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VISIBLE SMOKE
Visible smoke is basically unburned fuel and moisture leaving your stove. The amount of visible smoke being
produced can be an effective method of determining how efficiently the combustion process is taking place at
the given settings. Learn to adjust the air settings of your specific unit to produce the smallest amount of visible
smoke. Remember that wood that has not been seasoned properly and has a high wood moisture content will
produce excess visible smoke and burn poorly.
OPERATION OF THE HEATER
1. Burn wood or wood products only. The wood should be well seasons prior to use for maximum efficiency.
2. Provide air into the room for combustion.
3. Do Not touch the heater after firing until it has cooled.
Do Not use a grate or elevate fire, build fire directly on the hearth. The fuel feed door must remain closed during
operation.
EFFICIENCY
Efficiencies can be based on either the lower heating value (LHV) or the higher heating value (HHV) of the fuel.
The lower heating value is when water leaves the combustion process as a vapor, in the case of woodstoves the
moisture in the wood being burned leaves the stove as a vapor. The higher heating value is when water leaves
the combustion process completely condensed. In the case of woodstoves this would assume the exhaust gases
are room temperature when leaving the system, and therefore calculations using this heating value consider
the heat going up the chimney as lost energy. Therefore, efficiency calculated using the lower heating value of
wood will be higher than efficiency calculated using the higher heating value. In the United States all woodstove
efficiencies should be calculated using the higher heating value.
As an operator of a wood heater the best way to achieve optimum efficiencies is to learn the burn characteristic
of the appliance and burn well-seasoned wood. A good rule of thumb is that if the heater is not producing, or
producing very little visible smoke it is burning efficiently. Also remember that higher burn rates are not always
the best heating burn rates; after a good fire is established a lower burn rate may be a better option for efficient
heating. A lower burn rate slows the flow of usable heat out of the home through the chimney, and it also
consumes less wood.
BUILDING A FIRE
The top down method of fire building is recommended for this appliance. Place the largest pieces of wood on
the bottom, laid in parallel and close together. Smaller pieces are placed in a second layer, crossways to the
first. A third layer of still smaller pieces is laid crossways to the second, this time with some spaces between. Then
a fourth layer of loose, small kindling and twisted newspaper sheets tops off the pile.
OPERATIONAL TIPS FOR GOOD, EFFICIENT, AND CLEAN COMBUSTION
• Use smaller pieces of wood during start-up and a high burn rate to increase the stove temperature
• Be considerate of the environment and only burn dry wood
• Burn small, intense fires instead of large, slow burning fires when possible
• Learn your appliance's operating characteristics to obtain optimum performance
• Burning unseasoned wet wood only hurts your stoves efficiency and leads to accelerated creosote buildup in
your chimney
RELOADING
Once a good bed of embers has been obtained, the unit should be reloaded. Open the door very slowly; open
it one or two inches for 5 to 10 seconds, before opening it completely to increase the draft and thus eliminate the
smoke which is stagnant in a state of slow combustion in the stove. Then bring the red embers to the front of the
stove and reload the unit. It is important to note that wood combustion consumes ambient oxygen in the room. In
the case of negative pressure, it is a good idea to allow fresh air in the room, either by opening a window slightly
or by installing a fresh air intake system on an outside wall.
WARNINGS:
• NEVER OVERFIRE YOUR STOVE. IF ANY PART OF THE STOVE STARTS TO GLOW RED, OVER FIRING IS HAPPENING.
• THE INSTALLATION OF A LOG CRADLE OR GRATES IS NOT RECOMMENDED IN YOUR WOOD STOVE BUILD FIRE
DIRECTLY ON HEARTH.
• ATTEMPTS TO ACHIEVE HEAT OUTPUT RATES THAT EXCEED HEATER DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS CAN RESULT IN
PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THE HEATER AND TO THE CATALYTIC COMBUSTOR IF SO EQUIPPED.
Summary of Contents for US1269E
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