Vermont Castings • Dauntless FlexBurn Owner’s Manual_R3 • 2020 - ___ • 05/20
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3-90-586000c
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Troubleshooting Guide
With proper installation, operation, and maintenance your wood appliance will provide years of trouble-free service. If you do
experience a problem, this troubleshooting guide will assist you or a qualified service person in the diagnosis of a problem
and the corrective action to be taken.
Contact your dealer
for additional information regarding operation and troubleshooting.
Visit www.vermontcastings.com to locate a dealer.
Start Fire Problems
Possible Cause
Solution
• Can not get fire started
• Excessive smoke spillage
• Burns too slowly
• Not enough heat output
Not enough kindling/paper or no
kindling/paper
Use dry kindling, more paper. Arrange
kindling & wood for air movement.
Not enough air for fire to ignite
Check for restricted termination cap
Check for blockage of outside air kit (if
installed).
Check for flue blockage.
Pre-warm flue before starting fire (refer
to Building a Fire Section).
Check for adequate vent height (refer
to Chimney Height Section).
Refer to Negative Pressure section
Wood condition is too wet, too large
Use dry, seasoned wood (refer to
Seasoned Wood Section).
Bed of coals not established before
adding wood
Start with paper & kindling to establish
bed of coals (refer to Building a Fire
Section).
Flue blockage such as birds’ nests or
leaves in termination cap
Have chimney inspected for creosote
and cleaned by a certified chimney
sweep.
Down draft or negative pressure
Competition with exhaust devices
Do not use exhaust fans during start-up
(refer to Negative Pressure Section).
Fire burns too fast
Extremely dry or soft wood
Mix in hardwood.
Mix in larger pieces of wood after fire is
established.
Overdrafting
Check for correct vent height; too much
vertical height creates overdrafting.
Check location of vent termination
(refer to Chimney Termination
Requirement Section).
Low Heat Output
Coal Bed too small
Open damper. Establish deeper coal
bed and move coals to the rear of the
firebox.
Excessive Coal Bed
Operating on high for extended periods
Reduce burn rate and allow coals to
burn down before reloading.
