Break In Fires

[RayBurner]

What is the purpose of break-in fires?

How many should be done and how long should they last before firing away??

 

[DAKSY]

What is the purpose of break-in fires?

How many should be done and how long should they last before firing away??

Read your manual. It will tell you how many are necessary & what the duration of each one should be. Basically, you want to heat your unit up to it's max operating temps gradually. The materials that it's made of, whether cast iron, plate steel, soapstone or any combination of the three, haven't been exposed to high temperatures since the assembly at the factory. Different materials expand at different rates & even the same materials, because of different shapes & sizes will expand at different rates when subjected to intense heat. Breaking in or seasoning, by gradually expanding & contracting the base materials allows the whole unit to move a little bit at a time, so nothing deforms, cracks or breaks. Once it's seasoned, you shouldn't have any issues...

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

+1 on what he said. To include any firebrick as well, need to get any moisture out.

 

[Oregon aloha]

The moisture in the firebrick can sometimes take a few days to dry completely out. So the fire in your stove may seem a bit lazy. You may blame it on your wood, don't. This is normal and will go away soon.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

And one should mention the very great possibility of some smell and perhaps even some smoke from that new paint. If you also have new black flue pipe, that can and will also smoke and stink.

To counter-act this a bit, Have 3 or 4 candles handy and light them when you light the stove. That will cut the smoke and some of the smell. Also be prepared because you may have to open a window or two.