Burn Bright, Good Wood this winter

Make the most of your valuable woodpile and operate your woodburner efficiently by following some simple tips.

1. Get dry wood in early and store it well. Split your wood – smaller pieces dry faster. Stack firewood loosely enough so that air can circulate around it. Firewood needs to have less than 25% moisture content to burn efficiently.
2. Have your flue cleaned by a professional chimney sweep before winter. Tip: book your flue cleaning AND check your house insurance policy at the same time – your policy may have a recommended flue cleaning frequency.
3. When lighting your woodburner use plenty of newspaper and kindling to get the fire going; don’t overfill the firebox with logs – add less wood more frequently and keep a good blaze going.
4. Pop outside to check for smoke after the fire’s been going for 15 minutes – if it’s still smoking you are wasting valuable fuel. The aim is to burn smoke free. For more handy tips and info go to nelson.govt.nz/burn-bright.