15
FGi.FPi.FXi
Issue
12 10/17
6.10.
Lighting the stove
We recommend that you have two or three small fires
before you operate your stove to its maximum heat
output. This is to allow the paint to cure in steadily and
to give a long service life of the paint finish. During this
curing in process you may notice an unpleasant smell
whilst the finishes finally cure. It is non-toxic, but for
your comfort we would suggest that during this period
you leave all doors and windows open.
First, open the secondary air wash slider control fully. Load the
firebox with some fully dry small or split logs in a crossed
pattern. Make sure the grate is well covered and no big gaps
are present.
Next add plenty of starting fuel, i.e. paper, dry kindling sticks
and a firelighter ON TOP of the 4 logs. A crib lattice pattern
tends to work well. If using Maxibrite, place a layer of
Maxibrite into the firebox on the base as well and omit the
large logs but use plenty of kindling with briquettes all around
so that the charcoal from the wood ignites the Maxibrite well.
Light the firelighter(s), leaving the air controls fully open the
door slightly ajar for 5-10 minutes to enhance initial starting
and reduce smoke emission – DO NOT leave the stove
unattended if you find it necessary to leave the door ajar.
The kindling will burn and set light to the logs by radiation and
breaking down to charcoal gradually and with fewer emissions
than the traditional logs on top methods.
Allow the fuel to reach a steady burn and usually the initial fuel can be left to burn down to
nearly charcoal without much further attention. Next build the fire up carefully by adding a
couple of small split logs or a relatively small
amount of Maxibrite briquettes at a time. Do
not overload the fire bed with more than two
or three small logs at a time.
Once you have a good fire bed established
across the grate, further fuel can be added step
by step as required. A good indication of a well
established smokeless fuel fire is the
widespread coverage of grey ash on the black
fuel pieces. Don’t be tempted to overload the
fire bed with fuel all at once or close down the
air controls too much until the fire is really well established for some time. Once the ignition
period is well under way, gradually reduce the air controls then fully close the primary air if
burning wood and use the controls to establish the burning intensity you require.
