How often do you add logs on the burner - makes the room smoky?

[Leonarar]

I’m new to this log burner malarkey.

It starts off fine with an open vent, the firelighter and kindling catches and then the 2-3 logs begin to burn.

I turn the vent down to half closed and the ferocity of the fire fades, which is fair enough.

I notice the logs burn quite quickly and the warmth goes so I add a new log after 30-60 mins but when I open the door inevitably some smoke goes into the room.

The burner and flue were serviced a few weeks ago and all ok.

What am I doing wrong? Should I put a lot more logs on to begin with to keep it going longer?

5 kiln dried logs on low burn will do 9am - 8ish in our house. It’s a 5kw wood burner stove.

How high are you having the flu out?

How high are you having the flu out?

What do you mean? 😊

Open the door or the flue a tiny bit first to creat a draft which allows the smoke to travel up the chimney before feeding in a new log

That's why wood burners are such filthy things. As above though, you can reduce the pollution.
What sort of logs are you burning?

This ... open the door about 2cm ... count 15seconds, then open the door wider to shove the next log in. . And repeat as needed.

Yep, as others say, you have to open the door slowly. Also, are you burning kiln dried wood or bags of crap wood from the supermarket?

This has worked perfectly thank you!

I am using up soft wood that was left behind but I have bought some proper wood as recommended by the chimney sweep.

Keep the vent open, don’t half close it like you are doing. The fire needs to draw air in to then send the smoke up the flue and chimney.

You need to open the damper first before you open the door. Then, once you've chucked a log on and shut the door close down the damper again.

We got a magnetic flue thermometer that shows where the temperature should be for a clean burn. Definitely helps me keep it right. We have fans that sit on the top to distribute the heat around the room better. They work from the heat of the fire.

Keep the vent open, don’t half close it like you are doing. The fire needs to draw air in to then send the smoke up the flue and chimney.

I agree with this. We leave ours open for a good until the room gets as hot as we want it. Only then do we shit the vent down a bit.

Also get a fan to push the heat into the room, much more efficient

Yup def recommend the thermometer and fans!!

I only get smoke really if its not hot enough so not burning quick enough or the wood is a bit damp from rain.... The wood itself has been dried for 2yrs.

Soft wood will burn super quick, you should notice a difference when you use the hard stuff.

I don’t get the fan things, surly the hot air naturally moves around the cooler room?
We leave all the doors open and our wood burner heats the wholes section of the hosue including the bedrooms above.

I hope you have a carbon monoxide detector, that sounds very unhealthy

Make sure you open the vent right back up for a few minutes before you open the door as well. Don't leave the vent open all the time though or you'll burn through the wood even quicker. We don't use logs as it means the fire needs constant looking after. We use smokeless coal and just fill the fire up a couple of times a day. It's more expensive I'd imagine but a lot less hassle. Make sure any wood you use is properly dried - it takes a couple of years I think to get rid of all the sap - and make sure it's kept dry at yours too.

I leave my vent open all the time because it’s the best way to keep the room/house smoke free (asthmatics in the family). I control how fast I burn through wood by having fewer logs in there at any one time. You can have lots of logs and starve the fire of oxygen so it burns slower and with more smoke, or you can have a few logs and give the fire lots of oxygen so it burns a bit faster and hotter, but produces less smoke. Both ways pretty much result in same number of logs burnt in total over the same time period. My way does require more frequent supervision, the other is a bit more light and forget. So both work, it’s a matter of what you need or prefer.