Breaking in a new wood stove

[Pink_Carnation]

We just got our 1st wood stove and the directions say to break it in by doing a 20min fire that gets things to about 250 with the door partially open and then another like that then a 4 hour burn at 450. My question is how the heck do you manage that?

They also gave us a free sample of a firestarter that is supposed to mean no kindling and no paper....the reality is that you will go through a whole lot of lighter fluid getting the thing lit.

[Beeman]

No lighter fluid!
What stove is this? Is it cast iron? Just build small fires and monitor temps.

[chickenista]

Well, I'd throw out the 'firestarter' they gave you.
Do it on a warm day.
I build mine by putting a good sized log on one side of the stove. Then a bit of paper and cardboard on the other side. I lean kindling against the log and over the paper cardboard. And bigger sticks over that.
Light the paper. You should get a draft up the pipe and the kindling will catch and then you can start stacking it up slowly.

For your first fire, you will want the front door of the house open because it will stink!!!
All the dust and paint stuff etc..will put off a smell. And the pipe will too.
Have a slow fire that builds slowly to a strong fire that will s-l-o-w-l-y heat your new stove. Let it rip until it burns out naturally to slowly cool your new stove back down. After that, you should be fine.

[Pink_Carnation]

Originally Posted by Beeman

No lighter fluid!
What stove is this? Is it cast iron? Just build small fires and monitor temps.

Bic lighter fluid...not the kind for charcoal. I didn't even think about the other fluid.
Yes to the cast iron with some sort of paint stuff that needs curing. What do I use to monitor temps? I can tell warm from hot but not much beyond that for their 250 and 450 stuff. You would think in making these things they would just run them through an oven at those temps.

[RonM]

Just start with kindling and build a small fire, then a little bigger fire, you will be able to figure it out once it gets started.....

[Wayne02]

Originally Posted by Pink_Carnation

What do I use to monitor temps?

You can use one of these wood stove thermometers available online or at most local wood stove supply places. You will want to monitor the stoves temperatures when it is in normal daily operation anyway so investment in one of these thermometers might not be a bad idea.

I prefer to use the top down approach for lighting the wood stove.
http://www.woodheat.org/tips/topdown.htm

Good video here:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/...1CD70-1_En.htm

[highlands]

Caulking and coatings to prevent leaks and rust are on the stove. Burn in may produce fumes you don't want to breath, especially if the temps get high. There also might be some shifting of plates so build up slowly. I burned our wood stove and pipes in outdoors when first installing:
<img>http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/uploaded_images2008/WoodStoveInstalled/08HopeStoveBurnOutside7714w.jpg</>
as described here:
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2008/01/fire.html
There was quite a bit of off gassing and I was glad I did that outdoors.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[pheasantplucker]

Don't ever use any kind of accelerant to get a fire going inside. I put a log along the back wall of the stove. Crumple 4-5 sheets of newspaper in front of that. A smaller log in front of that. Place some dried kindling spanning the newspaper touching both logs. Strike your match and light the paper. Keep your door open enough that the fire gets air, but no so open as to let smoke escape. As the fire grows hotter, your stove will draw better. After the kindling starts going, you can put some smaller sticks (between thumb size and wrist size) on top of the blaze. Basically you need to not let your first two or three fires get overly hot. They call that seasoning the stove. You'll prpbably smell some odors the first time or two you burn. that's normal. Good luck.

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by Pink_Carnation

Bic lighter fluid...not the kind for charcoal. I didn't even think about the other fluid.
Yes to the cast iron with some sort of paint stuff that needs curing. What do I use to monitor temps? I can tell warm from hot but not much beyond that for their 250 and 450 stuff. You would think in making these things they would just run them through an oven at those temps.

You need to break in the cast iron along with burning off the paint and the rest. Overheating the cast iron could result in cracking the stove.
Bic lighter fluid? Are you meaning one of those little gun type Bic lighters to light the fire instead of a match? We just stick to matches, one less piece of junk to throw away.

[Pink_Carnation]

Yeah I meant the lighter...we have some sitting around and that stupid firestarter thing took almost 1 minute with it on to get it lit. I used the firestarter thing just so it wasn't still sitting around. I am not going to pay for something like that when I have way more paper than I will need.

[Cabin Fever]

Yeah, they want you to break in the stove easy-like so (1) you don't crack the cast iron and (2) the paint cures properly.

We use a 1/3 brick, wax/sawdust, fire starter all the time. The starter costs us about 10 cents and will start full size logs....no need to mess with paper or kindling. One farmer match will light our starters.

[clsmith15]

I use firestarters all the time. I light it outside of the stove and then place it in the stove close to the wood but not so close that the flame will go out. They are a pain to get going if you try to light them inside the stove. I break up the brick and get 8 firestarters per brick. I usually have my stove up to cruising temp in 1/2 hour with the firestarter and a load of splits. I was told by my sweep that paper can get sucked up the stack still on fire and ignite stuff outside.

[jross]

As Wayne02 said, get stove thermometer and install it at eye level for the most efficient burning. I drill a small hole in the flue pipe and run a one inch sheet metal screw through the metal grommet on the thermometer to give a more accurate reading, but it not necessary as the thermometer has a magnet to keep it on the pipe. Firing between 260 and 380 F or so, after the stove is cured will keep creosote down and gain efficiency.