Sierra Products, Inc. 5061 Brooks St., Ste. B Montclair, CA 91763
G:\Instructions\EASYFIRE\140289r1 Operating Tips for Pellet Stoves.wpd
02/08
Figure 1 - Cleaning the burnpot
Operating Tips for Pellet Stoves
General Information
Pe llet fue l varies in size and m ate rial quality. T his will
effect your pellet stoves operation in several ways.
Pellet Size
Size of the pellet in both diameter and length will effect
the am ount of fuel your stove will burn. In general terms
a standard pellet is 1/4" in diameter and should range
from ½" to 3/4". The sm aller and shorter a pellet is the
faster it will feed into the stove and the larger and longer
the slowe r. Yo ur Easyfire sto ve is eas ily adjus ted for this
by changing the “trim” setting (Review the installation
instruction and video). Just remem ber that if the fuel
changes from bag to bag an adjustment may be needed.
Pellet Material
The base m ate rial used in m an ufac ture of the pellet is
directly related to how much adjustment and cleaning
your stove will require. W ood is made up of a number of
nature com ponents. After the woo d is burned, the left
over material is ash and silica. If there is a low
percentage of these m aterials in the wood, your Eas yfire
stove will eject this material out of the firepot and into the
ash trap space inside the stove. During operation of the
stove you will see the “fly ash” blown out into the bottom
of the stove. If the pellet has a high percentage of ash
and silica, these things co m bine in the firepot at very
high temperature to form a large mass that cannot be
blown out. This will cause the firepot to fill up and the
sto ve to run poorly.
Operating Tips
The best way to minimize the time spent cleaning and
adjusting your stove is to buy fuel that is low in ash and
ha s a cons iste nt s ize. Th ere are m an y high qua lity fuels
on the market that are in this category. Ask your dealer
what fuel he or she has run in the stove and what works
be st. If you purcha se fue l from anoth er source , ob tain
only a couple of bags and try them out. If they run clean
then con sider purcha sing a large qua ntity from that “lot.”
This type of fuel purchasing strategy also keeps your
costs down. Consider buying fuel early in the heating
season or even before the season starts. Once you
have verified that the fuel burns satisfactorily, a purchase
of one to n w ill generally res ult in the low es t po ss ible
price. This will also allow you to set up the stove and run
most of the season with very little adjustments.
Daily Operation
Pe llet s tove hea ting is gen erally use d to zon e hea t. This
is the most practical application because you heat an
area of the house that you spend the most time, i.e., the
family room or living room. The stove is designed for
continuous operation and is most efficient in the “Low” or
“Medium” settings.
Check the stove during the day for fuel quantity and
general operation. Always look through the glass at the
fire po t an d th e area abo ve the pot. If th e stove is
adjusted properly with good quality fuel, the pot will be
about a third full of “coals” and the surrounding area a
lite tan co lor. Th is color indica tes c lean com bus tion. If
the firepo t is m ore than a th ird full a nd or the are a is
black and soo ting the firepo t sh ou ld be cleane d. T his
can be accomplished by shutting the stove down or by
the following method (check your operating instructions
included with your stove for shut down and cleaning).
Cleaning the burnpot during stove operation
Warning
: If extrem e cau tion is not o bs erved during this
proc edu re, bo dily injury or pro perty dam age will result. If
you have any doubts or concerns shut the stove down
and follow the cleaning instructions in the installation
guide.
Note:
This procedure does not replace the cleaning and
maintains required in the installation and operation
instruction accompanying the stove.
Tools required:
1 - An old table spoon
1 - Glove or hand protection
1) Tu rn sto ve to “lo w” setting a nd a llow the flam e to
burn down.
2)
Open door and carefully with a protected hand
and the spoon remove coals from firepot and
deposit them into the bottom of the stove
(fig 1
).
3)
Rem ove all ash and coals in the fire pot leaving
only a small amount in the center to light the
incoming pellets.
4)
Close and latch the door. Turn the control knob
to the “Clean” setting for 15 seconds to blown
ash from fire po t.
W arning: Do not opera te stove on clean setting for m ore
than 30 sec onds or pe rm anent dam age m ay occur.
5)
Return stove to the preferred operating setting.
This method of cleaning when safely accomplished, or
cle an ing by shu tting the sto ve off com pletely w ill res ult in
cle an operatio n and increas ed utility.
For additional information regarding pellet stove fuels or
operation contact your dealer customer service.
Sierra Products, Inc.
5061 Brooks St., Ste. B, Montclair, CA 91763
Phone 1-909-399-3355 x21
Fax 1-909-399-3357
www.sierraproductsinc.net
