Vermont Castings 1920 Homeowner's Installation And Operating Manual page 14

Aspen Woodburning Stove
®
In newer homes that are well-insulated and weather-
tight, poor draft may result from insufficient air in the
house. In such cases, a slightly opened window or
door, near the stove on the windward side of the house
will provide the fresh air needed.
A more effective option for delivering ample combustion
air to the stove is to duct air directly from outdoors to
the stove. In fact, in some areas, provisions for outside
combustion air are required in all new construction. The
optional Aspen Outside Air Adapter #1897 is available
from your dealer.
When you first begin using the stove, pay attention
to the air control settings. You will quickly find that a
specific setting will give you a fixed amount of heat. It
may take some time to determine the amount of heat
and the length of burn you should expect from various
settings.
do not for any reason attempt to increase the firing
of your heater by altering the air control adjustment
range outlined in these directions.
Use the following air control settings as a starting point
to help determine the best settings for your installation.
(Fig. 18)
aspen control Settings
burn rate
High
Medium
Low
Before you start using the stove, please read the Ap-
pendix on Draft Management starting on Page 9 to
learn how the characteristics of your installation will
affect the stove's performance. You and the stove are
parts of a system, and other parts of the system have a
strong effect on operation; you may need to vary your
firing technique to get the performance you want.
Starting and maintaining a fire
conditioning your Stove
Cast iron is extremely strong, but it can be broken with
a sharp blow from a hammer or from the thermal shock
of rapid and extreme temperature change.
The cast plates expand and contract with changes in
temperature. When you first begin using your Aspen,
minimize thermal stress by allowing the plates to adjust
gradually during three or four initial break-in fires follow-
ing Steps 1-3.
burN Solid wood fuel oNly, aNd burN it
directly oN the grate. do Not elevate the
fuel. do Not burN coal or other fuelS.
warNiNg: operate thiS Stove oNly with the
door fully cloSed.
14
primary air control
From 1:00
From 1:00
From :00
High
Medium
Low
fig. 18 Air inlet shutter settings; Low - Medium - High.
the primary air inlet must be fully open when start-
ing a fire or when refueling.
Step 1. Open the primary air control fully.
Step . Place several sheets of crumpled newspaper
in the stove. Avoid using glossy or colored paper, as
these burn poorly. At the front of the firebox, place
on the paper six or eight pieces of dry kindling split
to a finger-width size, and on the kindling lay two or
three larger sticks of split dry wood approximately
5-51 mm (1-") in diameter.
fig. 19 Start a fire with small, dry kindling.
ST263
starting a fire
12/99
ST6a
ST262
air inlet settings
12/15/99 djt
ST63
30003844