How to get the most out of your open fire or stove

Vintage View: How to safely and successfully light a wood fire in your fireplace or wood burner

Dry seasoned or kiln dried firewood will have a moisture content of 20% for a hot, effective burn with less biomass released to your home and the wider atmosphere. Picture: iStock

LIGHTING a fire successfully, safely and cleanly is an art that’s increasingly unfamiliar in our changing world of economical, gas, electricity and HVO-fed boiler central heating. Wood fires, especially those set in new, Clear Skies rated wood-burners, remain an economical way to heat a home, adding ambience and comfort. If you’re tied to a traditional open-fire, burning wood, coal or anthracite blocks, it’s important to make that increasingly pricey wood or fossil fuel count with as clean a burn as possible.

First of all, you should get your chimney swept and checked from the hearth to the top pots by a reputable professional. Some householders have their service done twice a year, it really depends on how much you use your open fire, stove or solid fuel range.