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Tips & Advice for Your New Stove

How to light, operate and look after your stove — from the first few days to getting the best heat all winter.

Brand new stove advice

Please only have intermittent kindling fires for the first 3 or 4 days to allow all the plastered, boarded or newly pointed brick areas to dry naturally. This also allows the stove to bed in gently.

How to light a kindling fire (days 1–4)

  1. Make sure your vent / vents are fully open.
  2. Place 8 to 10 pieces of kindling in a Jenga-style stack with 2 firelighters in the middle.
  3. Light the firelighters with a long match or a long-tipped gas lighter.
  4. Leave the door slightly ajar (approx. 10 mm).
  5. Allow the kindling to light, then after a few minutes close the door.
  6. Get to know your stove controls and let it go out.

Important: do this once or twice a day only, and for the first 3 or 4 days.

After the 4th day…

  1. Make sure your vent or vents are in the fully open position.
  2. Place two firelighters into the centre of the stove.
  3. Place your kindling into a Jenga-style stack, building 5 or 6 layers high depending on the thickness of the kindling.
  4. Place a log on top of the kindling.
  5. Light the firelighters and leave the door slightly ajar (approx. 10 mm).
  6. Leave the door open for at least 5 minutes, or until the kindling and log are fairly well established (this could take 5 to 10 mins depending on wood density, moisture content and outside temperature).
  7. Leave for a further 5 mins before closing the vent or vents down — never close your vents right down.

Control tips

1 control

Never close it all the way — ¾ closed is usually enough.

2 controls — wood

After 10 mins or so, close the bottom control right down (off) and adjust the top to ¾ closed.

2 controls — coal

After 15 mins or so, close the top control down (off) and adjust the bottom to ¾ closed.

  • Never have your control or controls fully closed.
  • Your stove must burn fairly aggressively to give the most heat.

Finding your stove's optimum burning setting can take a few weeks to figure out and can alter slightly with your fuel's moisture content — but remember, practice makes perfect!

Slumbering your stove too low can cause the glass to discolour, won't give out heat to the stove's true potential, and will cause sooty and/or tarry deposits to form on the flue liner.

Fuel

All wood must have no more than 20% moisture content.

If burning coal, you may want to get the stove well established with wood first, then add the coal onto a good layer of burning embers and a half-established log. Even then you may have to open the vent or vents fully for a short spell (maybe 5 mins). In some cases you may have to open the door (10 mm) for a short spell as well — it depends on the quantity of coal you load into the stove and its moisture content.

Important: wet coal can cause lighting and smoking issues, so make sure the coal you buy has been stored in a dry place before being delivered.

Once you are well versed in lighting your stove you'll learn your own tricks, while still using a few of our recommendations.

Looking after your beam

If you have a beam, please oil it regularly — once a month in the burning season and every 6 to 8 weeks during the summer months. This will reduce shrinkage and twisting of the wood. Use linseed oil or teak oil depending on the colour of your beam.

Sweeping

In order to maintain a healthy stove you must get your liner swept. This also maintains your warranty. See the details of our sweeping service.