We finished installing the stove back in September, but just started building a fire in it on Tuesday. (Most of the delay was my travel and general overload.)
After looking through the challenges of plumbing for the water jacket, we decided to hold off at least a year on using it. It's great that we had it installed, as that means it will be much easier to do when it's time, but taking it out means that we can use the stove this winter without getting all the plumbing done.
Bob Rozzoni of Holy Smoke came by Tuesday morning to make sure that every thing looked good with the water jacket out, and Code Enforcement Officer Dave Sprout came by Tuesday to make sure we were in compliance. We were, so it was time to start building small fires.
Rozzoni definitely recommended a slow break-in process, to let the cast iron find its way though expansion and contraction. We also need to burn off some of the packing grease, which smells pretty terrible despite our efforts to clean as much off as possible. I'm very glad to be doing this when it's warm enough to have windows and doors open. The draft in the chimney seems to work well, though I need to get better at starting the fire. Hopefully we'll be building real fires, larger ones that are easier to keep lit, by the end of the month.
Posted by simon at October 18, 2012 12:55 PM in