Ashley AWC21 - Operation, Efficiency, and Creosote; Controlled Combustion Operation; Heating Efficiency Explained; Operational Tips for Efficiency

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WARNINGS
¾ NEVER OVERFIRE YOUR STOVE. IF ANY PART OF THE STOVE STARTS TO GLOW RED, OVER FIRING IS
HAPPENING. READJUST THE AIR INTAKE CONTROL AT A LOWER SETTING.
¾ THE INSTALLATION OF A LOG CRADLE OR GRATES IS NOT RECOMMENDED IN YOUR WOOD STOVE.
BUILD FIRE DIRECTLY ON FIREBRICK.
¾ NEVER PUT WOOD ABOVE THE FIREBRICK LINING OF THE FIREBOX.
¾ ATTEMPTS TO ACHIEVE HEAT OUTPUT RATES THAT EXCEED HEATER DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS CAN
RESULT IN PERMANENT DAMAGE TO THE HEATER.
RELOADING
Once you have obtained a good bed of embers, you should reload the unit. In order to do so, open the air controls to maximum
a few seconds prior to opening the stove’s door. Then proceed by opening the door very slowly; open it one or two inches for 5
to 10 seconds, before opening it completely to increase the draft and thus eliminate the smoke which is stagnant in a state of slow
combustion in the stove. Then bring the red embers to the front of the stove and reload the unit.
For optimal operation of your wood stove, we recommend you to operate it with a wood load approximately equivalent to the
height of re bricks.
It is important to note that wood combustion consumes ambient oxygen in the room. In the case of negative pressure, it is a good
idea to allow fresh air in the room, either by opening a window slightly or by installing a fresh air intake system on an outside wall.
Creosote - Formation and Need for Removal when wood is burned slowly, it produces tar and other organic vapors, which combine
with expelled moisture to form creosote. The creosote vapors condense in the relatively cool chimney ue of a slow-burning re.
As a result, creosote residue accumulates on the ue lining. When ignited, this creosote makes an extremely hot re. The chimney
connector and chimney should be inspected at least once every two months during the heating season to determine if a creosote
build-up has occurred. If creosote has accumulated (3mm or more), it should be removed to reduce the risk of a chimney re. We
strongly recommend that you install a magnetic thermometer on your smoke exhaust pipe, approximately 18” above the stove. This
OPERATION
Controlled combustion is the most efcient technique for wood heating because it enables you to select the type of combustion
you want for each given situation. The wood will burn slowly if the wood stove air intake control is adjusted to reduce the oxygen
supply in the combustion chamber to a minimum. On the other hand, wood will burn quickly if the air control is adjusted to admit
a larger quantity of oxygen in the combustion chamber. Refer to the primary air settings table for damper operation setting. Real
operating conditions may give very different results than those obtained during testing according to the species of wood used, its
moisture content, the size and density of the pieces, the length of the chimney, altitude and outside temperature.
EFFICIENCIES
Efciencies can be based on either the lower heating value (LHV) or the higher heating value (HHV) of the fuel. The lower heating
value is when water leaves the combustion process as a vapor, in the case of woodstoves the moisture in the wood being burned
leaves the stove as a vapor. The higher heating value is when water leaves the combustion process completely condensed. In the
case of woodstoves this would assume the exhaust gases are room temperature when leaving the system, and therefore calculations
using this heating value consider the heat going up the chimney as lost energy. Therefore, efciency calculated using the lower
heating value of wood will be higher than efciency calculated using the higher heating value. In the United States all woodstove
efciencies should be calculated using the higher heating value.
The best way to achieve optimum efciencies is to learn the burn characteristic of you appliance and burn well-seasoned wood.
Higher burn rates are not always the best heating burn rates; after a good re is established a lower burn rate may be a better option for
efcient heating. A lower burn rate slows the ow of usable heat out of the home through the chimney, and it also consumes less wood.
OPERATIONAL TIPS
Operational Tips for Good, Efcient, and Clean Combustion
• Get the appliance hot and establish a good coal bed before adjusting to a low burn rate (this may take 30 minutes or more
depending on your wood)
• Use smaller pieces of wood during start-up and a high burn rate to increase the stove temperature
• Be considerate of the environment and only burn dry wood
• Burn small, intense res instead of large, slow burning res when possible
• Learn your appliance’s operating characteristics to obtain optimum performance
• Burning unseasoned wet wood only hurts your stoves efciency and leads to accelerated creosote buildup in your chimney.
WOODSTOVE UTILIZATION