Testing Your Wood; Tamper Warning; The First Fires; Ignition - U.S. Stove Defender II Owner's Manual

It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY WOOD only in your wood stove. 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 stove is caused by
the fact that the wood used was too damp or has dried in poor conditions. These problems can be:
- ignition problems
- low energy yield
- 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.

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 it 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.

TAMPER WARNING

This wood heater has a manufacturer-set minimum low burn rate that must not be altered. It is against federal
regulations to alter this setting or otherwise operate this wood heater in a manner inconsistent with operating
instructions in this manual.

THE FIRST FIRES

The fresh paint on your stove needs to be cured to preserve its quality. Once the fuel charge is properly ignited,
only burn small fires in your stove for the first four hours of operation. Never open the air control more than
necessary to achieve a medium burn rate. Make sure that there's enough air circulation while curing the stove.
The odors could be smelled during the 3 or 4 first fires. Never start your stove outside. You will not be able to see
if you are over heating.

IGNITION

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. Before igniting the paper and kindling wood,
it is recommended that you warm up the chimney. This is done in order to avoid back draft problems often due
to negative pressure in the house. If such is the case, open a window slightly near the stove and twist together a
few sheets of newspaper into a torch. Light up this paper torch and hold it as close as possible to the mouth of
the pipe inside the combustion chamber to warm up the chimney. Once the updraft movement is initiated, you
are ready to ignite the stove by lighting the paper and kindling wood inside the combustion chamber. When you
have achieved a good bed of hot embers, we recommend the following burn procedures:
Primary Air Settings
(Slide Damper is located in center of stove under hearth
(Damper Adjustment: Pulling out on damper increases air)
Burn Rate Adjust Damper from fully closed
Low Fully Closed
Medium 5/8"
High 1-1/8"
- creosote build-up causing chimney fires
- blackened windows
plate)
Electric Blower Speed Setting (Variable)
(Blower is on High when turned "ON", Rotate clockwise
until stop for "LOW".)
Burn Time
@ 30 minutes
@ 30 minutes
All minutes
-12-
Blower Speed
Low
Low
High