all the air control slides to the open position. When the fire is
burning well, move the controls to the lowest practical setting.
FILLING:
Two or three logs of about 2kg each are all that is
normally needed for full output. Don't fill the stove with logs so high
that they touch the steel baffle plate over the firebox.
CONTROL
How
fast the fire burns
depends on how
much air reaches
the fuel. The
stove's
main
control is a an
'airwash' slider
above the fire
opening, move it
to the right for
highest output, to
the left for 'low'.
There is a second
air control on the
door, below the
window. This can
be opened to
provide extra air to get the fire going quickly, but should be kept
shout in normal operation.
The controls can get
very
hot, so move them only with the handle
supplied.
EMPTYING ASHES.
The effectiveness of this appliance depends
on always burning fresh wood on top of the residues from the
previous fire, so DO NOT empty ash until absolutely necessary.
The white powdery material left after a fire has burned away is not
ash but flakes of cellulose – it will burn away the next time you
light a fire on top of it so that the only thing left to remove is the
true ash, a slightly gritty brown powder. Remember to let ash cool
before disposing in plastic sacks or dustbins.
KEEPING THE WINDOW CLEAN
Simply operating the stove for a
few minutes at high output will often burn-off any deposits left by
tarry or wet fuels. Severe stains can be removed when cold with a
domestic bleach cleaner. The window is not glass but a
transparent ceramic, it may develop tiny hairline cracks, these are
harmless, and a characteristic of the toughest and most heat-
resistant material known. Reduce the risk of staining by using only
very dry
fuel and keeping the airwash control
slightly
open.
OPENING THE DOOR
This stove is designed to be operated only
with the door closed. Open the door very slowly to minimise fume
emission and prevent hot fuel falling out. Remember that the
whole stove becomes extremely hot. Pull the door handle off when
not being used to prevent it overheating.
SUMMER SHUT DOWN:
Before a long period of non-use, empty
fuel and ash, remove the throat plate and leave all the air controls
open to allow ventilation to reduce condensation.
FUEL
This is a wood-burning appliance. It is only capable of burning dry
volatile vegetable fuels such as wood logs, straw briquettes or
compressed leaf fuel. It will not burn coal, coke or any form of
mineral fuel.
SMOKE CONTROL:
In certain areas special rules apply to reduce
smoke nuisance. Check with your local authority.
WOOD
only emits as much carbon to the atmosphere as the tree
took in when growing, so wood is considered the 'carbon neutral'
fuel. When wood is cut down its cells are full of water. Burning
such wet or 'green' wood wastes heat in making steam and
produces flammable, acidic tars which will cling to, and rapidly
damage, your stove and chimney. Split logs will typically take two
years to become reasonably dry, round logs very much longer.
Cracks in the ends, a hollow sound when tapped and bark falling
away are all signs that a log may be ready for use.
The fine, white residue produced when
wood burns is not ash, but the remains
of cell walls which can burn if kept hot
enough, so don't de-ash the fire until
absolutely necessary when using
wood.
For best performance, and
always
for low smoke emission:
• Split logs lengthways for drying
• Ensure logs are absolutely dry (less than 15% moisture)
• Fill the stove criss-cross, so air can circulate between logs.
• Fill 'little and often'
• Always have the airwash control at least a little open.
• When first lighting, or reviving a fire from embers, use only very
small, thin, dry, sticks.
• Don't empty the ash out until absolutely necessary.
JOINERY WASTE
Dry wood offcuts will burn well, but don't
expect softwood waste to burn as cleanly or for as long as
hardwood logs.
PROBLEMS?
Problems like those listed here are usually due to some difficulty
with the installation, chimney or fuels, so please check back
through this leaflet carefully. If necessary seek specialist advice.
SMOKE FROM THE CHIMNEY
Use only VERY dry wood and
make sure the airwash control is at least a little open in order to
burn the smoke away.
DAMAGED LINERS
The Portway stove gets very, very hot inside,
it is quite usual for the replaceable liners to crack or craze. They
need only be replaced when they have almost completely
disintegrated. Help them last longer by using only
very
dry
fuel.
WOOD SMELL
The human nose is able to detect wood smoke in
almost unbelievably tiny concentrations. It is very unlikely that you
will be able to operate a domestic wood stove without some smoke
smell. There is no evidence that, as normally encountered, it is
harmful
POOR HEAT OUTPUT:
A stove can heat a typical room of
about
12m³ volume for each kW of output, so a 5kW model can heat up
to (12 x 5) 63m³, a room of about 5m square. The actual size
depends on the insulation and air-change ratio of the room. To
attempt to heat a larger room will result in excessive fuel
consumption and damaging overheating.
LACK OF CONTROLLABILITY
Wood may burn excessively until
the gases in it has been used up. You can reduce this effect by
making sure that the fire is very low before refuelling and checking
that the door seals fully.
DIFFICULTY BURNING FOR EXTENDED PERIODS
If the fire
goes out with fuel still in the firebox, then this is probably because
too little air has been reaching it, try leaving the air controls open a
little more. Check that the door seals are sound and that there are
no cracks or gaps anywhere in the flue.
THE DOOR CATCH
may need
adjusting as the rope seal
'beds down'. Simply loosen the
screw at the end of the shaft
and move the tapered pin as
shown. Re-tighten the screw.
CONDENSATION
onto cool surfaces inside the stove can be
severe if the fuel is in any way damp.
Use only very dry fuel.
OVER-FIRING:
It is possible to leave the fire too long with the
controls set too high leading to 'over firing', seen as glowing metal
parts, excessive chimney temperature and risk of parts failing or
chimney fires. Always set controls to the lowest practical setting. A
chimney thermometer, from your local stove shop, can help.
SMOKE COMING INTO ROOM
Fumes are poisonous- smoke
emission must NEVER be tolerated, causes might be:
NEW STOVE: There is often a smell and sometimes visible fumes
as the paint cures. This normally stops after an hour or so.
INADEQUATE SEALS: Are all flue pipes and connectors
absolutely
gas-tight? Even the tiniest crack or gap can spoil the
draught. Does an inset appliances fully seal against the fireplace?
BLOCKED THROAT PLATE: Has soot and ash collected on the
'throat plate' above the inner back part of the firebox?
UNSUITABLE, BLOCKED OR UN-SWEPT CHIMNEY: The first
requirement for correct operation is a sound chimney. Check the
requirements earlier in this document and in any case of doubt
engage a professional sweep or chimney engineer.
POOR AIR SUPPLY: Lack of air to the fire is a common cause of
smoking and poor performance. Air supply problems may be
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