How can I make the most efficient use of wood?

You achieve maximum output and minimum emissions by burning safely and sensibly. Moreover, you use less wood because of this, which is also much cheaper.

Always use dry and suitable firewood

Wood must be dry and suitable for use as firewood. Also read which types of wood you can use best. Never burn waste wood or garden wood that has been treated chemically, chipboard, old railway sleepers or other processed wood. Combustion vapours may be released during the combustion of processed and treated wood.

Besides being unsafe, this is also very harmful to the environment. A good fire releases, at most, a small amount of white or colourless smoke (water vapour). Due to the high temperature, the wood is burned as completely as possible. However, if a lot of black, grey or grey-blue smoke is released, the wood is too wet or unsuitable.

Build the fire responsibly

On the advice of the Fire Department, we advise you to burn according to the Swiss method. Using this method, you can burn safely and cleanly. We are happy to explain it to you.

The Swiss method works as follows:

1. Light the fire

Place big logs at the bottom of the stove and light small logs on top. This method ensures that the fire starts to burn slowly from the top without creating too much smoke.

2. Refill the fire or stove with wood

Refill the combustion chamber if small flames are visible and you can see a glowing bed on the base. Open the door slowly to prevent smoke from escaping into the living room. Carefully move the remaining parts together into the centre of the combustion chamber. Refill the combustion chamber with several blocks with the split side facing downwards. Open the air supply for rapid combustion. Once the logs or briquettes have caught fire, you can switch the air supply back to "normal".

3. Have you finished using your fire?

Let the stove or fire burn itself out slowly if possible. Then close the air supply. This ensures that the room does not cool down immediately. The air flow also expels heated air. To prevent fire, always shovel the ash from the combustion chamber into a metal bucket or container. Then close this container with a lid.

Operating a pellet stove

Operating a pellet stove works differently. Although a pellet stove looks similar to a regular wood-burning stove, stoking and refilling a pellet stove is mainly automatic.

Read the manual or contact your dealer

The above-mentioned guidelines offer general stoking advice. Stoking in the right way may also vary slightly for each fire or stove. Always read the user manual or ask your dealer for advice beforehand.