Vermont Casting 0968, 1910 Conditioning Your Stove, Starting and Maintaining a Wood Fire

In general, the fire must be sufficiently well- established to ensure that catalytic activity is initiated. When first starting a fire, a medium- to high- firing rate must be maintained until the stove, catalyst, and fuel are all stabilized at the proper operating temperatures, and the chimney is warmed.

Even though it is possible for the fire to get quite hot within a few minutes after a fire is started, the combustor may stop working or the fire may go out if the fire dies down immediately as a result of the damper being closed. Once the combustor starts working, heat generated by burning the smoke will keep it working.

To determine whether the combustor is operating, observe the amount of smoke leaving the chimney when the damper is activated and when it is not. This procedure is described on page 28.

Avoid using a full load of very dry wood in the firebox. This may result in continuous very high temperatures in the secondary combustion area and damage the combustor. Wood which has been split, and stored under cover for more than 18 months may be considered very dry. If you must burn extra-dry wood, mix it with greener wood for a longer fire and less stress on the combustor. Also, do not use a full load of dry slab wood or scrap wood. For long burns, use a mix of dry and moderately dry wood.

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 Defiant, minimize thermal stress by letting the plates adjust gradually during three or four initial break-in fires following Steps 1-3 below.

Starting and Maintaining a Wood Fire

Burn only solid wood in the Defiant, and burn it directly on the grate. Do not elevate the fuel. Do not burn coal or other fuels.

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

DO NOT USE CHEMICALS OR FLUIDS TO START THE FIRE. DO NOT BURN GARBAGE OR FLAMMABLE FLUIDS SUCH AS GASOLINE, NAPH- THA, OR ENGINE OIL.

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

Vermont Castings Defiant

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. 27)

Also, never use gasoline-type lantern fuel, kero- sene, charcoal lighter fluid, or similar liquids to start or “freshen up” a fire. Keep all such liquids well away from the Defiant while it is in use.

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Fig. 27	Start the fire with newspaper and dry kindling.

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.

During the break-in fires, do not let the stove get hotter than 500°F. (260°C) as measured on an optional stove-top thermometer. Adjust the air control lever as necessary to control the fire.

Some odor from the stove’s hot metal, the paint, and the cement is normal for the first few fires.

NOTE: Some chimneys must be “primed,” or warmed up, before they will draw sufficiently to start a fire. To correct this situation, roll up a couple pieces of newspaper, place them on top of the kindling and toward the back of the stove, light them, and close the doors. This will encourage the smoke to rise rapidly, making it easier to establish a good draft.

Once the draft is established, open the front door and light the rest of the fuel from the bottom. Do not light the main bed of fuel until the chimney begins drawing, and repeat the procedure as often as neces- sary if the initial attempt is unsuccessful.

4.If your Defiant has been broken-in previously using Steps 1-3, continue to build the fire gradually. Add larger wood with a diameter of 3-4"(75-100 mm). Continue adding split logs of this size to the briskly- burning fire until there is a glowing ember bed at least 3" (75 mm) deep. (Fig. 28) A good ember bed is neces- sary for proper functioning of the catalytic system and may take an hour or more to establish.

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