Wood Selection and Storage

Burn only dry seasoned wood! Dry and well-sea- soned wood will not only minimize the chance of creo- sote formation, but will give you the most efficient heat output. Even dry wood contains at least 15% mois- ture by weight and should be burned hot enough to keep the chimney hot for as long as it takes to main- tain particulate (smoke) burning. It is a waste of en- ergy to burn unseasoned wood of any variety.

Dead wood lying on the forest floor should be consid- ered wet, and requires full seasoning time. Standing dead wood can be considered to be about two-thirds seasoned. To tell if wood is dry enough to burn, check the ends of the logs. If there are cracks radiating in all directions from the center, it is dry. If your wood sizzles in the fire, even though the surface is dry, it may not be fully cured. Splitting wood before it is stored re- duces drying time. Wood should be stacked so that both ends of each piece are exposed to air, since more

BUILDING A FIRE

drying occurs through the cut ends than the sides. This is true even with wood that has been split. Store wood under cover, such as in a shed, or covered with a tarp, plastic, tar paper, sheets of scrap plywood, etc., as uncovered wood can absorb water from rain or snow, delaying the seasoning process.

OVERFIRING

Do not overfire. Using flammable liquids or too much wood, or burning trash in the stove may result in overfiring. If the chimney connector or stove glows red, or worse white, the stove is overfired. This con- dition may ignite creosote in the chimney, possibly causing a house fire. If any part of the insert starts to glow, you are in an overfire situation. If you overfire, immediately close the stove dampers and door, if open, to reduce the air supply to the fire. OVERFIRING

YOUR STOVE VOIDS THE WARRANTY.

NOTE: Remove all labels from glass front prior to lighting the first fire.

Before lighting your first fire in the stove, make cer- tain that the baffle is correctly positioned. It should be resting on the rear baffle support so that the hole in the baffle lines up with the baffle locating pin (see baffle installation instructions). You will be able to vi- sually check this alignment.

There are many ways to build a fire. The basic prin- ciple is to light easily-ignitable tinder or paper, which ignites the fast burning kindling, which in turn ignites the slow-burning firewood. Here is one method that works well:

1.Place several wads of crushed paper on the fire- box floor.

2.Lay small dry sticks of kindling on top of the paper.

3.Open primary and secondary controls fully.

4.Make sure that no matches or other combus- tibles are in the immediate area of the stove. Be sure the room is adequately ventilated and the flue unobstructed.

5.Light the paper in the stove. NEVER light or re- kindle stove with kerosene, gasoline, or charcoal lighter fluid; the results can be fatal.

6.Once the kindling is burning quickly, add several full-length logs 3” (76mm) or 4” (102mm) in di- ameter. Be careful not to smother the fire. Stack the pieces of wood carefully: near enough to keep each other hot, but far enough away from each other to allow adequate air flow between them.

7.When ready to reload the stove, add more logs. Large logs burn slowly, holding a fire longer. Small logs burn fast and hot, giving quick heat.

8.Adjust the primary and secondary air controls; the more you close down the controls, the lower and slower the fire will burn. The more open the controls, the more heat will be produced.

As long as there are hot coals, repeating steps 7 and 8 will maintain a continuous fire throughout the season.

NOTE:The special high temperature paint that your stove is finished with will cure as your stove heats. You will notice an odor and perhaps see some vapor rise from the stove surface; this is normal. We rec- ommend that you open a window until the odor dissi- pates and paint is cured.

NOTE: On a cold start-up, you may see a small amount of smoke coming from the underside of stove until chimney draft is established. This is normal, and will stop when the loading door is closed.