Vermont Castings Defiant FlexBurn Homeowner's Installation And Operating Manual page 25

Fig. 37 Start the fire with newspaper and dry kindling.
During the break-in fires, do not let the stove get hotter
than 500°F. (260°C) as measured on an optional stove-top
thermometer. Adjust the air control lever as necessary to
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control the fire.
starting a fire
Some odor from the stove's hot metal and the paint is
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normal for the first few fires.
NoTe: Some chimneys must be "primed," or warmed up,
before they will draw sufficiently to start a fire. To correct
this situation, roll up a couple pieces of newspaper, place
them on top of the kindling and toward the back of the
stove, light them, and close the doors. This will encour-
age the smoke to rise rapidly, making it easier to establish
a good draft.
Once the draft is established, open the front door and light
the rest of the fuel from the bottom. Do not light the main
bed of fuel until the chimney begins drawing, and repeat
the procedure as often as necessary if the initial attempt
is unsuccessful.
4. if your Defiant has been broken-in previously using
Steps 1-3, continue to build the fire gradually. Add larger
wood with a diameter of 3-4" (75-100 mm). Continue adding
split logs of this size to the briskly-burning fire until there
is a glowing ember bed 2-3" (51-75 mm) deep. (Fig. 38)
A good ember bed is necessary for proper functioning of
the non-catalytic system and may take an hour or more
to establish.
Fig. 38 Add larger pieces of wood as the fire begins to burn
well.
30005220
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good fire
Defiant FlexBurn 1975 Non-Catalytic / Catalytic Woodburning Stove
® ™
5. Close the damper when the griddle temperature reaches
450°F (230°C).
6. Adjust the air control for your desired heat output.
NoTe: Stove installations vary widely, and the operating
guidance given here is only a starting point . The draft man-
agement information on Page 27 will explain in detail how
the features of your installation may help or hinder good
draft, and how you may need to vary your firing technique
if your installation doesn't encourage a good draft.
Refuel while the embers are Still hot
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When reloading, best results will be achieved if you first
de-ash the stove by stirring the fuel bed to allow ash to fall
through the grate into the ash pan.
Do not break the charcoal into very small pieces or pound
or compress the charcoal bed.
It is important that air can circulate through the charcoal
bed during the burn. Larger pieces of charcoal allow more
air to circulate under the wood, resulting in the fire reviving
more quickly. (Fig. 39)
Fig. 39 Add full size logs after the ember bed is 3" (75mm)
deep.
For best results when refueling, wear long-cuffed stove
gloves to protect your hands and forearms, add fuel while
the stove still has plenty of glowing embers to re-kindle the
fire, and include some smaller pieces of wood in the new
fuel load to help the stove regain its operating tempera-
ture quickly. Use this sequence as a guide to successful
refueling:
1. Open the damper.
2. De-ash the stove as described above. Open the ash-
door and check the level of ash in the ash pan. Empty
the pan if necessary and replace it in the stove. Close
the ash door.
3. Open the griddle, load the wood (smaller pieces first),
and close the griddle.
4. Close the damper.
5. When the surface temperature reaches 450°F. (230°C),
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adjust the air control for the amount of heat you de-
sire.
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add wood fire
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