Operating instructions

Heatmax Furnace Installation and Operation Manual
17
4 Operating your furnace
4.1 Your first fires
Two things will happen as you burn your first few fires; the paint cures and the internal
components of the furnace are conditioned.
As the paint cures, some of the chemicals vaporize. The vapours are not poisonous, but
they do smell bad. Fresh paint fumes can also cause false alarms in smoke detectors. So,
when you first light your furnace, be prepared by opening doors and/or windows to
ventilate the house. As you burn hotter and hotter fires, more of the painted surfaces reach
the curing temperature of the paint. The smell of curing paint does not disappear until you
have burned one or two very hot fires.
It is recommended to burn it at high rate and ventilate the building until the odours
disappear. Once the paint smell disappears, your furnace is ready for serious heating.
4.2 Lighting fires
Each person who heats with wood develops their own favourite method to light fires.
Whatever method you choose, your goal should be to get a hot fire burning quickly. A fire
that starts fast produces less smoke and deposits less creosote in the chimney. Here are
three popular and effective ways to start wood fires.
4.2.1 Conventional fire starting
The conventional way to build a wood
fire is to bunch up 5 to 10 sheets of
plain newspaper and place them in the
firebox. Next, place 10 or so pieces of
fine kindling on the newspaper. This
kindling should be very thin; less than
1” (25 mm). Next, place some larger
kindling pieces on the fine kindling.
Open the air control and light the
newspaper. If you have a tall, straight
venting system you should be able to
close the door immediately and the fire
will ignite. If your venting system has
elbows or an outside chimney, you may
need to leave the door closed but
unlatched for a few minutes as the
newspaper ignites and heat in the
chimney produces some draft. Once
the fire has ignited, close the door and
leave the air control open.
A conventional kindling fire with paper under
finely split wood.
DO NOT LEAVE THE FURNACE UNATTENDED WHEN THE DOOR IS SLIGHTLY
OPENED DURING IGNITION. ALWAYS CLOSE THE DOOR AFTER IGNITION.