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5.0 Operating Instructions
5.1 Safety Precautions
A fireplace can bring many hours of enjoyment,
comfort and warmth if operated and maintained
properly. Certain safety precautions must be ob-
served to eliminate the dangers associated with fire
and provide a satisfactory, smoke free fire.
A. When burning wood use solid, seasoned wood
only. Do not use scrap wood or artificial wax
based logs, treated coal or woods dipped in pine
tar or pitch.
B. Never use gasoline or other combustible liq-
uids when starting a fire.
C. Keep the chimney damper open while burning
a fire. Do not interrupt air flow. Make sure suffi-
cient air is present to support combustion. The
manufacturer of this fireplace is not responsi-
ble for interior smoke resulting from lack of
combustion air.
CAUTION: WHEN USING THE DECORATIVE
GAS APPLIANCE (VENTED GAS
LOGS), THE FIREPLACE DAMPER
MUST BE SET IN THE FULLY OPEN
POSITION.
D. Keep a screen in front of the fireplace except
when tending the fire.
E. Keep combustible furniture/pillows at least
four feet from the opening.
F. Never leave the fire unattended.
G. Be extremely careful when adding wood and
handling fireplace tools. Never throw, kick or by
any other means force wood into the firebox as
this could damage the firebrick and fireplace
walls that could result in permanent damage and
void the warranty. Stress cracks from thermal cy-
cling are normal.
H. Do not alter this fireplace to the extent that it
would jeopardize the structural integrity of the
fireplace. Drilling or cutting a hole for a gas line,
fresh air vent or ash dump is acceptable. Use only
Stone Age authorized equipment with this fire-
place.
5.2 Selection of Wood
Use cured wood logs only. Scrap wood produces
sparks. Treated wood, coal, or woods dipped in
pine tar should not be used because they may leave
a combustible residue in the fireplace and chimney.
Use of seasoned wood is preferred.
The amount of heat available from logs will depend
on the type of wood, its dryness, quantity of wood
and the size of the logs. Ten pounds of twigs will
produce as much heat as a 10 pound log, but will
produce it much faster because the air supply is
more available.
5.3 Softwood vs. Hardwood
Wood is divided into two classes, hard and soft
woods. Each has a use in a fireplace and each has
advantages and disadvantages.
The hardwood category includes such woods as
oak, walnut, birch, elm and maple. Softwoods in-
clude pine, fir, cedar and spruce.
Selection of wood depends on the type of fire you
want. Softwoods are good to offset a morning chill
because the fire develops faster. Hardwoods are
preferable for a slower burning and uniform heat
output.
Softwoods contain a highly flammable resin that
will leave creosote soot in the chimney flue. This
often results in sparking. Burning softwood exclu-
sively will require more frequent inspection and
cleaning of the chimney.
Experienced fire builders often use small amounts
of softwood kindling and newspaper when starting
a split hardwood log fire.
5.4 Seasoned Wood
Most freshly cut “green” wood will not burn well
and will smoke. The pressure of moisture and resin
inside green wood will build under heat and ex-
plode as sparks. Therefore, it is recommended that
only seasoned wood be used in your fireplace.
Most wood requires 9 to 12 months of seasoning
and drying to reduce the moisture content enough
to produce good steady fires. Make sure that you
buy only seasoned wood, or if you buy green wood
(usually cheaper), store it properly to aid in the sea-
soning process. The following steps will assist in
the seasoning process.