How to light a wood burning stove

Home » Blog » Advice & Information » How to light a wood burning stove

This method below describes the recommended top-down method for lighting a fire or stove, including Ecodesign wood burners. If you want to browse our Ecodesign Ready stoves and fires, head to this link, or speak to your local retailer.

Step-by-step guide to lighting a fire

Firstly, ensure you use dry logs. You can find out more about identifying good firewood that is ready to burn on our website.
Now that you have your logs, place two small logs in your stove. This will form the bottom of the stack you are building.
Place two smaller logs on top.
Next, build a crisscross stack of kindling, and place a firelighter in the centre as you build upwards.
Once you have built a stack of kindling, place another firelighter on top.
Light the topmost firelighter and leave the door of your stove ajar.
Make sure all the air controls are fully open, and once the kindling is alight, close the door.
After the logs have caught fire, set the stove to normal running mode. It would be best to refer to your stove’s instructions for advice on using the air controls.
Refuel your stove once the logs have burnt down.
When refuelling, open the air controls fully to quickly ignite the newly added logs.
As soon as they are burning well, set the controls back to normal running mode.

For further help, watch the useful video below to guide you through each step.