Hearth and Home Technologies EXCLAIM-36 Troubleshooting Guide, Start Fire Problems, Solution

4 Troubleshooting Guide

Start Fire Problems	Possible Cause	Solution
Can’t get fire started	Not enough kindling/paper or no	Use dry kindling, more paper. Arrange kindling &
Excessive smoke or spillage	kindling/paper	wood for air movement.
Burns too slowly
	Damper closed/not fully open	Open damper.
Smolders, sizzles
	Not enough air for fire to ignite	Check for restricted cap/shroud.
		Open air kit (if installed).
		Check for flue blockage.
		Pre-warm flue before starting fire (refer to starting
		fire section).
		Check for adequate vent height (refer to chimney
		assembly section).
		Open window below the fireplace towards the
		wind.
	Wood condition is too wet, too	Use dry, seasoned wood (refer to wood fuel
	large	section).
	Bed of coals not established	Start with paper & kindling to establish bed of
	before adding wood	coals (refer to starting fire section).
	Flue blockage such as birds’	Have chimney inspected for creosote and cleaned
	nests or leaves in termination	by a certified chimney sweep.
	cap
	Down draft or negative pressure	Do not use exhaust fans during start-up (refer to
	Competition with exhaust	negative pressure section).
	devices
		Open window below the fireplace towards the
		wind.
Fire burns too fast	Extremely dry or soft wood	Mix in hardwood.
		Mix in less seasoned wood after fire is established
		(refer to wood fuel section).
	No glass doors	Add glass doors to slow down air flow.
	Overdrafting	Check for correct vent height; too much vertical
		height creates overdrafting.
		Check location of vent termination (refer to
		chimney assembly section).

Heat & Glo • EXCLAIM-36, EXCLAIM-42 • 4013-251 Rev C • 11/08 13