A fire must be tended
I am learning to heat the house by burning wood in the cast iron stove. Each stove, I expect, has a unique profile dependent on: the design, the particular manufacturing conditions, the length and path of the chimney, the installation, the location. You do not turn on a stove like a switch on a lamp, or a thermostat. You do not light a fire in a stove and walk away. There is a process to building a fire, slowly, iteratively. Of choosing the kindling, of feeding the right sized logs, of gauging the amount of oxygen needed, of preparing the bed of coals. Of knowing the variability of the flames, and responding in kind with micro-adjustments of position, airflow, fuel. It takes time and attention. Practice, in fact. A fire must be tended.