Question

Is the damper on the wood stove supposed to be closed at night?

I'm new to using a wood burning stove. I just moved into a house that has a wood stove and have only lit the stove today.

I'm wondering should I close off the damper on the wood stove when I go to bed tonight or should leave the damper wide open?

Answer 1

If you want to have your logs burning slower at night while you're asleep then yes you should have the damper closed halfway before going to bed.

The damper will cause the logs to slow down burning and the log or logs will burn longer and give out heat for longer during the night.

Then in the morning you should have a bed of coals that you can just throw some kindling or some other wood on and it should light by itself after you open the damper and keep the wood stove door open a crack to let air in.