Maximizing Your Stove’s Overall Efficiency
It is important to know that for high, combustion efficient, clean burns, you will need to have sufficient temperatures inside the firebox for thorough combustion. The best method for determining if you have sufficient temperatures is to watch the brick lining in your firebox. When you first light your stove, the bricks will turn a dark brown or black. After 20 to 30 minutes of a hot fire, most of the bricks should return to near their original light brown or yellow color. This means the bricks have reached a high enough temperature for your stove to achieve high combustion efficiency.
Second, and just as important, is achieving a high level of heat transfer efficiency. Slowing the rate of flow through the stove or insert enhances heat transfer, thus allowing more time for heat to be transferred into your home. To do this, be sure to thoroughly preheat your stove and then reduce the amount of primary air by closing the draft con- trol (lower left) to about 1/2 to 3/4 open. This will decrease the excess oxygen in your flue, which carries heat up your chimney, but should still be enough air to allow the stove to produce its maximum heat output. (More air may produce a lightly greater amount of heat, but will greatly increase wood consumption). When the area being heated reaches a comfortable temperature, slow the burn rate by closing the control to further improve heat transfer.
To get the most out of your stove, you will need to combine good combustion efficiency with good heat transfer practices. The following are some tips on how to operate your stove to achieve the highest overall efficiency.
1.Thoroughly preheat your stove before slowing the burn rate by closing the draft control.
2.Measure the stove temperature at the hottest point on the stove top or face. Use this information to repeat burn rates.
3.Once preheated, add wood (if needed) and partially close the draft control (lower left).
4.Operate your stove as much as possible in the low to medium burn ranges.
5.Do not lower the draft setting so low as to completely extinguish the flames in the firebox. Check for at least some small flames 20 minutes after setting the draft control.
6.Do not continually operate your stove in the high (wide open) setting. This wastes wood by carrying a great deal of heat up the chimney and can damage your stove and chimney.
7.Go outside and check your chimney. More than a very small amount of smoke indicates wasted heat, creosote build up, and pollution.
Achieving Clean, Long Burns
To achieve long burn times, after having thoroughly pre- heated the stove, let the stovetop cool down to 275 to 400 degrees (on Elites, locate thermometer on the face of the insert just above the door). Now load the firebox and set the draft control. At this point, you may need to burn the stove with the draft open for a few minutes to ignite the wood. All Country™ Collection stoves are EPA tested for emissions at low burn with the air control completely closed. Whether or not you should burn your stove with the air control completely closed will depend on the following factors:
*How you load your wood.
*Your chimney type, height, and draft.
*Your wood type and its moisture content.
*The temperature of the stove.
*Which model Country Collection stove or insert you have.
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NOTE: DIAGRAMS & ILLUSTRATIONS ARE NOT TO SCALE.