NOVEMBER 2012 page 8www.jayline.co.nz
Preventing creosote build-up: Creosote is a tar-like substance that builds up when the organic
compounds in smoke condense onto cooler ue surfaces. Left to build up over time, creosote will
restrict the airow of the ue and impair the performance of your heater. The production of smoke
is at its highest when a fresh fuel load is added or when the air control is at its lowest position. The
most eective way to control the creosote formation is to burn the heater so as to ensure as complete
combustion as possible and at the same time promoting higher ue temperatures. Smoldering res
should always be avoided.
The amount of charcoal in the ash is often a good indicator of how well you are operating the heater.
If there is no charcoal and only very ne ash, then you are doing an excellent job. If there is a lot of
charcoal you may be turning the combustion air down too soon after refuelling, or not raking the
charcoal to the combustion air inlet, or turning the combustion air down too low to support ecient
combustion, or all of the above.
REMEMBER: THE HOTTER THE FIRE, THE LESS CREOSOTE FORMATION.
When you have mastered the techniques for ecient wood burning, here is what you should see:
1. When wood burns it should be aming until only charcoal remains. If there are no ames, something
is wrong.
2. Firebricks in the rebox should be tan in colour, never black.
3. Steel parts in the rebox should be light to dark brown, never black and shiny.
4. With seasoned wood, correct air settings and proper loading arrangement you should expect quick
ignition of a new load of wood - the bottom pieces should be aming by the time the door is closed.
5. The glass door should be clear. A discoloured glass indicates that the wood is too wet or the air control
has not been left open long enough.
6. The exhaust coming from the top of the ue system should be clear or white. A plume of blue or
grey smoke indicates smouldering, inecient combustion, air pollution and probably low operating
temperatures.
Correctly installed and operated, Jayline solid fuel heaters do not spill smoke into the house. There are
three main reasons why some woodstoves smoke:
Bad installation design: Incorrect ue installation, resulting in low ue temperatures and low draught,
can make a wood heater more likely to spill smoke. For example, ue systems that run up the outside
wall of the house and are not correctly insulated can rob the heat from the ue and produce very
little draught. Each elbow in the ue pipe assembly slows down the ow of gases and causes a small
restriction to ow. When a ue system includes more than one elbow, the restriction can be enough to
cause spillage.
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