Graphite GR910-B, Instruction Manual

16

the weight of typical log) layered criss-cross or ‘wig-
wam’ style and a small firelighter will get the fire well 
established and up to operating temperature quickly. 
If you feel you have a weak chimney draught, then 
keeping the stove door slightly ajar for the first 5 – 10 
minutes will assist, after which it should be closed. 

This will also help prevent the build-up of  
condensation on the door glass until the glass warms 
up, especially if you have not used the stove for a few 
days. 

During the lighting phase the Primary and  

Secondary Air settings, as well as the Thermostat  
Control, on the stove should be fully open. 

2 The First Refuel Phase

For best results: After 10 minutes...

Primary Air (bottom control) – close completely 
Secondary Air (top control) – fully open 
Thermostat Control – fully open (8) 
Door – closed

Once the embers are starting to glow and the flames 
start to calm down, the first refuelling can take place.
For this stage use slightly larger pieces of wood than 
the lighting wood – but smaller than the main  
refuelling wood in the next phase. The reason for this 
is that the embers from the kindling wood are small 
and will not hold a high temperature for too long. 
If unnecessarily large pieces of wood are placed on 
the embers at this stage and do not ignite well there 
is a risk that the firebox will quickly cool down and the 
wood start to smoke. When the first  refuelling wood 
is burning well (say, after about 10 minutes from the 
start) the Primary Air can be completely shut off.

3 The Main Firing Phase

For best results: After 17 or 18 minutes...

Secondary Air (top control) – remains open 
Primary Air (bottom control) – remains closed 
Thermostat Control – remains fully open (8)  
Door – remains closed

Once the embers of the first refuel phase are glowing 
then these can be evenly spread with a poker or  
companion tool and the main larger refuelling wood 
can be quickly set.
Wood burns best if the flames have other wood to 
‘play off’. For example a single dense piece of wood 
or log will not burn as well as 2 or 3 smaller logs of 
equivalent mass. The more contact the wood has with 
each other piece, the hotter the embers will be. 3 or 4 
logs tightly packed to each other will burn longer but 
at a lower temperature than loosely criss-crossed logs. 
Approximately 1.5kg to 2.5kg of wood logs can be  
added at this stage. Be careful not to add too many 
logs as they may ‘smother’ the fire or cause the stove 
to over-fire. 
Try to avoid setting the ends of the logs pointing  
towards the glass as this is where some of the gases 
and moisture from the logs escapes and this can cause 

staining which the Airwash may find difficult  
to remove.
Only reduce the Secondary Air control when the wood 
has ‘carbonised’ and the fire is burning at a high   
temperature. This is when the ash on the burning 
wood looks light grey and virtually covers all of the 
wood. You will be able to tell when the stove is at this 
stage by studying the colour of the burning surfaces 
– the ‘lighter’ they are the better the wood is burning.  
If the log surface is predominately black and / or the 
flames are a dull orange then there is still some time 
to go before the fire is operating at full temperature.
Avoid leaving the stove unattended after refuelling 
until the flames are well established on the new logs. 
Always load onto a bed of hot embers.
Once the fire is established the flame pattern can 
then be adjusted to your requirements with the top 
Secondary Air (Airwash) control. 
Getting the balance right between a gently burning  
stove and one that is burning too slowly, creating 
smoke and causing the Airwash to fail and  
consequently the glass to stain, is very much a matter 
of trial and error. If you are burning well-seasoned 
wood then a quick ‘blast’ of the stove operating at 
‘full throttle’, with Secondary and Primary Air fully 
open, should quickly burn off any deposits left from 
any slower burning phase.
If you are lighting the stove to firstly provide hot water 
and heat into your central heating, rather than heat 
into the room, you should not need to adjust the  
Secondary Air or Thermostat Control until you are  
satisfied that both of these have been achieved. This 
could take as long as two hours and will probably 
require at least one full refuel.

4 Refuelling

For best results: Just before you refuel...

Primary Air (bottom control) – fully open  
Secondary Air (top control) – fully open 
Thermostat Control – fully open (8)

After loading and when new fuel is burning well...

Primary Air –  close completely 
Secondary Air– adjust to suit 
Thermostat Control – adjust to suit (0 – 8)

Regular, smaller loads are better because they keep 
the fire chamber at a higher temperature, without 
over-firing it. The higher operating temperature helps 
prevent nuisance smoke and sooty deposits.
Never overfill the fire chamber and also avoid  
over-sized pieces of wood which will ‘slow’ the fire 
down at the start but then could lead to over-firing. 
Before refuelling open the Primary and Secondary 
Air supply, as well as the Thermostat Control, so that 
there is a good strong fire and the embers are glowing 
red to help the new fuel to start burning quickly. This 
will also ensure that there is no build-up of harmful