You must burn natural hardwood and ensure you follow the operating instructions. This means you feed the stove with the recommended hourly load (1.6 kg of wood for the Hollywell) and keep the air vents open enough to ensure the fire is burning efficiently. When that load is exhausted after about an hour, you simply replenish it. You must, however, never load up the firebox and then severely restrict the air supply to choke the fire and make it last for 6 to 8 hours (e.g., when you go to bed). This practice is called slumbering. While stove users may have gotten away with “slumbering” with old, inefficient stoves, modern EcoDesign 22 stoves are different, as when you restrict the air, the wood smoulders, releasing massive amounts of smoke, unburnt gases, and tars. This low-temperature burn causes excessive condensation of moisture inside the firebox and flue. This tar-mixed moisture is highly corrosive and is the main cause of damage to the stove components, like the glass vermiculite. In short, never restrict the air to the point where the fire is lingering or “slumbering.” The Burley Fireball stoves are outstanding, but to get the best out of them, just remember to feed them hourly, don’t overload them, and keep the burning clean and hot.
