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Improving Woodheater Use

Use your woodheater properly to save money and reduce emissions.

The amount of smoke a fire makes depends on how much oxygen is available, how hot the fire is, how green (or seasoned) the wood is and whether you have just started the fire or whether it is established.

A good fire needs good wood!

Remember to:

burn dry, seasoned, untreated wood
stack wood under cover in a dry, ventilated area.

Green wood is much harder to burn than dry wood and it produces far more wood smoke for a longer time. It also produces much less useable heat and clogs up your heater flue.

When starting the fire:

use small, dry kindling to get the fire going quickly
use smaller logs instead of large logs
place a sheet of newspaper above your unlit fire to create a good updraft
burn on high air flow for 30 minutes after lighting.

When the fire is burning well:

place the wood end-on into the firebox rather than sideways
leave a minimum 2 cm gap between pieces of wood
leave a gap between the wood and the window
reload regularly to ensure rapid ignition of the new fuel, but do not overfill the heater
burn on high air flow for 20-25 minutes after adding wood to the fire
keep the fire burning brightly so it doesn't smoulder
never choke the fire.

A well maintained modern heater should not produce any visible smoke when the fire is burning well:

Go outside and check the chimney occasionally for smoke emissions.
If you can see smoke, adjust your fire for better burning.

To keep your house warm overnight:

Closing off all air to a fire produces very little heat and a lot of smoke.
Only turn down the air supply when you have a hot bed of charcoal.

At least half an hour before you go to bed:

reload your heater with good quality wood
run it on high for 25 minutes
turn the heater down but ensure that a visible flame is maintained
never shut the air flow right down
let the fire burn itself out over night.

Turning the air supply right down does not gain you any advantage, because the wood will only smoulder, creating little heat and a large amount of wood smoke. A smouldering fire can also contaminate your rain water tank.

Next morning light a fresh fire in the warm firebox.

Keep your heater in good condition:

Make sure your heater flue and cowl are in good working order and free from creosote build-up. The best way to do this is to have your flue swept annually. Some insurance policies require regular cleaning of the flue.

Choose the right heater!

When buying a new woodheater, ensure that it has a compliance plate on the back showing that it meets the current Australian woodheater standards. Choose one that best suits your circumstances, particularly the size of your house.

Modern woodheaters have been designed to burn a hot fire to ensure complete combustion of your wood over the full heating cycle. The size of your heater, therefore, needs to be matched to the space you want to heat. Your heater needs to be large enough to meet your needs, but not so large that it burns inefficiently for most of the time, generating excessive smoke.

Don't buy too large a heater.
Obtain good advice before you buy.

Report smoking woodheaters

Encourage your neighbours to improve their woodheater operation and reduce woodsmoke.
See: How to deal with a smoky woodheater in your neighbourhood

Further Information

For further information, please contact:

Air Specialist

134 Macquarie Street
GPO Box 1751
Hobart TAS 7001

Phone: 03 6233 3373
Fax: 03 6233 3800

Email: EnvironmentEnquiries@environment.tas.gov.au