Building a Fire
(starting and maintaining a fi re)
To start a fi re, place several crumpled up balls of
newspaper in the fi rebox. Place small dry pieces
of kindling on top of the paper, criss-crossing the
kindling so that there are air spaces in between.
Keep the fuel far back enough so that air can
get underneath. Open the air controls fully
and light the newspaper. Once the newspaper
and the kindling is well ignited, close the door.
Once the kindling fi re is well established, cord
wood can be added (see
Primary Air Combus-
tion Control
section for proper operation of the
air controls).
The unit will burn best with 2-3 pieces of cord
wood spaced 1 to 2 inches apart and allowing air
to get under the fuel. Criss-crossing or arrang-
ing the fuel so that air can get underneath, will
help the fi re to get started easily. The unit should
be operated with the air control fully open long
enough to get the cord wood well ignited.
COMBUSTION CONTROLS
Primary Air and Air Boost Controls
There is no fl ue damper in the Montecito™ wood
burning fi replace. As is common with air tight
stoves, the combustion air control sets the fl ow
of air entering the fi rebox. This allows for a
more precise control of the fi re. The combus-
tion air control is located below the door on
For instance, a long chimney will necessitate
closing the damper more. To obtain the proper
combustion, close the damper completely, then
open it about 1/4” to 1/2”. Three medium size
pieces of wood should be burning on a bed of
hot coals. The heat output will be approximately
30,000 BTU per hour and the loading time will
be about every 3-4 hours. Softwoods may be
burned using this method but the time will be
substantially reduced.
Slow Combustion
When the air combustion control is completely
closed, the fi replace is in a slow combustion phase.
If the hearth is hot enough, slow combustion will
not extinguish the fi re, but there will be a notice-
able change in the fl ame pattern. The fl ames will
be slow and may appear dirty if the wood is too
wet (moisture content of 20% and more). Do not
allow the wood to burn without fl ame, since this
will produce excessive creosote in the unit.
Creosote may accumulate on the glass door.
This method of burning should be used only
after operating the Montecito fi replace with
the air control opened to produce a hot fi re for
about an hour or at medium pace for at least
three (3) hours. Slow combustion can be used
at night in order to reduce the heat output and
to prolong the burn. The loading time will be
between 6-8 hours.
REFUELING FOR BEST PERFORMANCE
The Montecito fi replace will operate best if at-
tention is given to operating the unit with the
damper fully opened after refueling in order
to bring the fi rebox and the chimney system
up to their optimum operating temperature.
Combustion effi ciency is relative to fi rebox
temperature. A temperature of 500º C (932º F)
and up, with a visible fl ame, in the upper part
of the fi rebox indicates a maximum effi ciency.
To obtain this temperature, the fi replace must
be operated with the primary air and air boost
controls fully opened during 10 to 20 minutes
after reloading, depending on the heat and on
the moisture content of the wood.
Once you have reached the desired temperature,
the air boost can be closed and the primary air
set to a medium setting. You know you have
reached the desired temperature when, closing
the primary air control, you can see a fl ame
at the top of the fi rebox. The benefi t of this
technique will be cleaner glass, less creosoting,
greater effi ciency and the most pleasing fi re for
your enjoyment.
SMOKING –
CAUSES AND TROUBLESHOOTING
To reduce the likelihood of smoking when open-
ing the door, set the combustion air controls to
the left before opening the door. Your fi replace
has been designed and tested to provide smoke
free operation. Occasionally, there may be a
small amount of smoking upon lighting the fi re,
until the chimney heats up but this should not
continue. If the fi replace continues to smoke it
is probably for one of the following reasons:
Combustion Air Register
Push to Close
Air Boost
Pull to Open
Air Boost
Open
Close
Figure 1
the left side. The main source of air (primary
air) entering the fi rebox can be diminished by
moving the air combustion control from left
to right. The primary air is fully opened when
the air control is completely moved to the left.
The air control device can also be used to add
an extra boost of air especially during fi re start
up and reloading of the unit.
Pulling the air combustion control will induce an
air boost at the base of the fi re allowing an easier
fi re start up. When the fi re is well established,
the control can be pushed in to shut down the
air boost allowing for a longer burn time. The
combustion air control should be in the closed
position (primary air and air boost) when the
fi replace is not in use. This will minimize air
leakage up the chimney. The combustion air
control should be opened before opening the
door to minimize the possibility of back draft
coming into the room.
Accelerated Combustion
The maximum heat output for the Montecito
fi replace is achieved by burning with the door
closed and the combustion air opened and
pulled out. By this method, the Montecito
fi replace can produce up to 55,000 BTU of
heat per hour. However, it will be necessary
to reload with wood every one or two hours.
This is the least effi cient method of burning the
Montecito fi replace.
Use caution when fi ring with the combustion
air control wide open. Only burn cord wood in
this manner. Small dry pieces of softwood and
construction scraps will burn very intensely us-
ing this method and may damage the fi rebox.
Medium Combustion
This is the recommended mode of operating
the Montecito fi replace and should be the one
normally used since it will deposit the least
amount of creosote on the glass and in the
chimney. The combustion air control must be
3/4 closed and pushed in to close the air boost.
The precise setting will depend on many fac-
tors, including chimney length and the moisture
content of the wood.
WARNING
Be careful adding wood fuel to the
fi re or handling fi replace tools such
as shovels, tongs or pokers.
WARNING
The bottom refractory can be
cracked by excessive abuse such
as tossing heavy logs onto the
grate or gouging with fi replace
tools. Exercise caution when
adding wood to your fi replace.
4
NOTE: DIAGRAMS & ILLUSTRATIONS ARE NOT TO SCALE.
