Before you start using your Morsø fireplace, there are a few things which are useful to bear in mind.

The first couple of times you use the fireplace, keep the fires small to temper the metal before making bigger fires.
The vent settings, lighting methods and the firing intervals depend on the chimney draught, the wind and weather conditions, the heating requirements, the fuel etc. Therefore, it may take a while before you are completely familiar with how to operate your fireplace correctly under various conditions.

Although you can fire your Morsø fireplace with almost all kinds of wood, you should not fire with wet or fresh wood. Wood should be stored under cover for at least 1 year, and preferably 2 years, and open to the air. Wood should be chopped as soon as possible after felling if it is to dry quickly.

Never use driftwood as it usually has a high salt content, which damages both the fireplace and the chimney. Impregnated wood and chipboard emit poisonous smoke and fumes and should therefore not be used as fuel either.

Logs with a diameter exceeding 10 cm should always be chopped.

The fuel wood should be short enough to be able to lie flat over the layers of embers, with air at both ends. For best results, use pieces of wood about 25 cm in length and weighing approx 0.5 kg with their ends facing the door.

The maximum length of wood is 32-34 cm.

How to light the fireplace.
As shown in the picture on the right, you need the following:
• Two fire starters (or 5-10 scrunched-up sheets of newspaper)
• 1-2 kg of dry kindling
• Approx. 1.5 kg of chopped firewood
 

You should always have an insulating layer of ashes from previous firings in the bottom of the fireplace.
2-3 cm of ash is a suitable base for the wood.

Before lighting, fully open the secondary air supply vent.

Arrange the kindling. 
Approx. 1-2 kg of dry kindling will provide a good layer of embers.

Light the kindling.

Leave the fireplace door ajar.
After 5-10 minutes the heat will produce a draught through the chimney, and the door can be shut.

Embers.
After approx. 10-20 minutes, a nice layer of embers will have formed in the firebox. More wood should normally be added while there are still embers. Use the poker to spread the embers, but ensure that most of them are at the front of the fireplace.

Re-stoking.
Place three pieces of wood of approx. 0.5 kg each and approx. 25 cm long over the embers in a single layer, with a distance of approx. 1 cm between the pieces.
When the air supply vents are opened fully, and the door is closed, the fresh wood will ignite within 2-3 minutes.

Optimum combustion.
Finally, adjust the air supply control to the desired position, and optimal combustion will continue until glowing embers are left in the bed after which you can re-stoke.

How much ash should be left in the fireplace?
Keep a 2-3 cm thick layer of insulating ash. The ash layer insulates the bottom of the fireplace in the same way as the vermiculite slabs on the sides. This ensures a high combustion temperature which contributes to cleaner combustion. Furthermore, the ash layer protects the riddling grate against burn-through. Empty the ashpan as required. Remember to keep the ash in an ash bucket for a couple of days until all embers are extinguished, then throw it away with the rest of your household waste.