How to Start a Wood Stove and Keep It Burning All Night

Wood stoves are the most efficient way to heat with wood, but they are picky about how they are started. Here is the method stove manufacturers recommend, with a fire starter that burns long enough to do the work for you.

Cold start, step by step

  1. Open everything. Primary air control fully open, bypass damper open if your stove has one, and the stovepipe damper open.
  2. Check the draft. Hold a lit match inside the firebox near the flue outlet. If the flame pulls toward the pipe, you are ready. If it pushes back, warm the flue with a rolled sheet of newspaper held near the outlet for 30 seconds.
  3. Stack top-down. Two or three medium splits on the bottom with gaps between them, a layer of kindling across the top, and a One Strike fire starter on top of the kindling.
  4. Light the starter and leave the door cracked about half an inch for the first 5 to 10 minutes. This feeds the fire extra air while the stove is cold.
  5. Close the door once the kindling is fully burning and flames are steady.
  6. Dial the air down gradually over the next 20 to 30 minutes. Closing it too early smothers the fire and coats the glass and chimney with creosote.

Because One Strike burns 30+ minutes, you do not need to babysit the stove through the kindling stage. Light it, crack the door, and come back in ten minutes.

Loading for an overnight burn

  1. Rake the coals toward the front of the firebox (toward the air inlet).
  2. Load large, dense hardwood splits tightly behind and on top of the coals. Pack them close together so they burn slowly.
  3. Run the air wide open for 10 to 15 minutes until the new wood is charred and burning on the outside.
  4. Close the air down to your low setting. A full load of oak or hickory will leave you coals in the morning.

Morning relight

If there are still coals, rake them forward, add kindling and a split, open the air, and it will catch. If the stove is cold, drop in one One Strike starter under fresh kindling and start over. No paper needed.

Keep it safe and efficient

  • Burn only dry, seasoned wood (under 20% moisture). A $15 moisture meter pays for itself fast.
  • Never burn treated lumber, painted wood, trash, or cardboard with ink.
  • Inspect the chimney at least once a year and clean it when creosote builds up more than an eighth of an inch.
  • Install a carbon monoxide detector in the room with the stove and in sleeping areas.

Fire safety basics

  • Never use lighter fluid, gasoline or any accelerant with a fire starter. You do not need it.
  • Keep a bucket of water, a hose or a Class A extinguisher within reach.
  • Never leave a fire unattended, and never let children light a fire starter.
  • Check local burn bans and campground rules before lighting anything outdoors.
  • Burn only in a well-ventilated space. Indoor fireplaces and wood stoves need an open damper and a clean chimney.
  • Let ashes cool completely (24 hours is a good rule) before disposing of them in a metal container.

Shop the Box of 5 ($10) or try a single starter ($2). Family-owned and made in Edinburg, Texas. More guides on our How to Start a Fire page.

California Proposition 65 Warning

⚠ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including wood dust and soot, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, and carbon monoxide, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

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