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CAUTION: Leaving the Sedore stove lid &/or the ash-pan (on models with this feature) open can
cause over-firing of the stove resulting in injury, damage to the stove, and voiding of the manufac-
turer’s warranty.
STEP SIX: Optimize the Burn
The stack temperature will start dropping as soon as you close the lid. Allow it to drop at least 50
degrees on its own, then you can close down the draft bar.
Your stack temperature will continue to drop and after about 15 minutes it will settle down to the
target of 150-200F. If after 15 minutes your stack temperature has not dropped below 200 F, you
will know that you are giving too much air for the fuel you are burning, and you will need to close
the draft bar a little. If your stack temperature settles down to below 150 F after the lid has been
down for a length of time, you are giving too little air, and need to open your draft bar a little.
The following are approximate settings for the draft bar for different fuels:
1/2 Open
Hardwood
1/4 Open
Cob Corn, Sunflower Tops
1/8 Open
Wood Pellets, Treesaver Firewood, Recycled Hardwood Cubes
CONGRATULATIONS! You have just started your stove from a cold start all on your own. If you
are burning wood you can expect your load to last from 10-14 hours. However, sometimes your
first load may burn through a little quicker as a good bed of coals must be established to have the
SEDORE operate to maximum efficiency.
Differences versus air-tight stoves
The SEDORE stove burns differently than any other stove. If you have been accustomed to a
conventional air-tight stove, you are probably used to putting paper on the bottom of the stove,
kindling on top of the paper, and wood on top of that, and then when you light it, whatever is in
the stove is on fire. The result: high heat for a short period of time, then the heat dies down until
you refuel again. And a lot of heat is lost up the chimney because the stovepipe stays hot all the
time.
The SEDORE stove works on an entirely different principle. If you tried to start it, the way you
would an air-tight, it just wouldn't go. Why? Because the front chamber has a down-draft! That's
why you light it upside-down from a conventional woodstove. So even though you fill your stove
right up to the top, the whole fuel pile is never on fire. All the burning is being done at the bottom
of the fuel pile only. The result is a steady even heat that tends itself for anywhere between 10-14
hours on just one fill-up of wood. All the burning in your new SEDORE is being done at the bot-
tom of the fuel load.
In other words, the whole fuel load is never on fire. The SEDORE stove burns only at the bottom
of the fuel pile because that is the only place it is being supplied air. The only way a fire could
possibly burn up in your SEDORE is by leaving the lid of the stove up for an unreasonably long
time. If that ever happens, simply close the lid and the pile will go out except for at the bottom
where it is supposed to be.
Because the fire is at the bottom of the fuel pile, a fairly constant heat is retained during the burn-
ing of the entire load of fuel. Even when there is only one piece of wood left in the stove, the room
temperature will not drop, nor the stack temperature, as there is not much more than that burning
even when you have a full load. Even when you just have a bed of coals left in your stove, there
will still be a good heat coming from it, and this will not drop until you let this burn down unrea-
sonably low.
