13
Section
4
– Wood burning operation instructions
IMPORTANT:
Your new KUMA wood stove is shipped with a baffle packing to eliminate damage in shipping. Once the
stove is set in place and ready to use you will need to remove the baffle restraints. To remove the baffle
restraints, cut the ties in front of the nylon buckle and pull forward on the bottom cable until it pulls out.
Remove the two cardboard pieces from on top of the baffle and discard. Be careful not to dislodge or
damage the ceramic wool blanket on top of the bricks. Your stove is now ready for operation.
CAUTION:
When building the first couple of fires, be careful to build the fire small and increase the heat slowly over a
4-5 hour period. The paint on the stove “cures” with heat and needs to be done slowly. As the paint
“cures” it gives off a smell and even sometimes a visible “smoky” haze into the room. Make sure the area
is well ventilated during the curing operation. The smell will disappear after a few hours of operation.
A word about draft.
Draft is the force which moves air from the appliance up through the chimney. The amount of draft in your
chimney depends on the length of the chimney, local geography, nearby obstructions and other factors. Too
much draft may cause excessive temperatures in the appliance and may damage the internal components of
the stove. Inadequate draft may cause back puffing into the room and ‘plugging’ of the chimney.
Inadequate draft will cause the appliance to leak smoke into the room through appliance and chimney
connector joints. An uncontrollable burn or excessive temperature indicates excessive draft.
Recommendations on building and maintaining a fire.
Start by opening the air control on the stove to fully open. Fully open, depending on the model, will be
pulled all the way out to the left, pulled all the way forward, or in the case of the largest stove, the two
vents near the bottom will be pushed towards the center.
NEVER USE FLAMIBLE LIQUIDS TO START OR FRESHEN UP A FIRE.
Using a good fire starter can make lighting a fire easier. There are several different types of fire starter
available in “chips” “nuggets” and gels. Newspaper also makes a good fire starter if it is torn into strips.
When building a fire, use plenty of fire starter on the bottom and use small kindling directly on top of that.
Use progressively larger pieces as you stack wood all the way to the top of the firebox. When starting a
fire you should never use unsplit pieces of wood unless they are small such as twigs and branches.
Once the wood is stacked in the firebox, you may light the fire starter and leave the door slightly cracked
open for a few minutes to aid in the startup of your stove. Once the fire is well lit, shut the door, but leave
the air control in the open position for about 20-30 minutes. After burning for about a half an hour in the
open position, you can start to regulate the heat output and burn rate by shutting the air control down.
When operating you stove, periodically check for visible emissions coming from the chimney and adjust
the burn rate and fuel load to reduce emissions. Remember to let your stove burn open for 20-30 minutes
each time you reload it with wood. Shutting the air control prematurely can cause excessive creosote in the
chimney.
This wood heater has a manufacturer-set minimum low burn rate that must not be altered.
It is against federal regulations to alter this setting or otherwise operate this wood heater in a manner
inconsistent with operating instructions in this manual.
Use the following as a general guideline for
desired burn rates.
Low burn
Draft handle pushed in to stop.
Med-Low burn
Draft handle pulled out approximately 3/8 inch from stop.
Med-High burn
Draft handle pulled out approximately 7/8 inch from stop.
High burn
Draft handle pulled out completely.
