Use The Air Control Settings That Work Best For You; Defiant Control Settings; Conditioning Your Stove; Non-Catalytic Wood Burning - Vermont Castings Defiant 1975 Installation And Operating Manual

Non-catalytic / catalytic woodburning stove
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Defiant
1975 Non-Catalytic / Catalytic Woodburning Stove
®
Use the air control Settings
that work best for you
No single air control setting will fit every situation. Each
installation will differ depending on the quality of the
fuel, the amount of heat desired, and how long you wish
the fire to burn; outdoor air temperature and pressure
also affect draft.
The control setting also depends on your particular
installation's "draft," or the force that moves air from the
stove up through the chimney. Draft is affected by such
things as the length, type, and location of the chimney,
local geography, nearby obstructions, and other factors.
See Page 27 for details on how the installation affects
performance.
Too much draft may cause excessive temperatures in
the Defiant, and could even damage the stove. On the
other hand, too little draft can cause backpuffing into
the room and/or the "plugging" of the chimney.
How do you know if your draft is excessively high or
low? Symptoms of too much draft include an uncontrol-
lable burn or a glowing-red stove part. Signs of weak
draft are smoke leaking into the room through the stove
or chimney connector joints or low heat output.
In some newer homes that are well-insulated and
weather-tight, poor draft may result from an insufficient
air supply in the house. In such instances, an open
window near the stove on the windward side of the
house can provide the combustion air supply needed.
Another option for getting more combustion air to the
stove is to duct air directly from outside to the stove. In
some areas provisions for outside combustion air are
required in all new construction.
The Defiant is equipped to deliver outside air for com-
bustion and outside air kit #3265 is available.
When first using the stove, keep track of the air control
settings. You will quickly find that a specific setting will
give you a fixed amount of heat. It may take a week or
two to determine the amount of heat and the length of
burn you should expect from various settings.
Most installations do not require a large amount of
combustion air, especially if adequate draft is available.
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.
Each is described as a fraction of the total distance the
lever may be moved from right to left.
24

Defiant control Settings

(Refer to Figure 29, Page 19)
burn Rate
Low
From far right to 1/3 the distance
to left
Medium
From 1/3 to 2/3 the distance
to left
High
From 2/3 the distance
to left, to far left
Do NoT opeRaTe The STove wiTh The aSh
DooR opeN. opeRaTioN wiTh The aSh DooR
opeN caN caUSe aN oveRFiRiNg coNDiTioN
To occUR. oveRFiRiNg The STove iS DaNgeR-
oUS aND caN ReSUlT iN pRopeRTy DaMage,
iNjURy oR loSS oF liFe.

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 Defiant,
minimize thermal stress by letting the plates adjust
gradually during three or four initial break-in fires follow-
ing Steps 1-3 below.

Non-catalytic wood burning

Burn only solid wood in the Defiant, and burn it directly
on the grate. Do not elevate the fuel. Do not burn coal
or other fuels.
The bypass damper must be open when starting a
fire or when refueling.
Do not use chemicals or fluids to start the fire. Do
not burn garbage. Never use flammable fluids such
as gasoline, gasoline type lantern fuel, kerosene,
charcoal lighter fluid, naptha, engine oil or similar
liquids to start or "freshen up" a fire in this heater.
keep all such liquids well away from the heater
while it is in use.
1. Open the stove bypass damper, and open the prima-
ry air control fully.
2. Place several sheets of crumpled newspaper in the
stove. Place six or eight pieces of dry kindling split to a
finger-width size on the paper. On the kindling, lay two
or three larger sticks of split dry wood approximately
1-2" (25-51 mm) in diameter. (Fig. 37)
3. Light the newspaper and close the door. Gradu-
ally build up the fire by adding a few 3-5" (80-120 mm)
diameter pieces of split firewood. if this is one of the
first few "break-in" fires, let the fire burn brightly,
and then let it die out.
primary air control
30005220

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