First Fire In New Stove Guidelines Please

I am very close to having the Madison from England Stove Works installed. I am a bit nervous about building the first fire. What do I need to do please?

 

There are plenty of advocates for the "top down" fire starting method, always seemed counterintuitive to me. As far as break in burns go, I would take two splits and place them parallel to each other in the stove, twisted newspaper placed between them and kindling on top. Let the stove get warm like that, and then cool back off, build increasingly hot fires incrementally allowing the stove to cool in between until you have reached your desired cruising temp for the stove and the new stove smell should have burnt off

 

Make a small fire first to cure the paint.

From then on when starting from a cold stove the first fire is usually used to develop a good bed of hot coals.

The stove will perform best loaded with full loads on hot coals.

Hope your wood supply is good and dry. Makes things easier.

Kindling and a good fire starter using the top down fire starting method works very good.

Some people even when loading on hot coals will throw in a fire starter like a SuperCedar or Fat wood firestarters on top of the wood load.

This will help the coals down below to get going and it heats up the space up in the top of the stove to speed up the whole process.

As its all about building the heat, Once the heat is built up the wood off gases and burns. That why kindling helps also. Faster at building.

Plus Kindling can burn without the door cracked and thus not have the door cracked means less heat is flushed up the flue at start up.
The more heat that can be kept in the stove means the heat builds up in the firebox faster, so a closed stove door is better than an open one.
But big wood wont take off like kindling will when you leave the door closed.

Best startups are with a bed of hot coals , dry wood, small kindling then on top the wood use a firestarter, gets it all going fast which lets you get your input air shut back down
quicker for longer burn times. As if you struggle getting that heat built up quick in the firebox you end up messing around with the door cracked and burning up alot of the main wood supply
just trying to get the dang stove heated up to operational temps for turnning then the input air back down to the all night burn setting.

Incrementally closing the air back down in 1/4 ways increments is the best most efficient way to get the stove going the quickest. As each time your close the input air less heat gets flushed up the flue and more heat builds in the stove. But if you close the air too quick before the proper heat has built up in the fire box then the flames could go out. Its a learning curve you have to go thru. Its a feel for how to operate your stove. I would start turning the input air down in 1/4 ways increments once the stove top temps get to like 375 to 400 deg F.

I would have a temp gauge on the stove top and one on the single wall pipe 16" above the stove. Watch these two temps on startups and you will learn your stove and hot it behaves.

Dry wood simplifies this whole process. Kindling makes it even easier and a firestarter like a super cedars or some other type of firestarter is a must.

 

Kimberly, this is from your manual, page 17...........

The first break-in fire should be just a large kindling fire, getting the stove to about 300 deg.F as
measured by a magnetic thermometer on the left or right side of the stove, above the door.
Once this temperature has been reached, allow the fire to die out with the air control open. The 2nd and 3rd break-in fires should be a bit larger, with some small dry splits added to the kindling load.
The temperature goal during these fires is about 350-400F; don't let the fire get hotter than that.

 

Sounds like they got you heading in the right direction Kimberly that's what's nice about most folks around here. I have to chuckle though on papadave's post though, couldn't help thinking "if all else fails read the directions"

 

Yes, I have the manual and have read through it. Just wanted to see what you guys had to say as well. I don't have the thermometers, guess I should pick up some when I get the stove pipe. Thanks guys.

 

Ignore everyone who posted above.

First thing: a bunch of cold beer. If you don't have this don't bother reading anything else. Get the beer, then come back.

Ok, you got the beer, you're mostly good to go.

NOW read what everyone else has posted above!


Good luck!!!


I remember my first fire as well - it was glorious!!!!!!

 

Yes, I must make sure that I take a photo of the first fire.

 

That is pretty.

 

Glad to see everything is coming together for you Kimberly. I know that it has been a long drawn out affair for you and at times I thought you were about to give up. Things have a way of working out though! How long before the intial burn?

Gary

 

Kimberly, don't sweat it.
Remember when you started this? Don't doubt your abilities, and just do it....like the Nike ads.........and like you've been doing it.
Start small and keep going.
It's entirely possible to run a stove without a thermo, but I liken it to trying to tell how fast your car is going without a speedometer.

 

QFT so you can't welch on us later!!!!!

Good luck!!!! You've deserved it!

 

Had to look that up, and the first hit was Quantum Field Theory....that didn't seem to fit, so I kept looking to find one that worked.

 

I'm afraid my wife would cash me in for a room like that!