Ashley AF700, Owner'S Installation And Operation Manual

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23
OPERATION
NOTICE:
To minimize the risk of smoke spillage when opening the door with a fi re in your
furnace, crack the door open no more than 1” and wait for at least 10 seconds
before opening it more to allow pressure stabilization inside the furnace.
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.
TESTING YOUR WOOD
When the furnace is thoroughly warmed, place one piece of split wood (about fi 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 oven, 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 furnace. Large amounts of creosote could be deposited in your chimney, creating
potential conditions for a chimney fi re.
THE FIRST FIRES
The fresh paint on your furnace needs to be cured to preserve its quality. Once the fuel charge is properly
ignited, only burn small fi res in your furnace for the fi 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 furnace. DO NOT connect your furnace to the
ductwork during this curing process. The odors could be smelled during the 3 or 4 fi rst fi res. Never start your furnace
outside. You will not be able to see if you are over heating.
LIGHTING YOUR WOOD FURNACE
1)
Make sure that your furnace has been installed as per the instructions outlined in this manual and the proper
power is supplied to it.
2)
Open the fuel loading door.
Note: If there already is a bed of hot/glowing coals in the combustion chamber, proceed directly to the Preheating
step.
3)
Place several pieces of small dry kindling in the front of the combustion chamber directly on the fi rebricks.
4)
Lay a few twists of newspaper over the kindling.
5)
Lay more dry kindling (crisscrossing) on top of the previous layers and possibly a few more twists of newspaper
if needed.
6)
Light the lowest newspaper in the stack.
Note: In some draft situation you may be required to leave the door cracked no more than ½” only till a fi re is
established in the stack
No chemical product should be used to light the fi re.
PREHEATING YOUR WOOD FURNACE
1)
Once the kindling is burning well or the glowing coal bed is stirred up, lay 2 or 3 pieces of well-seasoned
cordwood down so that the fl ame from the kindling fi re can circulate around the logs and close the door.
Note: You may need to add more kindling to help ignite the cordwood.
2)
Before loading your furnace fully you will want a well-established fi re in the combustion chamber. This typically
takes 15-20 minutes.