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Stratford Fireplace Installation and Operation Manual
NEVER STORE ASHES INDOORS OR IN A NON-METALIC CONTAINER OR ON A WOODEN DECK.
4.4.3 RAKING CHARCOAL
Rekindle the fire when you notice that the room temperature has fallen. You will find most of the remaining
charcoal at the back of the firebox, furthest from the door. Rake these coals towards the door before
loading. There are two reasons for this raking of the coals. First, it concentrates them near where most of
the combustion air enters the firebox and where they can ignite the new load quickly, and second, the
charcoal will not be smothered by the new load of wood. If you were to simply spread the charcoal out, the
new load will smoulder for a long time before igniting.
Remove ash first, and then rake charcoal towards the front of the firebox before loading so that it will ignite
the new load.
4.4.4 FIRING EACH NEW LOAD HOT
Place the new load of wood on and behind the charcoal, and not too close to the glass. Close the door and
open the air control fully. Leave the air control fully open until the firebox is full of flames, the wood has
charred to black and its edges are glowing red. Firing each load of wood hot accomplishes a few things:
drives the surface moisture from the wood,
•
creates a layer of char on the wood, which slows down its release of smoke,
•
heats the firebox components so they reflect heat back to the fire, and
•
heats the chimney so it can produce strong, steady draft for the rest of the cycle.
•
Although it is important to fire each new load hot to prepare for a clean burn, do not allow the fire to burn
at full intensity for more than a few minutes.
DO NOT LEAVE THE FIREPLACE UNATTENDED WHILE A NEW LOAD IS BEING FIRED HOT.
DO NOT OVERFIRE.
When you burn a new load of wood hot to heat up the wood, the fireplace and the chimney, the result will
be a surge of heat from the fireplace. This heat surge is welcome when the room temperature is a little
lower than desirable, but not welcome if the space is already warm. Therefore, allow each load of wood to
burn down so that the space begins to cool off a little before loading. Letting the space cool before loading
is one of the secrets to clean burning and effective zone heating.
4.4.5 TURNING DOWN THE AIR SUPPLY
Once the firewood, firebox and chimney are hot, you can begin to reduce the air supply for a steady burn.
As you reduce the air supply to the fire, two important things happen. First, the firing rate slows down to
spread the heat energy in the fuel over a longer period of time. Second, the flow rate of exhaust through
the fireplace and flue pipe slows down, which gives more time for the transfer of heat from the exhaust.
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