North-South Fires Versus East-West Fires; Maintaining Your Wood Heating System; Wood Fire Maintenance; Plated Finish Maintenance - Drolet ESCAPE 1800 Installation And Operation Manual

Long burn times are not necessarily an indication of efficient wood fire operation. When you are
home during the day and able to tend the fire, it is preferable to build a smaller fire that might provide
three or four hours of heating than to fully load the firebox for a much longer burn. Shorter burn
cycles make it easier to match the heat output of the wood fire to the heat demand of the space.

4.6.5 North-South Fires Versus East-West Fires

In fireboxes that are roughly square, wood can be loaded so that looking through the glass door
you see the ends of the logs (north-south) or the sides of the logs (east-west).
East-west loads that are built compactly break down slowly when heated, but the amount of
wood you can load is limited because if you put in too many pieces, one may fall against the
glass. Eastwest loads are excellent for long, low output fires for relatively mild weather.
North-south loads break down more quickly, but much more wood can be loaded at a time. This
makes north-south loading good for high output, long lasting fires for cold weather.

5. Maintaining your wood heating system

5.1

Wood fire maintenance

Your new wood fire will give many years of reliable service if you use and maintain it correctly. Some
of the internal components of the firebox, such as firebricks, baffles and air tubes, will wear over
time under intense heat. You should always replace defective parts with original parts (see «Appendix 5:
Exploded Diagram and Parts List»). For firing each load hot to begin a cycle as described above
will not cause premature deterioration of the wood fire. However, letting the wood fire run with the
air control fully open for entire cycles can cause damage over time. The hotter you run the wood fire
throughout burn cycles, the more quickly its components will deteriorate. For that reason, never
leave the wood fire unattended while a new load is being fired hot.
5.1.1

Plated finish maintenance

If your appliance has a plated finish, use a metal polish and a soft cloth to clean it. Do not use
abrasives such as steel wool, steel pads or an abrasive cleaner for they may scratch the finish.
5.1.2

Cleaning door glass

Under normal conditions, your door glass should stay relatively clear. If your firewood is dry
enough and you follow the operating instructions in this manual, a whitish, dusty deposit will
form on the inside of the glass after a week or so of use. This is normal and can be easily
removed when the wood fire is cool by wiping with a damp cloth or paper towel and then drying.
Never try to clean the glass when the wood fire is hot.
In spring and fall when the wood fire is run at lower temperatures, you may see some light brown
stains forming, especially at the lower corners of the glass. This indicates that the fire has been
smoky and some of the smoke has condensed on the glass. When the weather is mild, you
may find that letting the fire go out is better than trying to maintain a continuous fire. Use the
technique described above for building a fire to take the chill off the house.
If you do get brown stains on the glass you can remove them with special cleaners for wood fire
glass doors. Do not use abrasives to clean your wood fire's door glass.
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