A Well Designed Wood Burning System

By Thembi Borras

A well-designed wood burning system embodies building a strong draft quickly, so a new fire is easy to start. When a fire is started, smoke should not spill into the room and excessive creosote should not accumulate. When a fire is not burning a cold draft should not come down the chimney. A well-designed wood burning system is a pleasure to use and the kind of system you want in your home.

There are ten design characteristics of a successful stove or fireplace system, they are:

1. The chimney runs inside the heated space of the home.
2. The chimney penetrates near the high point of the heated space.
3. The chimney is tall enough, beyond where it penetrates the roof, its top is clear of obstacles and it has a chimney cap.
4. The chimney flue is insulated and is the correct size for the appliance.
5. The conduit from the appliance runs straight up from the appliance and has no offsets.
6. The appliance and venting system are well sealed.
7. The stove or fireplace is EPA certified for safety and emissions.
8. If the system is installed in a tightly sealed house, the house has a balanced ventilation system.
9. If a large exhaust fan, such as a downdraft kitchen range exhaust, is present, it is electrically interlocked to a fan-forced make-up air system.
10. The appliance is operated by an informed user and regularly maintained.

These design characteristics function to keep the chimney gasses warmer than the heated space for as long as possible to keep the gases moving as quickly as possible, which facilitates beneficial draft and minimizes creosote buildup. These design characteristics also function to balance the air going out with the air coming in. This prevents the house from becoming depressurized, a symptom of which is smoke spillage and a cold draft from the chimney when there is no fire.

For more information, visit the website http://www.woodheat.org/, from which this production was gleaned.