GB
23
Lighting Instructions
Choice of fuel
All types of wood such as birch, beech, oak, elm, ash, softwoods and
wood from fruit-trees can be used as fuel in the stove. Different
types of wood have different densities. The denser the wood, the
greater the energy value. Beech, oak and birch, for example, are all
very dense.
Fresh wood comprises 50% water, some of which circulates freely
between the fibres, while the remainder is stored in the cells.
Wood should always be allowed to dry so that the freely circulating
moisture evaporates. Wood is not suitable for burning until the
moisture content has fallen below 20%. Burning wood with a hig-
her moisture content means that a great deal of energy is used to
boil away the water. Damp wood also burns poorly, leaving deposits
of soot and tar on the lining of the chimney. In severe cases it can
even cause chimney fires. In addition it makes the glass on the
stove sooty and causes inconvenience to people in neighbouring
houses.
To ensure that the wood you use is dry, fell timber in the winter and
store it over the summer, well ventilated and under cover. Never
cover your wood pile with a tarpaulin that reaches to the ground,
This simply seals in the moisture and prevents the wood from
drying out.
Keep firewood indoors for a few days before you use it. That way
any surface moisture will evaporate.
You can easily check the moisture content of wood by weighing a
small sample piece before and after it has been dried in an oven at
80°C for 24 hours. Then calculate the moisture content by dividing
the weight of evaporated water by the total initial weight of the
piece of wood (in other words, wood + water content).
Moisture content %:
Important.
Under no circumstances whatsoever may fossil fuels,
pressure impregnated wood, painted or glued wood, chipboard,
plastic or colour brochures be used as fuel. When burned, all of
these release hydrochloric acid or heavy metals which are hazar-
dous to the environment and damage your stove. Hydrochloric acid
can also corrode the steel in the chimney and cause brickwork to
crumble and decay.
For good combustion, it is important to ensure that the wood you
use is of the correct size:
Kindling wood: fine-split logs
Length: 25 - 33 cm
Diameter: 2 – 5 cm
Amount: 2,5 kg (approx. 8–10 fine-split logs)
Wood: split logs
Length: 25 – 33 cm
Diameter: 7 – 9 cm
Normal amount:
2 kg/hr
Max. amount:
3 kg/hr
LE
K
Ajar
Closed
m before -m after
m before
x 100
Lighting the fire
It is important to use the right amount of wood, especially when
first kindling the fire. Before lighting the fire for the first time,
weigh the wood on kitchen scales to get an idea of how much 2.5 kg
of kindling wood is. Check, too, to see how much the “normal” and
“maximum” amounts are.
The stove is designed to be used with the door closed. Always open
the door slowly and carefully to prevent the sudden change of pres-
sure in the fire-box from blowing smoke into the room.
A stove reacts in different ways depending on the draught in the
chimney. You will normally need to light a fire and use the stove
for a few times before you arrive at the optimum setting for the air
supply control, the right size for the logs and the correct amount of
wood to use.
Starting the fire
Important!
Please note that if too little wood is used when lighting the
fire, or if the pieces of wood are too large, it will not be pos-
sible to attain the optimum working temperature in the fire-
box. This can result in poor combustion and may lead to a heavy
build-up of soot, or cause the fire to die out when the door is
closed.
If the house has mechanical ventilation and there is negative pres-
sure indoors, open a window near to the stove before lighting a fire.
Leave the window open for a few minutes until the fire is blazing.
In order to get a glowing bed of embers quickly, make sure there is
always a thin layer of ashes and cinders inside the log-guard.
IMPORTANT!
The handle on the left which controls the grate disc should be
in the closed position when the fire is burning.
1. Open the air supply control fully.
2. Place screwed-up balls of newspaper or a firelighter in the
middle of the fire-box and stack about 2.5 kg of finely split
wood on top in a criss-cross pattern.
3. Light the fire.
4. Leave the door slightly ajar for a while, with the lower latch just
engaging on the latch-pin. After about 5 or 10 minutes, once
the fire is burning well, close the door. (See illustration below.)
5. Before the flames die, stoke the fire with 2 or 3 logs that
together weigh 2–3 kg. After about 5 minutes when the
logs have caught fire properly, you can reduce the supply of
combustion air.
