustion and burn the
pollutants in the smoke. Cool fires lead to more creosote
buildup in your flue, requiring more frequent cleaning and
creating a fire hazard.

• DO NOT burn trash, treated wood, particle board, plywood,
  or other fuels (such as coal, kerosene, or lighter fluid)
  unless they are listed on your stove’s permanent label.

Trash produces fly ash. Treated woods, particle
board, and plywood contain chemicals that, when burned and
inhaled, are hazardous. Burning other fuels may overheat
and damage your stove.

In case you missed it, you can go here to read about Installing Non-catalytic Wood Stove Inserts.