Harman Stove Company TL 300 Building a Fire, Do not use chemicals or fluids to start the fire

Building a Fire

Minimum	Maximum
Primary Air	Primary Air

Air Control

The air control lever is located directly below the ash lip of the stove. Using this lever will enable you to vary the amount of air delivered to the fire, creating a range of heat outputs. The low heat output setting is to the left, and high is to the far right. Do not, under any circumstances, alter the configuration or operation of the air control lever.

For low burn, slide the air control to the leftmost notch. For medium burns, use notches 2 or 3. Maximum heat is attained with the air control all the way to the right. Do not burn the stove con- tinuously at the maximum setting. If maximum heat is required day after day, the stove is too small for the area you are trying to heat and damage will occur to the stove.

If your wood is not seasoned long enough or is high in moisture, you may have to adjust the primary air 1 or 2 notches higher to sustain a low burn rate with the cleanest possible exhaust.

Blower

To regulate the speed of the optional convection blower, adjust the variable speed control from low to high by turning the knob located on the blower. The blower speed should be matched to the air control lever setting. When the air setting is low, the blower should always be at the minimum set- ting. At high settings, above the first notch on the air control, the blower may be set to your desired control level. Be sure the blower cord does not run under, over, or in front of the stove.

Building and Maintaining the Fire

Do not use chemicals or fluids to start the fire.

Never use gasoline, gasoline-type lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, or similar liquids to start or “freshen up” a fire in this heater. Keep all such liquids well away from the heater while it is in use.

Begin with the bypass damper open, and the air control lever at the maximum setting, all the way to the right. Be sure the ash pan door is closed and latched.

Start with a bed of crumpled paper and kindling sized about finger width; place several 1" - 2" (25mm - 50mm) split pieces of dry wood on top of the kindling, followed by a few 2" - 3" (50 mm - 80 mm) split pieces. Lay the wood in a crossed pattern to allow maximum air flow. Ignite the paper and close the loading door(s). Allow this start-up fire to burn for a few minutes, keeping the bypass damper open. Add about five more pieces of wood in the 2 to 3 inch (50 - 80mm) size range, making sure that the fuel bed is all the way across the firebox and staggered to allow airflow. Close the door and allow this loading to burn a few minutes.

Add increasingly larger pieces of wood to the fire until you have a thick bed of hot embers, approximately 2 to 3 inches deep at the back of the grate and at least an inch deep at the front.

You must have this charcoal bed established before you close the bypass damper.

Providing you have the charcoal bed described above, close the bypass damper by pulling the handle toward the front of the stove. This will begin the highly efficient mode of operation where the exhaust gases get re-burned in the secondary combustion package. If you cannot achieve a charcoal bed within the first 15 to 20 minutes, your wood is likely too wet, and you may need to burn the fire longer and/or hotter to compensate for the extra energy needed to drive out the moisture.

If, after five minutes of burning with the damper closed, smoke is visible coming from the chimney, you probably do not have the proper coal bed. Open the bypass damper and continue with the process until a significant coal bed is formed.

17 Harman TL300