19
Dutchwest Seneca
2006063
How to Build a Wood Fire
and Keep it Going
A Seneca leaves the factory with the catalytic
combustor installed.
In the United States it is against the law to operate this
wood heater in a manner inconsistent with the operat-
ing instructions in this manual, or if the catalytic com-
bustor is deactivated or removed.
High-Efficiency Wood Burning
with Catalytic Combustion
Smoke from a wood fire is really escaping energy that
has not been burned to produce the heat. Combustion
temperatures of 1100
°
F (595
°
C) are required to burn
the smoke, and a level this high seldom is present in a
fire set to burn several hours. As a result, long fires in
conventional stoves lose a great deal of potential heat
up the chimney as smoke.
A catalytic combustor captures this heat by lowering the
temperature at which smoke will burn. This makes high
efficiency possible even with long, low level fires.
ST743
Fig. 24 High-efficiency performance when burning wood is a
result of catalytic combustor that is coated with precious
metals to cause smoke to burn at temperatures lower than
normal.
Catalytic combustion is activated with two adjustments:
by closing the stove damper, thereby exposing the
smoke to the combustor, and by opening the combustor
air control. The combustor needs extra air during
medium and high burns, and the Seneca’s combustor
air control must be fully open to supply it. During low
burns, the combustor air control should be open only a
3/4 turn.
Closing the stove damper also reduces the draft, so to
avoid putting out the fire or deactivating the combustor,
close the damper only when a fire is well established.
When starting a fire, wait until the fire is well estab-
lished and there is an ember bed of at least two inches
before closing the stove damper.
Never kindle a fire with colored paper or paper that has
colored ink or a glossy surface, and never burn treated
wood, garbage, solvents, or trash. All of these may
poison the catalyst and prevent it from operating
properly. Never burn cardboard or loose paper except
for kindling purposes. This can cause smoke to spill into
the room and effect the combustor operation.
In general, the temperature in the stove and the gases
entering the combustion must be raised to approxi-
mately 800
°
F (430
°
C) to ensure that catalytic activity is
initiated. During the start-up of a cold stove, a medium-
to high-firing rate must be maintained for about twenty
minutes. This ensures that the stove, catalyst and fuel
are all stabilized at the proper operating temperatures.
Even though it is possible to have gas temperatures
reach several hundred degrees within two to three
minutes after a fire is started, the combustor may stop
working or the fire may go out if the fire is allowed to die
down immediately. Once the combustor starts working,
heat generated by burning the smoke will keep it
working.
The best operating range for the combustor is a reading
of 1000-1400
°
F (540-760
°
C) on a probe thermometer.
Temperatures over 1700
°
F (925
°
C) may damage the
combustor.
To determine whether the combustor is operating,
check the probe thermometer in the top of the stove. If
it reads 800
°
(430
°
C) or higher, it is likely that the
combustor is operating. If temperatures are lower than
this, increase the intensity of the fire either by adding
fuel or by increasing the amount of primary air.
Another way to tell if the combustor is working is to
observe the amount of smoke leaving the chimney
when the damper is activated and when it is not. This
procedure is described on Page 24.
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 changes.
The cast plates expand and contract with changes in
temperature. When you first begin using your Seneca,
minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust
gradually during three or four initial break-in fires
following Steps 1-3 below.
Starting and Maintaining a Wood Fire
Wood may be loaded into the Seneca from either the
front or the side. Loading from the front is useful for
kindling a new fire or adding an occasional log, but we
recommend side loading as the most convenient way of
regularly adding several logs at a time.
Your Seneca may be operated with the front doors
open, for fireplace-style viewing, as well as closed. The
stove damper must be open and the
firescreen must
be in place whenever the door is open for fire viewing.
