Tips and Advice for Your New Stove
This page is dedicated to giving you information on how to operate and look after your stove.
Brand New Stove Advice
Please only have intermittent kindling fires for the first 3 or 4 days to allow all the plastered / boarded or new pointed brick areas to dry naturally. This also allows the stove to bed in gently.
How to Light a Kindling Fire
Make sure your vent / vents are fully open.
Place 8 to 10 pieces of kindling in a Jenga style stack with 2 fire lighters in the middle.
Light the fire lighters with a long match or a gas long tipped lighter.
Leave door slightly ajar (Approx 10 mm).
Allow for the kindling to light after a few minutes close the door.
Then 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….
Make sure your vent or vents are in the fully open position.
Place two fire lighters into the centre of the stove.
Place your kindling into a Jenga style stack.
Building 5 or 6 layers high depending on the thickness of the kindling.
Place a log on top of the kindling.
Light the fire lighters.
Leave the door slightly ajar (Approx 10 mm).
Leave the door open for at least 5 minutes or until the kindling and log are fairly well established (Note: This could take 5 to 10 mins depending on the wood density / moisture content and outside temperatures etc).
Leave for a further 5 mins before closing the vent or vents down (never close your vent or vents right down)
Control Tips
if your stove only has 1 control: Never close it all the way as 3/4 closed is usually well enough.
if your stove has 2 controls: If you are burning wood, after 10 mins or so close the bottom control right down (off) and adjust the top to 3/4 closed.
if your stove has 2 controls: If you are burning coal after 15 mins or so close the top control down (off) and adjust the bottom to 3/4 closed
- Never have your control or controls fully closed.
- Your stove must burn fairly aggressive to gain the most heat
Finding your stoves optimum burning setting can take a few weeks to figure out and can alter slightly on your fuels moisture content but remember… practice makes perfect!
Slumbering your stove too low can cause the glass to discolour and not give out heat to the stoves true potential and will also cause the formation of sooty and or tarry deposits on the flue liner.
All wood must have no more than 20% moisture content. Click Here for details of our Wood Fuel.
If burning coal you may want to get the stove well established with wood first and then adding 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 open 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, but it depends on the quantity of coal you load into the stove and its moisture content.
*Important: Wet coal can cause not lighting / smoking issues so make sure when you purchase your coal it has been stored in a dry place before being delivered
Once you are well versed in lighting your stove you will learn your own tricks to lighting while still using a few of our recommendations.
Beams
If you have a Beam please oil regularly once a month In burning season and every 6 to 8 weeks during the summer months. This will reduce the shrinkage and twisting of the wood. Linseed oil or teak oil depending on your colour of beam.
Sweeping
In order to maintain a healthy stove, you must get your liner swept. This also maintains your warranty. Click Here to see the details of our sweeping