
10
Montpelier Medium Insert
30004403
The Montpelier Medium Insert 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. Avoid burning “green” wood
that has not been properly seasoned or cordwood that is
more than two years old.
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 to two years.
For areas that do not have a supply of hardwood, com-
monly burned softwoods include tamarack, yellow pine,
white pine, Eastern red cedar, r, and redwood. These
too should be properly dried.
Your Montpelier Medium Insert will accept wood up to
18” (460mm). Longer wood pieces work better than short
ones.
Wood should be stored under cover to maintain dryness.
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 re-fueling and ash removal.
No single air control setting will t every situation. Settings
for each installation will differ depending on the quality of
the fuel, the amount of heat desired, and how long you
wish the re to burn.
The control setting also depends on your particular “draft,”
or the force that moves air from the stove up through the
chimney. Draft is affected by such things as the length,
type, and location of the chimney, weather, local geography,
nearby obstructions, and other factors.
34
-ONTPELIERFANACCESS
Speed Control
Open Bottom Louvre to
access Fan controls ST996
Fan control access.
Too much draft may cause excessive temperatures in the
Montpelier Medium Insert, and could even damage internal
components. On the other hand, too little draft can cause
backpufng into the room or a very sluggish re.
How do you know if your draft is excessively high or low?
Symptoms of too much draft include an uncontrollable
burn or glowing-red cast iron. A sign of inadequate draft is
smoke leaking into the room through the stove or chimney
connector joints, low heat, and dirty glass.
In some newer homes that are well-insulated and weather-
tight, poor draft may result from insufcient air in the
house. In such instances, an open window near the stove
on the windward side of the house will provide the fresh
air needed.
When rst using the stove, keep track of the settings of
the air controls. You will quickly nd that a specic setting
will give you a xed amount of heat. It may take a week
or two to determine the amount of heat and the length of
burn you should expect from various settings.
Most installations do not require a large amount of combus-
tion air, especially if adequate draft is available.
Use the following primary air control lever and fan speed
control lever settings as a starting point to help determine
the best settings for your installation.
High Fully left High Horizontal
Medium 1” from Low Turn clockwise
full right
Low Fully right Off Turn counterclockwise
Cast iron is a superior material for solid fuel stoves but it
must be treated with respect. It is extremely strong, but can
be broken with a sharp blow from a hammer or from the
thermal shock of rapid and extreme temperature changes.
It is important to temper the cast iron plates with an initial
series of 3-4 break-in res. The plates expand and contract
with changes in temperature. Minimize thermal stress by
allowing the plates to adjust gradually during the break-in
res by following Steps 1-3 on the following page.