FOCUS 250 Owner's Manual
7
RSF Woodburning Fireplaces
OPERATION
AIR CONTROLS
All the FOCUS 250 air controls are located below the door (see
Figure 2 and Figure 3).
Combustion Air Control
Unlike most open fireplaces, RSF fireplaces don’t have flue
dampers. Instead, the system is sealed by closing the door, and
the amount of air entering the firebox is controlled by the
combustion air control lever (see Figure 2). Setting the air control
lever all the way open (towards the right) will allow the maximum
amount of air into the firebox. Closing the air control (towards the
left) will reduce the amount of air entering the firebox.
Outside Air Control
The FOCUS 250 is designed to use outside air for combustion (see
Figure 3).
Setting the outside air control lever towards the right will completely
open the outside air damper and allow fresh air into the base of the
fireplace. Because outside air is generally colder and denser it will
help to start the fire. In some cases, fresh air will help compensate
for negative pressure problems within the house; however it will not
prevent the fireplace from smoking in a severely depressurized
house.
We recommend always using outside air for combustion but you
may choose to use room air for combustion instead. To do so, move
the outside air control lever towards the left to close the outside air
damper.
This control should be closed when the fireplace isn’t
burning to prevent cold air infiltration.
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY
The location of your fireplace will affect how efficiently it heats the
home. Your fireplace should be located in part of the house you
want to be the warmest. Trying to heat the main floor with a
fireplace in the basement will generally overheat the basement and
waste fuel. Certain RSF options offer the ability to move heat from
the main floor to the basement. This allows you to efficiently heat your primary space while also heating the
basement as a secondary space.
The efficiency will also be influenced by the draft in the chimney which will be influenced by various factors (refer
to "Importance of draft" below) and by the amount of wood burning at any point (see "Burn Time vs. Heat Output"
below). The efficiency will also be influenced by the quality of the wood (refer to "Fuel" below).
All of these factors must be taken into account and optimize so you can recover the maximum heat from your
fireplace.
IMPORTANCE OF DRAFT
Draft is the natural force which pulls air from the fireplace up the chimney. The strength of draft in your chimney
depends on a variety of factors, including chimney height, nearby obstructions, altitude, etc.
Excessive draft can result in a hotter fire than intended or reduced burn times as more air is pulled through the
fireplace. It will also result in less heat recovery since the heat will not have as much time to irradiate into the room
before being sucked into the chimney.
Figure 2 Combustion Air Control
Figure 3 Outside Air Control
CLOSED
OPEN
CLOSED
OPEN
