How to Make a Wood Stove Reburn Smoke

Inspect the wood stove for a catalytic combustor. Many newer wood stoves have this mechanism built into the unit. The catalytic combustor circulates and channels smoke back into the wood-burning chamber before it escapes through the flue. If the wood stove does not have one, contact a local wood-stove supplier about adding an exterior one to your unit.

Insert ceramic boards into the wood-burning stove's chambers, linking the bottom and sides with the boards to absorb and emit heat as the unit gets hot. The heat absorbed by the ceramic boards increases and maintains the high temperature of the wood stove's chamber.

Stack kindling wood pieces into the wood stove and light them to start the fire. Use a modest amount of pieces to get a quick flame.

Add firewood pieces to the wood stove's chamber to feed the fire. As the unit continues to rise in temperature, keep the door slightly ajar and the damper open for air circulation. Once the fire becomes hot and steady, close the door. Maintain the fire while the wood coals remain hot and red. New pieces of wood readily ignite when placed on top of the red coals.

Direct the smoke to reburn in the wood stove. For some models, this process is automatic, and for others, this requires controlling the damper at strategic moments to periodically contact some of the smoke. The catalytic combustor captures and channels the gaseous smoke back to the hot chamber, where it burns again.

The manual operation of the damper to direct the reburning of the smoke requires precise timing and expertise to assess when the right time is to close the damper slightly and when to open it. This technique is only recommended for those trained in the technique and in fire and carbon monoxide safety. Otherwise, simply burn the wood.