It takes much more than lighting a fire to ensure that your wood heater operates efficiently. Numerous components, including versatile accessories, the quality of your wood and the skills you possess, combine to enhance your fireplace’s performance.
Understanding the various extras that can improve your wood fire’s efficiency can only be beneficial as it helps you maximise your heater’s output. So, here are the best wood fire accessories to help maintain and operate your wood fire.
Wood Fire Accessories
Wood Heater Hearth
A hearth is a non-combustible material you install under a heater to protect the floor from sustaining any fire damage. The hearth must extend beyond the heater to cover the immediately surrounding flooring. This extension ensures that flying sparks land on the hearth- rather than the carpet or floor. Moreover, hearths protect the floor from charred firewood stains and scratches.
A quality hearth also serves an aesthetic purpose. It enhances your room’s appearance by acting as a blending point between your heater and the room’s décor. Beyond indoor heaters, you must also fit your outdoor pizza oven with a hearth to keep the fire away from your lawn.
Wood Oven Heat Shield
Wood oven heat shields are heat-resistant panels that you install behind wood-burning ovens. Their principal function is to protect the wall from the intense heat that wood stoves occasionally generate.
Like hearths, heat shields serve dual functional and aesthetic purposes. Some manufacturers offer heat shields that match your hearth and wood-burning heaters. These options help you to maintain a creative flow in your décor. Moreover, quality heat shields can allow you to take advantage of reduced recommended wall clearances where, instead of 200mm, you can place your heater 40mm away from the wall instead. Consequently, you gain more floor space without compromising safety or losing heat efficiency.
Glass Oven Doors
Installing glass doors on wood-fired heaters serves more than to enhance the oven’s appearance. They allow you to enjoy the visual beauty and auditory marvel of crackling flames while eliminating the risk of flints and flying sparks landing on your floor or carpet. Additionally, glass oven doors block any avenue of smoke escaping from the heater into the room, directing the emissions up the chimney instead.
Wood Fire Pokers
Fire pokers are wood fire accessories that enable you to maintain the fire from a safe distance. They are typically made of a long piece of fireproof metal that has insulated handles to protect your hands from heat. The fire poker’s purpose is to allow you to move any unburnt wood into the flames. As a result, you can keep the fire burning longer. Conversely, if the fire is getting too hot, you can use the poker to spread the firewood, thus preventing the fuel from getting used up too quickly.
Using the appropriate wood heater accessories helps you avoid the risks inherent in operating wood-burning heaters. In addition, these add-ons enhance your safety while increasing your fuel savings. Therefore, your choice of accessories can improve your heater’s functionality and boost its aesthetic value in your home.