We have had a woodstove for 16 years and use it often to save electricity. We cut trees in our garden in the early spring, cut into blocks and cleave it and stable it outside under a roof to dry. In autumn when we start firing the stove it is dry enough.
Fill the basket with wood in the evening. Then you set the basket to dry beside the warm stove. The next day you'll have dry wood to start with. Which is a lot better than wood from outside that starts collecting condens inside your house.
We clean the chimney once a year. The community sends a professional to do it. But he only cleans the verticle pipe. Our stove also has a horizontal pipe which we need to clean ourselves from inside. When we bought the house it was almost closed with residue on the inside. Remember to clean out the lowest part of the vertical pipe after it has been cleaned.
Since a few years we have a stove blower, or whatever you call it in English. I mean an old fashioned thing with a two wooden parts that split. The sides are made of leather and there is an exit valve on the other end. You move the parts from each other and back together again to blow air out of the exit. This device is perfect for blowing new life into an almost died fire. Much better than blowing air with your mouth.
I mean this:
https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlaasbalgDon't wear you nice sweater with white sleeves when doing anything inside the oven, like cleaning out ashes or putting in new wood. Your arms will garanteed get black spots that cannot be washed out of wool.
A wood basket can here in Norway be bought for low price on a flee market. There are also nice filten ones for sale, that I perfer in use. Buy a big one, so you don't need to refill twice a day.
You need a tool to scrape the ashes foreward and a spade to get it out. The other standard tool to pick up chunks of wood we seldom use, less than once a year. You also need a metal bucket with lock.
Also have thin pieces of wood ready to start the fire. And buy small chunks of firelighter. Most types work.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FirelighterWhen starting the fire, open all the vavles in the ovn and leave the door on a narrow gap. Start with some medium big blocks and put the firelighter in between, high enough so that the flames touch the wood above it. Stable above with the narrow pieces of wood. Then some bigger blocks above that. When it burns well, big yellow flames, close the ovn door, but leave valves open. Close the first valve some time later when the oven burns well. Don't close the smallest valves. When it burns too hard, you can close the remaining valves halfway.
Have a look at the Ecofan, which is a brilliant device that spreads the warmth well and it is without a power cord. Useful if you stove is not close to where you sit.
http://www.caframolifestylesolutions.com/products/ecofan/
