Vermont Casting 1920 Starting and Maintaining a Fire, Conditioning Your Stove

Aspen Woodburning Stove

In newer homes that are well-insulated and weather- tight, poor draft may result from insufficient air in the house. In such cases, a slightly opened window or door, near the stove on the windward side of the house will provide the fresh air needed.

A more effective option for delivering ample combustion air to the stove is to duct air directly from outdoors to the stove. In fact, in some areas, provisions for outside combustion air are required in all new construction. The optional Aspen Outside Air Adapter #1897 is available from your dealer.

When you first begin using the stove, pay attention to 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.

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. (Fig. 28)

Aspen Control Settings

Burn Rate	Primary Air Control
High	From 12:00
	Medium From 1:00
Low	From 2:00

Before you start using the stove, please read the Ap- pendix on Draft Management starting on page 24 to learn how the characteristics 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.

Starting and Maintaining a Fire

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 Aspen, minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust gradually during three or four initial break-in fires follow- ing Steps 1-3.

BURN SOLID WOOD FUEL ONLY, AND BURN IT DIRECTLY ON THE GRATE. DO NOT ELEVATE THE FUEL. DO NOT BURN COAL OR OTHER FUELS.

WARNING: OPERATE THIS STOVE ONLY WITH THE DOOR FULLY CLOSED.

High

Medium

Low

ST262a

Fig. 28 Air inlet shutter settings; Low - Medium - High.

The Primary Air Inlet must be fully open when start- ing a fire or when refueling.

Step 1. Open the primary air control fully.

Step 2. Place several sheets of crumpled newspaper in the stove. Avoid using glossy or colored paper, as these burn poorly. At the front of the firebox, 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” (25-51 mm) in diameter.

Step 3. Light the newspaper and close the door. Gradually 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, don’t let the stove get hotter than 500°F. (260°C) as measured on an op- tional 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 need to be “primed,” or warmed up, before they will draw sufficiently to sus- tain 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 door. This should heat the chimney enough to initiate strong draft.

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