Tried the 'burn the edges first' trick on my wood stove and stopped fighting the draft for good

After 3 failed winters of smoke flooding my living room, I finally followed some old-timer's advice to light the kindling at the back corners instead of the center, and now my fire roars every time without a single puff back - has anyone else found a random hack that fixed a stubborn problem?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisa_bennett5d ago

Oh yeah, I read something about that "burn the edges first" trick in a homesteading forum a few months back. The guy who posted it said he got it from his granddad who used to heat their whole house with a single wood stove back in the 40s. I tried it on my little Jotul after I got tired of the fire dying every time I closed the door, and it really does make a difference. Something about the air flow being able to pull from the middle while the edges catch first so the whole thing takes off evenly instead of smothering itself out.

patricia_hayes5d ago

Huh, I mean it's just a fire, not rocket science.

leep335d ago

Wait till you try stacking logs vertically, total game changer lol.