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GB
Fuel
The Mata only burns on wood. Do not put more than 3 to 4 kg of fuel in the stove at the time. Always use clean and cut logs,
which have sufficiently dried. Please see the above list for drying times. Wet wood does not burn well and gives heavy smoke
emission. It may blacken the glass pane of your stove with soot and build up smut in the flue pipe. This may increase the risk
of chimney fire.
Fresh, moist wood contains about 50% moisture. Cleaved wood still contains 20% moisture after drying it for a year and
moisture percentage will be decreased to 12 to 15% after drying it for two years. Dry wood gives nice flames and little or no
smoke, and the fire will crackle when burning. Wet wood makes a hissing sound, gives much smoke and only small flames
which will considerably dampen the pleasure of burning your stove and the heat output.
Wood species and storage
You can use all kinds of woods as fuel as long as it is clean, split and dry. Hardwood like oak, beech and birch burn slowly,
give off much heat and form charcoal easily. Softer woods like spruce, fir and poplar give more flames but less heat and less
charcoal.
The best place to store timber is in a windy spot but sheltered from the rain. This is how the logs can dry in a natural way. Pile
the logs on an old pallet or a frame to let the wood dry from underneath and to prevent the lower logs from being in contact
with water.
Wood
Drying time
Fir, Poplar
1 year
Lime, Willow, Spruce, Birch, Ash, Alder
1,5 years
Fruit trees, Beech
2 years
Oak
2,5 years
Do not put any paraffin-containing logs in your stove. When the door is closed, the high heat will melt the
paraffin from the logs too quickly. The polluted flue gasses which consequently develop will deposit on and
burn in the glass of your stove and cannot be removed later.
Do not use any wood that is painted, impregnated, glued together or processed in any other way. The flue gases
are very harmful to the environment and may affect your stove. It is also prohibited to burn plastics and other
waste matter due to poisonous smoke development.
Lighting the stove
Usage early in autumn or late in winter
When the external and internal temperatures do not differ much, a proper chimney draught is a real challenge.
You can help chimney draught get started by burning some wood while keeping all air inlets maximally open.
An abundant air supply speeds up quick heating which in turn increases the draught in the chimney. Lighting
up the stove with only a little wood prevents smoke from streaming into the room.
The stove will become very hot when you light it and will need at least two hours to cool off. Don’t touch the
stove without protection during firing and for two hours after. Handle the stove always with a glove to avoid
getting serious burns.
Open the valve in the flue gas duct (1). Move the air slide (2) to its maximum setting by sliding it to the left. Turn the air slide
(3) fully open to the left.
Then open the door and stack a couple of logs in the fireplace, adding a few small pieces of wood and fire-lighters on top
(top-down burning method). Light the fire-lighters and leave the door ajar for 5–10 minutes for primary air supply and to
ensure the flue draws faster.
