Vermont Casting 1695 How To Build a Wood Fire and Keep It Going, Conditioning Your Stove, 2000970

Vermont Castings Intrepid Multi-Fuel

When you’re not using the door handle, store it in the holder behind the right front leg of the stove.

Open

Position

Closed

Position

ST522a

Fig. 35 To open the front doors, turn handle clockwise.

Use the Air Control Settings that Work Best for You

No single air control setting will fit every situation. Set- tings will differ depending on the quality of the fuel, the amount of heat desired, and how long you wish the fire to burn.

The control setting also depends on your particular installation’s “draft,” or the force that moves air from the stove up through the chimney. Draft is affected by such things as the length, type, and location of the chimney, local geography, nearby obstructions, and other factors.

When first using the stove, keep track of the air control settings. You will quickly find that a specific setting will give you a fixed amount of heat. It may take some time to determine the amount of heat and the length of burn you should expect from various settings and fuels.

Most installations do not require a large amount of com- bustion air, especially if adequate draft is available.

Do not for any reason attempt to increase the firing of your heater by altering the air control adjustment range outlined in these directions.

Use the following air control settings as a starting point to help determine the best settings for your installation. Each is described as a fraction of the total distance the lever may be moved from right to left.

Intrepid Multi-Fuel Control Settings

Burn Rate	Primary Air Control
Low	From far right to 1/3 the distance to left
Medium	From 1/3 to 2/3 the distance to left
High	From 2/3 the distance to left to far left

Before you start using the stove, please read the Draft Management section starting on page 22 to see how the features of your installation will affect the stove’s performance. You and the stove are parts of a system, and other parts of the system have a strong effect on operation; you may need to vary your firing technique to get the performance you want.

How To Build a Wood Fire and

Keep It Going

Conditioning Your Stove

Cast iron is extremely strong, but it can be broken with a sharp blow from a hammer or from the thermal shock of rapid and extreme temperature change.

The cast plates expand and contract with changes in temperature. When you first begin using your Intrepid Multi-fuel, minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust gradually during three or four initial break-in fires following Steps 1-3 below.

Burn only high quality wood or smokeless solid fuels in the Intrepid Multi-Fuel, and burn it directly on the grate. Do not elevate the fuel.

The damper must be open when starting a fire or when refueling.

1.Open the stove damper, and open the primary air control fully.

2.Place several sheets of crumpled newspaper in the stove. Do NOT use glossy advertisements or colored paper, as they can poison the catalyst. Place on the paper six or eight pieces of dry kindling split to a finger-width size, and on the kindling lay two or three larger sticks of split dry wood approximately 1-2” (25-50 mm) in diameter. (Fig. 36)

Do not use chemicals or fluids to start the fire. Do not burn garbage or flammable fluids such as gasoline, naphtha, or engine oil. Also, never use gasoline-type lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, or similar liquids to start or “freshen up” a fire. Keep all such liquids well away from the Intrepid Multi-Fuel while it is in use.

3.Light the newspaper and close the door. Gradu- ally build up the fire by adding a few 3-5” (80-120 mm) diameter splits. If this is one of the first few “break-in” fires, let the fire burn brightly, and then let it die out.

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