Imagine that you have just bought a fireplace or a wood stove and, after having made an investment in it, you find that the fireplace does not heat as much as you thought it would. What can happen?
In this post we are going to inform you of the possible causes and solutions to this problem. It is essential, before taking any hasty decision, to analyze the situation well, because perhaps it is all simpler than you thought.
Heat output
One of the first characteristics that we usually look at in the technical data sheet of the stove or fireplace, is its heating volume and compare it with the room we want to heat. This is fine, but we should not stop at this step. We must take into account more aspects: How is our climatic zone in which we live? How are the winters in our area?
It is also essential to know how is the insulation system of our home and how the house is oriented.
Let’s imagine two houses in two different locations. One of them, winters do not usually fall below 0ºC. In the other, winters can reach -10ºC. Do we need the same stove with the same heating capacity? Logically no. Each house needs a heating power according to its area and its dwelling.
Before purchasing your stove, consider all these characteristics and, if you have any doubts, always contact a professional who can guide you before the purchase.
If we have already purchased the stove and we see that it does not heat enough, we can choose to change the appliance or improve the insulation of the house.
The firewood
Let’s imagine that we have passed the first section and we have purchased the best fireplace for our type of housing, the insulation is adequate and the heat output is correct for our home. However, the wood stove does not heat.
Many of the times this happens is because we are not using the right firewood for our appliance. We recommend you to read the post “What is the best firewood for the fireplace?“.
It is important to know the types of firewood. We should not use resinous firewood and with a humidity higher than 20%.
Fireplace draft
The chimney draft can be another of the causes that do not allow our fireplace to perform at its best. The installation of the chimney flue is a very important part.
Sometimes, because of the type of house we have, the professional has had to install a large amount of meter of pipe. This causes the heat to escape through the pipe. Assuming that the installation is correct, the solution, in this case, is to place a pipe cutter.
Note: We must contact professionals before installing any element in our appliance.
Loading the combustion chamber
The combustion chamber is the place where we place the firewood and that, later, will be burned. These chambers have different dimensions depending on the model of appliance that we acquire.
We must know the amount of firewood that we must put in the combustion chamber. When we do not put the correct amount or, if we are short of firewood, the heat will not be enough and the joints or the pipes of the appliance will deteriorate.
Normally we must load ¾ parts of the chamber and we must know how to make the ignition in the correct way. You can visit our post “Ignition and operation of a wood stove” to help you in this aspect.
Location of the appliance
When we acquire this type of product, it is essential to know the correct place to install it. To do this, we must know the air currents of the house.
If, for example, we install a fireplace near a staircase or an open room near the appliance, perhaps the air flow will carry the heat to other areas of the house that we do not want.
A solution to know the path that the heat will travel in the room where you place the appliance is to light a stick of incense and see where the smoke is going.
These are some of the possible causes to the question why my fireplace or wood stove does not heat? If none of them fit your case, always contact a professional or the technical support of the website or store where you purchased the stove so they can guide you better.
Have you found this article useful? Take a look at our blog and find solutions and recommendations to help you with your fireplace or wood stove.
If you still haven’t got your fireplace or wood stove for this winter… what are you waiting for? Visit our online store of Panadero wood stoves.
Articles of interest:
- What to put behind a wood-burning stove?
- What is chimney soot? Is it dangerous?
- How to make a chimney flue
- How to clean the chimney glass?
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