Testing Your Wood; The First Fires; Lighting The Fire - Osburn 1800 Owner's Manual

Many problems related to the operation of a wood stove are caused by the fact that the wood
used is too damp or has dried in poor conditions. These problems can be:
 problems lighting the fire
 creosote build-up causing flue fires
 low energy yield
 blackened windows
 incomplete log combustion
Smaller pieces of wood will dry faster. All logs exceeding 150 mm in diameter should be split.
The wood should not be stored directly on the ground. Air should circulate through the cord. A
half to one metre air gap 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 element but
not the sides.

TESTING YOUR WOOD

When the stove is thoroughly warmed, place one piece of split wood (about 130 mm 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 vapour 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 flue system, creating potential conditions for a flue fire.

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 is enough air circulation while curing the stove. The odours 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. The smoke resulting from the paint curing process is not toxic.

LIGHTING THE FIRE

After making sure that the stove air intake controls are fully open to the right (located on the front
of the stove, see Figure 6), place several rumpled sheets of paper in the center of the combustion
chamber. Place 8 to 10 pieces of small dry kindling wood over the paper in the form of a tent.
You may also place a few pieces of heating wood, but choose the smaller ones. No chemical
product should be used to light the fire.
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