16
Defiant Woodburning Stove
30003841
High-Efficiency Wood Burning
with Catalytic Combustion
A Defiant leaves the factory with the combustor in-
stalled.
In the United States, it is against the law to operate this
wood heater in a manner inconsistent with operating
instructions in this manual, or if the catalytic combustor
is deactivated or removed. The components of the cata-
lytic combustion system in your Defiant work together to
produce optimum conditions for secondary combustion.
When the damper is closed, smoke travels through the
catalytic element, which causes ignition of smoke at
temperatures of 260°-315° C (500°-600° F), half the
temperature normally required for unaided secondary
combustion.
The catalytic element is a ceramic “honeycomb” coated
with the catalytic material. The element is located in the
secondary combustion chamber, molded from a special
high-temperature insulating refractory material. The
chamber provides the correct environment necessary
for secondary combustion of the fuel (smoke).
Closing the damper exposes the smoke to the combus-
tor. If the combustor is at least 315° C (600° F), it will
begin to burn the smoke.
Closing the stove damper may also reduce the draft, so
to avoid putting out the fire or deactivating the combus-
tor, close the damper only when a fire is well-estab-
lished and the chimney is thoroughly warmed. When
starting a fire, wait until the fire is well established and
there is an ember bed of at least 76-102 mm (3-4”)
before closing the damper.
Never kindle a fire with colored paper or paper that
has colored ink or a glossy surface, and never burn
treated wood, garbage, solvents, or trash. All of these
may poison the catalyst and prevent it from operating
properly. Never burn cardboard or loose paper except
for kindling purposes. Never burn coal; doing so can
produce soot or large flakes of char or fly ash that can
coat the combustor and cause smoke to spill into the
room. Coal smoke also can poison the catalyst so that it
won’t operate properly.
In general, the fire must be sufficiently well-established
to ensure that catalytic activity is initiated. When first
starting a fire, a medium- to high- firing rate must be
maintained until the stove, catalyst, and fuel are all
stabilized at the proper operating temperatures, and the
chimney is warmed.
Even though it is possible for the fire to get quite hot
within a few minutes after a fire is started, the combus-
tor may stop working or the fire may go out if the fire
dies down immediately as a result of the damper being
closed. Once the combustor starts working, heat gener-
ated by burning the smoke will keep it working.
things as the length, type, and location of the chimney,
local geography, nearby obstructions, and other factors.
See Page 20 for details on how the installation affects
performance.
Too much draft may cause excessive temperatures in
the Defiant, and could even damage the combustor.
On the other hand, too little draft can cause backpuffing
into the room and/or the “plugging” of the chimney or
combustor.
How do you know if your draft is excessively high or
low? Symptoms of too much draft include an uncontrol-
lable burn or a glowing-red stove part. Signs of weak
draft are smoke leaking into the room through the stove
or chimney connector joints, low heat, and dirty glass.
In some newer homes that are well-insulated and
weather-tight, poor draft may result from insufficient air
in the house. In such instances, an open window near
the stove on the windward side of the house will provide
the fresh air needed.
In some areas provisions for outside combustion air
are required. Refer to section 2 of Document J which
requires an outside air vent for appliances with power
outputs over 5 kW. Always refer to national and local
codes to determine your specific requirements.
With an optional outside air adapter, No. 1904, your
Defiant will accept a duct to deliver outside air for com-
bustion.
When first using the stove, keep track of the air control
settings. You will quickly find that a specific setting will
give you a fixed amount of heat. It may take a week or
two to determine the amount of heat and the length of
burn you should expect from various settings.
Most installations do not require a large amount of
combustion air, especially if adequate draft is available.
Do not for any reason attempt to increase the firing
of your heater by altering the air control adjustment
range outlined in these directions.
Use the following air control settings as a starting point
to help determine the best settings for your installation.
Each is described as a fraction of the total distance the
lever may be moved from right to left.
Defiant Control Settings
(Refer to Figure 21, Page 14)
Burn Rate
Primary Air Control
Low
From far right to 1/3 the distance
to left
Medium
From 1/3 to 2/3 the distance
to left
High
From 2/3 the distance
to left, to far left
