Hi everyone!
My husband and I recently had a Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 stove installed in our new home. We did a ton of research before selecting this stove (reading through a ton of stove recommendation threads on this site) and are very excited to use it. We have 3 cords of wood drying in the back yard (a mix of cherry and locust), but that won't be ready for at least another year, so in the meantime we purchased a face cord of already dried wood (mixture of cherry and maple) from our neighbor who has been heating his house with only a wood burning stove for many decades.
Now for the fun part - we are first timers who have absolutely NO idea what we are doing. We were both raised in homes that used electric or gas furnaces and our families think we are a little crazy for spending a ton of money on getting a wood stove installed in this day and age. We don't really know anyone who might be able to advise us except for our neighbor who sold us the face cord of wood, but he has a huge, very old stove surrounded by brick in his basement, and we don't know him all that well so don't want to burden him any more than we already have by asking him to help us figure out how to use this thing.
We chose this stove primarily because we read that it was simple to operate and relatively low maintenance compared to a lot of other new stoves on the market, so we are hoping it won't be difficult to figure out, but I am not exaggerating when I say we have literally NO idea what we are doing. We haven't used it yet because we want to be sure we are doing it right. I have read through the manual that came with the stove, but I already have several (probably very stupid) questions -
1. In the "lighting a fire" instructions, it starts by saying to adjust the air control to the high position. I assume this is the little black piece on the front/bottom of the stove that swivels from left (labeled H) to right (labeled L), but I do not see a diagram in the instruction manual that shows the air control location. I don't see anything else that could possibly be it, but if someone could please confirm I would greatly appreciate it! Also, what exactly does the air control do? I would assume turning it up to high allows for maximum air flow into the stove - does this just allow it to burn hotter? Again, sorry in advance if I sound like a complete idiot!
2. It then goes on to explain how to light a small fire using newspaper, some dry kindling, and finally a few small logs, and then to begin "normal operation" after a good coal base exists and the wood has charred. Could anyone point me to some photos of what a "good coal base" should look like? Will we achieve this after the very first burn or will it take a few? The installation guys told us to run 3 tiny fires and then work our way up to bigger ones from there. Does that sound correct?
3. Under the "normal operation" instructions it says to set air control to desired setting. Once again I am curious what exactly this does and what I should be looking for as far as my desired setting. It also says that if smoke pours down over the glass you shut the air control down "too soon" or are using too low a setting. When they say "too soon" I assume that means that we are always expected to start high and then turn it down at some specific point - what do I wait for so that I'm not turning it down too soon?
4. Do I always start the fire with just newspaper and kindling/a few small pieces of wood, leaving the door open, and then once that is engulfed add the bigger logs and then shut the door? Or is that just for the first time you use it, and after that you can shut the door from the get go and add a few larger pieces in at the beginning too?
5. Any recommendations for what tool to purchase to check the moisture content of our wood? Preferably something that doesn't cost a fortune, but of course we want to spend enough that we are buying a quality product that is giving an accurate reading.
Thank you so much in advance!
My husband and I recently had a Pacific Energy Alderlea T5 stove installed in our new home. We did a ton of research before selecting this stove (reading through a ton of stove recommendation threads on this site) and are very excited to use it. We have 3 cords of wood drying in the back yard (a mix of cherry and locust), but that won't be ready for at least another year, so in the meantime we purchased a face cord of already dried wood (mixture of cherry and maple) from our neighbor who has been heating his house with only a wood burning stove for many decades.
Now for the fun part - we are first timers who have absolutely NO idea what we are doing. We were both raised in homes that used electric or gas furnaces and our families think we are a little crazy for spending a ton of money on getting a wood stove installed in this day and age. We don't really know anyone who might be able to advise us except for our neighbor who sold us the face cord of wood, but he has a huge, very old stove surrounded by brick in his basement, and we don't know him all that well so don't want to burden him any more than we already have by asking him to help us figure out how to use this thing.
We chose this stove primarily because we read that it was simple to operate and relatively low maintenance compared to a lot of other new stoves on the market, so we are hoping it won't be difficult to figure out, but I am not exaggerating when I say we have literally NO idea what we are doing. We haven't used it yet because we want to be sure we are doing it right. I have read through the manual that came with the stove, but I already have several (probably very stupid) questions -
1. In the "lighting a fire" instructions, it starts by saying to adjust the air control to the high position. I assume this is the little black piece on the front/bottom of the stove that swivels from left (labeled H) to right (labeled L), but I do not see a diagram in the instruction manual that shows the air control location. I don't see anything else that could possibly be it, but if someone could please confirm I would greatly appreciate it! Also, what exactly does the air control do? I would assume turning it up to high allows for maximum air flow into the stove - does this just allow it to burn hotter? Again, sorry in advance if I sound like a complete idiot!
2. It then goes on to explain how to light a small fire using newspaper, some dry kindling, and finally a few small logs, and then to begin "normal operation" after a good coal base exists and the wood has charred. Could anyone point me to some photos of what a "good coal base" should look like? Will we achieve this after the very first burn or will it take a few? The installation guys told us to run 3 tiny fires and then work our way up to bigger ones from there. Does that sound correct?
3. Under the "normal operation" instructions it says to set air control to desired setting. Once again I am curious what exactly this does and what I should be looking for as far as my desired setting. It also says that if smoke pours down over the glass you shut the air control down "too soon" or are using too low a setting. When they say "too soon" I assume that means that we are always expected to start high and then turn it down at some specific point - what do I wait for so that I'm not turning it down too soon?
4. Do I always start the fire with just newspaper and kindling/a few small pieces of wood, leaving the door open, and then once that is engulfed add the bigger logs and then shut the door? Or is that just for the first time you use it, and after that you can shut the door from the get go and add a few larger pieces in at the beginning too?
5. Any recommendations for what tool to purchase to check the moisture content of our wood? Preferably something that doesn't cost a fortune, but of course we want to spend enough that we are buying a quality product that is giving an accurate reading.
Thank you so much in advance!
