Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about wood, pellet and gas fireplaces, Rangeley Maine
High Temperature Stove Paint
Initial Firing Process
Your stove has been painted with the highest quality coating used in the heating appliance industry. Manufacturers have selected Stove Bright brand coating because the product has been proven durable, colorfast, and beautiful at temperatures to 1200ºF.
Stove Bright High Temperature paint has been air dried from your stove manufacturer creating a quality coating. To optimize the performance of the coating and to maximize its durability, it needs to go through a heating process. This process is explained below and should be followed as closely as possible during the first burn of your new appliance. Once the initial firing process is successfully completed, the coating will bond to the metal with a colorfast finish that will last for years.
Please read and follow your stove manufacturer instructions. Stove Bright provides the following instructions and cautions for the initial firing of your stove.
Do the following BEFORE you fire the stove for the first time:
1) Ventilate: Open doors and windows in the room with the stove. To speed dissipation of odor from the initial firing process, you can place a fan in the room to move the air.
2) Vacate: The fumes from the initial heating process are non-toxic, but may be uncomfortable for babies, small children, pregnant women, elderly, pets, or anyone with breathing difficulties.
Pellet or Wood: For your first fire be sure to Read and Follow stove manufacturer instructions. We recommend the following initial firing process:
1. Slowly bring the stove to a medium burn, about 400ºF, for about 45 minutes.
2. Increase the burn temperature to a hot burn, about 600ëF, for an additional 45-60 minutes.
Gas Unit: For your first fire, see the initial firing process instructions below:
1) Check stove manufacturer instructions regarding log curing and initial burns prior to your first burn.
2) If no other special instructions, fire the stove on a low setting for 2-4 hours then increase the het to a high setting for another 2-4 hours. During the initial firing a white deposit may develop on the inside of the glass. It is important to remove this white deposit from the glass with an appropriate cleaner to prevent build-up.
NOTE: During the initial firing process there are changes in the paint causing it to give off an odor and some visible smoke. The fumes are non-toxic, but can be unpleasant. Ventilate and vacate the room to avoid discomfort. Once the burn is complete there will be no odor or smoke the next time the stove is fired.
How to start a fire in your woodstove
Anybody can start a fire, right? What could be easier? Get some wood and some matches and away you go! Pretty soon you’ll be making goo-goo eyes at someone in the warm glow wondering where the romance went as you try to get all the smoke out of your house. Some people start their fires with I like to call “the Manhattan start up” three pieces of wood and one page of the Wall Street Journal. Although this might be a good way to make smoke, I can share a better way to BUILD A FIRE!
To start a fire you need at least six things:
Draft
Dry Wood
Tinder
Matches or a lighter
Kindling
Stove top thermometer
Draft is a force in your chimney that is the result of a temperature difference between the air inside the chimney and the air outside that causes a pressure difference. This pressure difference causes the air inside the chimney to rise up and exit from the top of the chimney.
Tinder is any dry combustible substance such as newspaper or wood shavings that will catch fire when you touch them with a lit match or lighter.
Kindling is wood that is very dry and split into pieces that are no bigger than 1 inch by 1 inch.
Dry wood is wood that has been stacked, split, and allowed to dry under cover until it reaches 20% moisture content.
A thermometer is like a speedometer – it will tell you if you are burning hot enough or too hot.
Now we are ready to start a fire! Like anything else in life, starting a fire will be much easier and be more successful if we build a good foundation. I use plenty of newspaper. I ball it up and cover the entire base of the stove. I have been known to use the entire newspaper (but NOT the Sunday edition of the New York Times…). Then I use plenty of kindling. I lay down three or four layers of plenty of kindling in opposing directions so air can circulate through the layers. At this point I add a few small logs, because at this time there isn’t much room to put in much more. To add a little insurance, I crumple up two or three more balls of newspaper and cram them in on top of the logs. I am assuming for this example that draft is present. With my match or lighter I light the paper on top first and then across the bottom. Now I can set the air control wide open and close the load door. Am important point is that you should NEVER open your ash pan door to get the fire going. This can damage the stove and greatly reduce the useful life the stove. I leave the air control wide open until my thermometer reaches 400 degrees. The fire will burn robustly and do a great job of warming up the chimney and establishing a strong draft. At this point the kindling has probably burned down enough so I can add more wood. When this additional load had caught and I am still seeing a surface temperature of at least 400 degrees, I can now turn the air control down for an extended burn.
Tim Gerencer, Jotul North America