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Installation and Operation Manual for Escape 1800
22
4.4.6 Building Different Fires for Different Needs
Using the air control is not the only way to match the stove’s heat output to the heat demand.
Your house will need far less heat in October than in January to be kept at a comfortable
temperature. If you fill the firebox full in fall weather, you will either overheat the space or
turn the stove down so much that the fire will be smoky and inefficient. Here are some
suggestions for building fires to match different heat demand.
4.4.6.1 Small Fires to Take the Chill Off the House
To build a small fire that will produce a low heat output, use small pieces of firewood and
load them crisscross in the firebox. The pieces should be only 3” to 4” in diameter. After
raking the coals, you can lay two pieces parallel to each other corner to corner in the firebox
and lay two more across them in the other direction. Open the air control fully and only
reduce the air after the wood is fully flaming. This kind of fire is good for mild weather when
you are around to tend the stove and should provide enough heat for four hours or more.
Small fires like this are a good time to use softer wood species so there will be less chance
of overheating the house.
4.4.6.2 Long Lasting Low Output Fires
Sometimes you will want to build a fire to last up to eight hours, but don’t need intense heat.
In this case use soft wood species and place the logs compactly in the firebox so the pieces
are packed tightly together. You will need to fire the load hot for long enough to fully char
the log surfaces before you can turn the air down. Make sure the fire is flaming brightly
before leaving the fire to burn.
4.4.6.3 High Output Fires for Cold Weather
When the heat demand is high during cold weather, you’ll need a fire that burns steadily and
brightly. This is the time to use your biggest pieces of hardwood fuel if you have it. Put the
biggest pieces at the back of the firebox and place the rest of the pieces compactly. A
densely built fire like this will produce the longest burn your stove is capable of.
You will need to be cautious when building fires like this because if the air is turned down
too much, the fire could smoulder. Make sure the wood is flaming brightly before leaving the
fire to burn.
4.4.6.4 Maximum Burn Cycle Times
The burn cycle time is the period between loading wood on a coal bed and the consumption
of that wood back to a coal bed of the same size. The flaming phase of the fire lasts for
roughly the first half of the burn cycle and the second half is the coal bed phase during which
there is little or no flame. The length of burn you can expect from your stove, including both
the flaming and coal bed phases, will be affected by a number of things, such as:
• firebox size
• the size of the space to be heated
• the amount of wood loaded
• the climate zone you live in
• the species of wood you burn
• the time of year
• the wood moisture content
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