Damper Function Burn Only High-Quality Fuel

Dutchwest

Damper Function

Burn Only High-Quality Fuel

The Damper is operated by moving the handle on the upper left side of the stove. (Fig. 24) It has two positions: OPEN, to start the ﬁre and load fuel, and CLOSED, for greatest efﬁciency and heat. When the damper is closed, exhaust gases pass through an insu- lated catalytic burner before ﬂowing into the chimney.

Use the door insert handle to rotate the damper handle. Turn it counterclockwise to open the damper and clock- wise to close it. You will feel resistance as the damper mechanism engages into the open (counterclockwise) position.

The stove damper must be open when you start a ﬁre, load fuel, or before you open either door for any reason.

Load Doors

A Side Loading Door allows the easiest loading of wood logs. The Front Door opens for adding an occa- sional log to the ﬁre. Always be sure to open the stove damper before opening either door.

Successful Wood Burning

Woodburning is often said to be more of an art than a science. You’ll easily master the art if you start by using good, dry fuel and by understanding how the stove’s air supply system operates.

Your heater is designed to burn natural wood only. Do not burn other fuels. Never burn pressure-treated wood, painted or stained wood, or glossy newsprint.

High efﬁciencies and low emissions are possible when burning air-dried, seasoned woods as compared to soft- woods or freshly cut hardwoods. Avoid burning “green” wood that has not been properly seasoned.

The best hardwood fuels include oak, maple, beech, ash, and hickory that has been split, stacked, and air-dried outside under cover for at least one year. If hardwood is not available, tamarack, yellow pine, white pine, Eastern red cedar, ﬁr, and redwood are softwoods that are commonly burned. They too should be prop- erly dried. The length of the wood should be the same as that speciﬁed for your particular stove. Avoid using wood that has been dried more than two years. Often gray in color, this wood burns very quickly, resulting in short burn time and diminished stove performance. If you must burn it, mix it in with greener wood to slow the burn.

Store your ﬁrewood under cover to keep it dry. Even for short-term storage, keep wood a safe distance from the heater and keep it clear of the areas around the heater used for refueling and ash removal.

Open

Door Insert Handle

Closed

ST435

ST436

Fig. 24 Damper operating positions.

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