OPERATION
Seasoning Your Stove
Both soapstone and steel need to be seasoned. The seasoning can be accomplished through a series of small to
moderate fires. Your Woodstock Soapstone Stove is an easy stove to season, because even a small fire will provide hours
of radiant heat once the stove is warm. There are two things you will notice during the first fire:
First, there will be a hot, acrid smell as the stove heats up. This smell is a result of the paint on the stove and pipe
curing. You will want to have your first fire on a day when you can open the windows in the house to provide adequate
ventilation. The odor is non-toxic and will only be present for the first few fires.
Second, there will be some condensation on the glass. This condensation is a result of any moisture being driven out
of the stove and condensing on the inner surface of the glass. It takes a couple of small fires to season the stove and
remove this excess moisture.
Starting a Fire And Establishing Proper Draft
1. Open the catalytic bypass. The bypass lever is located above loading door either on the
right or left side of the stove. Lift the bypass lever up until it stops to bypass the catalytic
combustor. The bypass must be opened before opening the load door.
2. Open the combustion air damper by lifting the knobed handle up to the 4 position. The
air damper is located at the rear of the stove (same side as the loading door). Push the
handle slighly away from the stove and move the lever up, this allows maximum air is
into the firebox.
3. Always confirm there is adequate draft before lighting the fire. Hold a lit match or light
a small piece of newspaper in the top/front of the firebox, where smoke exits. If the
flame is drawn out of the firebox, toward the flue, proceed with lighting the fire. If the
flame stands still or is pushed away from the flue exit, you must establish a good draft
before lighting a fire. A hair dryer or heat gun pointed at the flue exit is a good way to
establish draft without creating a lot of smoke. After you think you have draft, re-test
with a match.
4. Once good draft has been established, build a fire on the floor of the firebox.
DO NOT USE ADDITIONAL GRATES, ANDIRONS OR ANY OTHER METHODS
TO SUPPORT THE FUEL IN THE FIREBOX. Start with crumpled newspaper and dry
kindling.
5. Add small splits of firewood once the kindling has ignited. This will establish a bed of hot
coals.
6. Add small to medium splits onto the hot coals. Assuming the wood is dry, the fire should
spread through the wood. After about 10 minutes, close the air damper down between
around the 3 mark.
7. After the single wall pipe temperature reaches 250°-300°F, close the bypass by lowering
the handle down to the closed position. All of the smoke from the firebox will now pass
through the catalytic combustor. The combustor will generate a substantial amount of
heat as it “burns” the smoke passing through it.
8. Adjust the air control damper to a lower setting, the best burn setting is between 1 and 2.
Push the air damper handle gently away from the stove and and push it down to a
lower air setting. The closer the lever is to the bottom of the stove, the lower the burn
rate, as less air is entering the firebox. The final damper setting will be determined by the
desired heat output from the stove, the condition of the wood being burned, and the
draft through the chimney system.
The amount of combustion air
available in the firebox is con-
trolled by the damper lever.
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Check draft and preheat the
chimney if necessary
Catalyst
Bypass Lever
The bypass lever interlocks
with the door when the
combustor is engaged
(bypass closed). This safety
feature makes it impossible
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