Testing Your Wood - United States Stove Company HotBlast 1331E Owner's Operation And Instruction Manual

It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY WOOD only. The wood should have dried for 9 to 15 months, such
that the humidity content (in weight) is reduced below 20% of the weight of the log. It is very important to keep
in mind that even if the wood has been cut for one, two or even more years, it is not necessarily dry, if it has
been stored in poor conditions. Under extreme conditions it may rot, instead of drying. This point cannot be over
stressed; the vast majority of the problems related to the operation of a wood furnace is caused by the fact that
the wood used was too damp or has dried in poor conditions.
These problems can be:
• Ignition problems
• Creosote build-up causing chimney fires
• Low energy yield
• Blackened windows
• Incomplete log combustion
Smaller pieces of wood will dry faster. All logs exceeding 6" in diameter should be split. The wood should not be
stored directly on the ground. Air should circulate through the cord. A 24" to 48" air space should be left between
each row of logs, which should be placed in the sunniest location possible. The upper layer of wood should be
protected from the elements but not the sides.
NOTICE: To minimize the risk of smoke spillage when opening the door with a fire in your furnace, crack
the door open no more than 1" and wait for at least 10 seconds before opening it more to allow pressure
stabilization inside the furnace.

TESTING YOUR WOOD

When the furnace is thoroughly warmed, place one piece of split wood (about five inches in diameter) parallel
to the door on the bed of red embers.
Adjust all air controls to there maximum settings and close the door. If ignition of the piece is accomplished
within 90 seconds from the time if was placed in the furnace, your wood is correctly dried. If ignition takes longer,
your wood is damp.
If your wood hisses and water or vapor escapes at the ends of the piece, your wood is soaked or freshly cut.
Do not use this wood in your furnace. Large amounts of creosote could be deposited in your chimney, creating
potential conditions for a chimney fire.
THE FIRST FIRES
The fresh paint on your furnace needs to be cured to preserve its quality. Once the fuel charge is properly
ignited, only burn small fires in your furnace for the first four hours of operation. Never open the air control's more
than necessary to achieve a medium burn rate.
Make sure that there's enough air circulation while curing the furnace. DO NOT connect your furnace to the
duct work during this curing process. The odors could be smelled during the 3 or 4 first fires. Never start your
furnace outside. You will not be able to see if you are over heating.
LIGHTING YOUR WOOD FURNACE
1. Make sure that your furnace has been installed as per the instructions outlined in this manual and the proper
power is supplied to it.
2. Open the fuel loading door.
3. Note: If there already is a bed of hot/glowing coals in the combustion chamber, proceed directly to the
Preheating step.
4. Place several pieces of small dry kindling in the front of the combustion chamber directly on the firebricks.
5. Lay a few twists of newspaper over the kindling.
6. Lay more dry kindling (crisscrossing) on top of the previous layers and possibly a few more twists of newspaper
if needed.
7. Light the lowest newspaper in the stack.
Note: In some draft situations you may be required to leave the door cracked no more than ½" only till a fire is
established in the stack
No chemical product should be used to light the fire.
PREHEATING YOUR WOOD FURNACE
1. Once the kindling is burning well or the glowing coal bed is stirred up, lay 2 or 3 pieces of well-seasoned
cordwood down so that the flame from the kindling fire can circulate around the logs and close the door.
Note: You may need to add more kindling to help ignite the cordwood.
2. Before loading your furnace fully you will want a well-established fire in the combustion chamber. This
typically takes 15-20 minutes.
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