Use and Care Guide

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It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY WOOD only in your wood stove. The wood should have dried for
9 to 15 months, such that the humidity content (in weight) is reduced below 20% of the weight of the log. It is
very important to keep in mind that even if the wood has been cut for one, two or even more years, it is not
necessarily dry, if it has been stored in poor conditions. Under extreme conditions it may rot instead of drying.
This point cannot be over stressed; the vast majority of the problems related to the operation of a wood stove is
caused by the fact that the wood used was too damp or had dried in poor conditions. These problems can be:
- ignition problems
- creosote build-up causing chimney res
- low energy yield
- blackened windows
- incomplete log combustion
Smaller pieces of wood will dry faster. All logs exceeding 6” in diameter should be split. The wood should not
be stored directly on the ground. Air should circulate through the cord. A 24” to 48” air space should be left
between each row of logs, which should be placed in the sunniest location possible. The upper layer of wood
should be protected from the elements but not the sides.
OPERATIONAL TIPS
• Get the appliance hot and establish a good coal bed before adjusting to a low burn rate (this may take
30 minutes or more depending on your wood)
• Use smaller pieces of wood during start-up and a high burn rate to increase the stove temperature
• Be considerate of the environment and only burn dry wood
• Burn small, intense res instead of large, slow burning res when possible
• Learn your appliance’s operating characteristics to obtain optimum performance
Burning unseasoned wet wood only hurts your stoves efciency and leads to accelerated creosote buildup in
your chimney
TESTING YOUR WOOD
When the stove is thoroughly warmed, place one piece of split wood (about ve inches in diameter) parallel
to the door on the bed of red embers.
Keep the air control full open by pulling on it and close the door. If ignition of the piece is accomplished within
90 seconds from the time if was placed in the stove, your wood is correctly dried. If ignition takes longer, your
wood is damp.
If your wood hisses and water or vapor escapes at the ends of the piece, your wood is soaked or freshly cut.
Do not use this wood in your stove. Large amounts of creosote could be deposited in your chimney, creating
potential conditions for a chimney re.
TAMPER WARNINGS
This wood heater has a manufacturer-set minimum low burn rate that must not be altered. It is against federal
regulations to alter this setting or otherwise operate this wood heater in a manner inconsistent with operating
instructions in this manual.
THE FIRST FIRES
The fresh paint on your stove needs to be cured to preserve its quality. Once the fuel charge is properly
ignited, only burn small res in your stove for the rst four hours of operation. Never open the air control more
than necessary to achieve a medium burn rate.
Make sure that there’s enough air circulation while curing the stove. The odours could be smelled during the 3
or 4 rst res. Never start your stove outside. You will not be able to see if you are over heating.
IGNITION
After making sure that the stove air intake controls are fully open (completely pull-out towards you), The top
down method of re building is recommended for this appliance. After making sure that the stove air intake
controls are fully open (completely pull-out towards you), Place the largest pieces of wood on the bottom, laid
in parallel and close together. Smaller pieces are placed in a second layer, crossways to the rst. A third layer
of still smaller pieces is laid crossways to the second, this time with some spaces between. Then a fourth layer of
loose, small kindling and twisted newspaper sheets tops off the pile.
Before igniting the paper and kindling wood, it is recommended that you warm up the chimney. This is done
in order to avoid back draft problems often due to negative pressure in the house. If such is the case, open a
window slightly near the stove and twist together a few sheets of newspaper into a torch. Light up this paper
torch and hold it as close as possible to the mouth of the pipe inside the combustion chamber to warm up the
chimney. Once the updraft movement is initiated, you are ready to ignite the stove by lighting the paper and
kindling wood inside the combustion chamber.