flammable, acidic tars which will cling to, and rapidly damage, your
stove and chimney. Split logs will typically take two years to become
reasonably dry, round logs much longer. Cracks in the ends, a
hollow sound when tapped and bark falling away are all signs that a
log may be ready for use. The fine, white residue produced when
wood burns is not ash, but the remains of cell walls which can burn if
kept hot enough, so don't de-ash a fire until absolutely necessary
when using wood.
For best performance, and always for low smoke emission:
●
Split logs lengthways for drying
●
Use logs no bigger than about 100mm x 250mm
●
Ensure logs are absolutely dry (less than 20% moisture)
●
Fill the Tiger criss-cross, so air can circulate between logs.
●
Fill 'little and often'
●
When first lighting, or reviving a fire from embers, use only
very small, thin, dry, sticks.
●
When refuelling, add a log and allow the flames to 'catch' and
begin flaming before fully closing the door, then...
●
Keep the door firmly closed in normal operation.
●
Don't overfill the firebox – see the diagram.
JOINERY WASTE
Dry wood offcuts will burn well, but don't expect
softwood waste to burn as cleanly or for as long as hardwood logs.
ANTHRACITE
(Smokeless) is a natural hard, shiny form of coal.
Slow to light, it can burn for very long periods with great heat.
Despite its high price-per-bag it generally works out to be one of the
cheapest of all fuels. Use the 'small nuts' size.
PEAT:
Like all fuels, needs to be very, very dry.
BRIQUETTES
Are compressed blocks of fuel. Types made from
plant materials such as straw or wood waste are very variable..
Mineral types, often in an 'egg' shape, are generally able to burn
with very little smoke for long periods, but beware of 'economy'
versions which may contain harmful sulphur.
DO NOT USE...
dusty materials like sawdust, they burn far to
violently. Don't use non-authorised 'smokeless fuels' or 'petcoke' -
these are often made with dangerous high-suphur oil waste and will
rapidly damage your Tiger. Don't use raw bituminous coal,
sometimes sold as 'Polish Coal'. These products, though cheap,
rarely represent value for money.
HOUSEHOLD WASTES
Some plastics give off toxic fumes when
burned and remember that batteries and aerosols explode! The
Tiger is definitely not an incinerator, so only ever use the
recommended fuels and NEVER use liquid fuels in any form.
PROBLEMS
Problems like those listed here are usually due to some difficulty
with the installation, chimney or fuels, so please check back through
this leaflet carefully. If necessary seek specialist advice.
SMOKE FROM THE CHIMNEY
It is quite normal for a little smoke to
be emitted from the chimney when the fire is cold, so, start the fire
using only a very little fuel. Use only VERY dry fuels.
DAMAGED LINERS
Your Tiger gets very, very hot inside, it is quite
usual for the replaceable liners to crack or craze. They need only be
replaced when they have almost completely disintegrated. Help
them last longer by using only
very
dry
fuel.
POOR HEAT OUTPUT:
A stove can heat a typical room of
about
12m³ volume for each kW of output, so a 5kW model can heat up to
(12 x 5) 63m³, a room of about 5m square. The actual size depends
on the insulation, dampness and ventilation of the room. To attempt
to heat a larger room will result in excessive fuel consumption and
damaging overheating.
LACK OF CONTROLLABILITY
This stove is designed to always
burn enough to eliminate smoke - adjust the heat output by how
much fuel you put on, as well as by using the controls.
DIFFICULTY BURNING FOR EXTENDED PERIODS
This stove is
not designed for non-stop burning but for quick heat-up and on-off
use. Longer burning can be achieved only using very hard fuels
such as anthracite.
CONDENSATION
onto cool surfaces inside the stove can be severe
if fuel is in any way damp.
Use only very dry fuel.
OVER-FIRING:
It is possible to leave the fire too long with the
controls set too high leading to 'over firing', seen as glowing metal
parts, excessive chimney temperature and risk of parts failing or
chimney fires. Always set controls to the lowest practical setting.
SMOKE COMING INTO ROOM
Fumes are poisonous- smoke
emission must NEVER be tolerated, causes might be:
NEW STOVE: There is often a smell and sometimes visible fumes
as the paint cures. This normally stops after an hour or so.
INADEQUATE SEALS: Are all flue pipes and connectors
absolutely
gas-tight? Even the tiniest crack or gap can spoil the draught.
BLOCKED FLUEWAYS: Has soot and ash collected above the inner
back part of the firebox?
UNSUITABLE, BLOCKED OR UN-SWEPT CHIMNEY: The first
requirement for correct operation is a sound chimney. Check the
requirements earlier in this document and in any case of doubt
engage a professional sweep or chimney engineer.
POOR AIR SUPPLY: Lack of air to the fire is a common cause of
smoking and poor performance. Air supply problems may be worse
in certain wind conditions (often incorrectly ascribed to
'downdraught', which is in fact very rare), where air can be sucked
out of the room. The answer is to fit an air vent, as near to the fire as
possible, facing into the usual wind direction.
DOWNDRAUGHT: Wind can blow
down
a chimney if there is
something higher nearby such as a tree, hill or high building. Fitting
an anti-downdraught cowl to the chimney top can cure this. Types
which cannot be swept through are not recommended.
POOR CHIMNEY DRAUGHT- Chimney draught in use MUST be at
least 12Pa.
CHIMNEY FIRE:
In the rare event of deposits inside the chimney
igniting (roaring sound + dense smoke and sparks from the
chimney) immediately close the door, shut all air controls and call
the fire brigade. Prevent fires by using
very dry fuel
and having your
chimney swept regularly.
MAINTENANCE
MONTHLY- CLEAN THE INNER
BAFFLE and CHECK THE DOOR
SEALS
The inner baffle is a metal
plate inside the roof of the Tiger (see
diagram) With the stove cold, lift off
the inspection hatch to remove,
clean and inspect the baffle and
carefully check for blockages.
Check that the door seals are
undamaged, (replacing them if
necessary) and that they fully seal
against the stove body.
ANNUALLY-
SWEEP
THE
CHIMNEY
The entire length of the
chimney from stove to outlet should
be swept annually by a qualified
chimney sweep.
REFURBISHMENT
Should the stove
body become scratched or dull, repaint it only with heat resistant
paint supplied for the purpose and only when the fire is completely
cold.
Position of inner baffle
