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OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ BEFORE USING STOVE
BURNING PROCESS
In recent years there has been an increasing concern about air quality. Much of the blame for poor air quality has been
placed on the burning of wood for home heating. In order to improve the situation, we at Quadra-Fire have developed
cleaner-burning wood stoves that surpass the requirements for emissions established by our governing agencies. These
wood stoves, like any other appliances, must be properly operated in order to insure that they perform the way they are
designed to perform. Improper operation can turn most any wood stove into a smoldering environmental hazard.
It helps to know a little about the actual process of burning in order to understand what goes on inside a stove. The first
stage of burning we will call the kindling stage. In this stage, the wood is heated to a temperature high enough to evapo-
rate the moisture which is present in all wood. The wood will reach the boiling point of water (212°F) and will not get
any hotter until the water is evaporated. This process takes heat from the coals and tends to cool the stove. Fire requires
three things to burn: fuel, air and heat. So, if heat is robbed from the stove during the drying stage, the new load of wood
has reduced the chances for a good clean burn. For this reason, it is always best to burn dry, seasoned firewood. When
the wood isn’t dry, you must open the air controls and burn the stove at a high burn setting for a longer time to start it
burning. The control on the right side of the stove is called the primary control; it is used mainly during the kindling
stage of burning, or when burning the stove at a high burn setting. It should be closed (pulled outward) for lower burns.
The next stage of burning, the secondary stage, is the period when the wood gives off flammable gases which burn above
the fuel with bright flames. During this stage of burning it is very important that the flames be maintained and not
allowed to go out. This will insure the cleanest possible fire. If you are adjusting your stove for a low burn rate, you
should close down the air to the point where you can still maintain some flame. If the flames tend to go out, the stove is
set too low for your burning conditions. The air control in the center of the stove, beneath the ashcatcher, is the one used
to adjust the stove for lower burn rates. This is called the secondary control. Pulling either control towards you closes it,
pushing it in opens it.
The final stage of burning is the charcoal stage. This occurs when the flammable gases have been mostly burned and
only charcoal remains. This is a naturally clean portion of the burn. The coals burn with hot blue flames. It is very
important to reload your stove while enough lively hot coals remain in order to provide the amount of heat needed to dry
and rekindle the next load of wood. It is best to open the air controls for a short while before reloading. This livens up
the coalbed. Open door slowly so that ash or smoke does not exit stove through opening. You should also break up any
large chunks and distribute the coals so that the new wood is laid on hot coals.
Air quality is important to all of us, and if we choose to use wood to heat our homes we should do so responsibly. To do
this we need to learn to burn our stoves in the cleanest way possible. Doing this will allow us to continue using our wood
stoves for many years to come.
PRIMARY AIR SYSTEM
The primary combustion air enters at the rear of the firebox through the primary air tubes. This air supply is controlled
by the primary control. For maximum burn rates (more heat) push control in, for minimum burn rates (less heat) pull
control out.
SECONDARY AIR SYSTEM
The secondary air enters at the upper front of the firebox, near the top of the glass door. This preheated air supplies the
necessary fresh oxygen to mix with the unburned gases, helping to create secondary, tertiary and quaternary combustions.
This air is regulated by the secondary control. For more secondary air push control in, for less secondary air pull control
out.
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Primary control
Secondary control