NOVEMBER 2012
page 7
www.jayline.co.nz
SOME OTHER uSEFul TIpS
Fuel load geometry:
Small pieces of firewood arranged loosely in
a crisscross pattern (loaded front to back) burn quickly because the
combustion air can reach all the pieces at once. Larger pieces placed
a little more compactly burn slower. Once your heater has reached
maximum temperature, it is more efficient to top up frequently with
about 25% of a full load rather than let the fire die down and need to
completely refill it.
A STACKED FUEL LOAD
(AS vIEWED FROM DOOR)
Fire in cycles:
Don’t expect perfectly steady heat output from your Jayline heater. Solid fuel heaters
burn in cycles. A cycle is the time between the ignition of a load from charcoal and the consumption of
the load back to a coal bed. Plan the firing cycles around your household routine. If someone is home
to operate the heater, build a small hot fire. If you must be away from the house during the day, build a
long-burning fire.
The small, hot fire:
A small, hot fire is a small amount of wood burned quickly. Use it when you just want
to take the chill off the house. The small hot fire technique eliminates the smouldering fires that are
common when people don’t need their heater running hot all the time, like in spring and autumn. To
build a small hot fire, rake the embers evenly in the firebox and place several small pieces of firewood on
it. The bottom layer should be placed to ensure that combustion air can flow over the embers and along
the length of the pieces of wood (loaded front to back). The next layer should be stacked as per the
loading geometry. Open the air inlet to produce a hot, bright fire. After approximately 15–20 minutes
the air supply can be reduced slightly as the fire progresses, but never enough to extinguish the flames.
When only charcoal remains, the air supply can be reduced further to prevent cooling the ember bed.
Reload with small pieces often (loaded front to back), as full loads will smother the ember bed.
The long-burning fire:
To achieve a long burning fire, rake the embers evenly, as with the small hot fire,
and use larger and more pieces of wood. Place the pieces in a similar pattern to the small hot fire, using
more pieces and larger pieces (especially the top layer). Always make certain that there is a gap between
the pieces to ensure that the combustion air can reach all pieces. Open the air inlets fully for between
15 to 30 minutes depending on load size and fuel moisture content. When the fire is burning fiercely (at
least 15 minutes), reduce the air control in stages to the desired level. This allows you to turn down the
air control and still maintain a clean-burning fire.
REMEMBER:
NEVER LET THE FIRE SMOULDER.
