Over Firing - Vogelzang International VG150 Owner's Manual

TESTING YOUR WOOD
When the stove is thoroughly warmed, place one piece of split wood (about five inches in diameter) parallel
to the door on the bed of red embers.
Keep the air control full open by pulling on it and close the door. If ignition of the piece is accomplished
within 90 seconds from the time if was placed in the stove, 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 stove. Large amounts of creosote could be deposited in your chimney, creating
potential conditions for a chimney fire.
HEATING
Controlled combustion is the most efficient technique for wood heating because it enables you to select
the type of combustion you want for each given situation. The wood will burn slowly if the wood stove air
intake control is adjusted to reduce the oxygen supply in the combustion chamber to a minimum. On the
other hand, wood will burn quickly if the air control is adjusted to admit a larger quantity of oxygen in the
combustion chamber. The air intake control on your stove is very simple. If you pull on it out completely
towards you, it is fully open. If you push on it until it stops the combustion air is reduced to a minimum. Real
operating conditions may give very different results than those obtained during testing according to the
species of wood used, its moisture content, the size and density of the pieces, the length of the chimney,
altitude and outside temperature.
EFFICIENCY
Efficiencies can be based on either the lower heating value (LHV) or the higher heating value (HHV) of the
fuel. The lower heating value is when water leaves the combustion process as a vapor, in the case of wood
stoves the moisture in the wood being burned leaves the stove as a vapor. The higher heating value is when
water leaves the combustion process completely condensed. In the case of wood stoves this would assume
the exhaust gases are room temperature when leaving the system, and therefore calculations using this
heating value consider the heat going up the chimney as lost energy. Therefore, efficiency calculated using
the lower heating value of wood will be higher than efficiency calculated using the higher heating value. In
the United States all wood stove efficiencies should be calculated using the higher heating value.
As an operator of a wood heater the best way to achieve optimum efficiencies is to learn the burn
characteristic of your appliance and burn well-seasoned wood. A good rule of thumb is that your heater is
not producing or producing very little visible smoke it is burning efficiently. Also remember that higher burn
rates are not always the best heating burn rates; after a good fire is established a lower burn rate may be a
better option for efficient heating. A lower burn rate slows the flow of usable heat out of the home through
the chimney, and it also consumes less wood.
BUILDING A FIRE
The top down method of fire building is recommended for this appliance. After making sure that the stove
air intake controls are fully open (completely pull-out towards you), Place the largest pieces of wood on the
bottom, laid in parallel and close together. Smaller pieces are placed in a second layer, crossways to the first.
A third layer of still smaller pieces is laid crossways to the second, this time with some spaces between. Then
a fourth layer of loose, small kindling and twisted newspaper sheets tops off the pile.
VISIBLE SMOKE
Visible smoke is basically unburned fuel and moisture leaving your stove. The amount of visible smoke being
produced can be an effective method of determining how efficiently the combustion process is taking place
at the given settings. Learn to adjust the air settings of your specific unit to produce the smallest amount of
visible smoke. Always start your Remember that wood that has not been seasoned properly and has a high
wood moisture content will produce excess visible smoke and burn poorly.
AIR TUBES
The air tubes assembled in this unit are designed to provide an accurate mix of secondary air to insure the
highest efficiency. Any damage or deterioration of these tubes may reduce the efficiency of combustion. The
air tubes are held in position by either screws or snap pins. Locate these to either side of the tube and remove
to allow the tube to be removed and replaced.

OVER FIRING

Attempts to achieve heat output rates that exceed heater design specifications can result in permanent
damage to the heater and to the catalytic combustor if so equipped.
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