Vermont Casting 1945 - Manual (Page 20)

20
Defiant Woodburning Stove
30001693
ST544
door open
11/00
Clockwise to
Open
Counter-
clockwise
to Close
ST544
Fig. 31 To open the front doors, turn the handle clockwise.
To reduce the risk of breaking the glass, avoid striking
the glass or slamming the doors.
When you’re not using the door handle, store it in the
holder behind the left front leg of the stove. Be careful
to not drop the handle, since it is breakable.
WARNING: Fireplace stoves equipped with doors
should be operated only with doors fully open or
doors fully closed. If doors are left partly open, gas
and flame may be drawn out of the fireplace stove
opening, creating risks from both fire and smoke.
The Defiant may be used as a fireplace with the
front doors open or removed, BUT only when it
is equipped with 8” (203mm) stove pipe and only
when the optional spark screen is placed correctly
in the opening to protect against the possibility of
sparks and embers leaving the stove.
Use only the Defiant spark screen, Item #1907, with
your Defiant.
Defiant spark screens are available from your Ver-
mont Castings Dealer.
Infra-Red Reflective Glass Panels
for Clear Fire Viewing
The outer surfaces of the ceramic glass panels have
an infrared-reflective coating which keeps the inner
surfaces warm. This design, along with a pre-heated
‘airwash,’ makes clear fire viewing possible at most fir-
ing levels.
Andirons Help Protect the Glass
Your stove has andirons to keep logs away from the
glass panels. The andirons are essential to maintain
clear fireviewing, and should be left permanently in
place. Since the andirons may slightly hinder refueling
through the front doors, most stove owners will prefer
the convenience of top loading through the griddle. Do
not place fuel between the andirons and the doors.
Burn Only High-Quality Wood
The Defiant is designed to burn natural wood only; do
not burn fuels other than that for which it was designed.
You’ll enjoy the best results when burning wood that
has been adequately air-dried. The wood should be
22-24” (559-610 mm) in length. Avoid burning “green”
wood that has not been properly seasoned. Do not
burn construction materials; they often contain
chemicals and metals that can damage the catalytic
combustor or pollute the air. Do not burn ocean drift-
wood; when it burns, the salt it absorbs will attack the
cast iron.
The best hardwood fuels include oak, maple, beech,
ash, and hickory that has been split, stacked, and air-
dried outside under cover for at least one year.
If hardwood is not available, you can burn softwoods
that include tamarack, yellow pine, white pine, East-
ern red cedar, fir, and redwood. These should also be
properly dried.
Store wood under cover to keep it dry. The longer it is
stored, the better heating and fire-viewing performance
you will enjoy. Even for short-term storage, however,
keep wood a safe distance from the heater and keep
it out of the areas around the heater used for refueling
and ash removal.
A Surface Thermometer is a Valuable
Guide to Operation
An optional surface thermometer tells you when to ad-
just the air control, and when to refuel. (Fig. 32)
ST523
Intrepid
temp readings
11/00
ST523
Fig. 32 Take temperature readings with a thermometer lo-
cated in the middle of the griddle.
For example, when the thermometer registers at least
450°F. (230°C) after start-up you know that the stove
is hot enough to begin catalytic combustion and that it
may be time to close the damper. Note that the stove
will warm up much sooner than the chimney, though; a
warm chimney is the key to easy, effective stove opera-
tion. Please review the draft management information
on Page 26 to see how the size, type, and location of
your chimney will affect your stove operation. When
thermometer readings drop below 350°F. (175°C) it’s
time to adjust the air control for a higher burn rate or to
reload the stove. A temperature reading over 750°F.
(385°C) is a sign to cut back on the air supply to slow
the burn rate.