# Federal Airtight FA288CL



## hvacceo (Sep 29, 2011)

I recently bought a home in the North Woods of Wisconsin and would like to see the operating instructions for this stove. Actually any tips that anyone would have would help. I finally figured out where the damper was. Does that tell you something?


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## begreen (Sep 29, 2011)

Welcome. I'd try black swan or woodmans:

Black Swan at: http://www.blackswanhome.com/

Woodsmanâ€™s at: http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/

If you go on Woodman's parts by manufacturer, select Consolidated Dutchwest, then the 288CCL. They have a parts listing and a diagram of the stove there. As far as operation, most CDW large stove owners here should be able to help. The basic operation should be similar to the 2462, though with some differences like they have removed the underfire control which I would guess was strictly for starting a fire.


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## fossil (Sep 29, 2011)

Movin' this over into the Classic Stove Forums.  Have you tried a simple Google search?  I did, and got a lot of hits from some DIY forum...most pretty stale, but there was a user named liz-something who said she had the manual (her post was from 2008).  Good luck with it, and welcome to Hearth.com!  Rick

Whoops, I just realized this stove might be newer than the Classics...I'll move it back into the Hearth Room.   :red:


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## hvacceo (Sep 29, 2011)

Thank You so very much for the information. I will go forward with it and see if there are any instruction manuals.


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## raybonz (Sep 29, 2011)

hvacceo said:
			
		

> I recently bought a home in the North Woods of Wisconsin and would like to see the operating instructions for this stove. Actually any tips that anyone would have would help. I finally figured out where the damper was. Does that tell you something?



Here is the link to your manual:

http://fergusonfireplace.com/Dutchwest_Pre_90.pdf

Ray


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## raybonz (Sep 29, 2011)

hvacceo said:
			
		

> Thank You so very much for the information. I will go forward with it and see if there are any instruction manuals.



I ran the FA264CCL aka Large Federal for a couple decades, you have the XL Federal Airtight.. Personally I found my stove ran best with the primary closed all the time and also left the ashbin full too.. For some reason the stove works best with the primary air closed (and ashbin full) and leave an 1" or 2" of ash in the firebox too.. Burn dry wood is VERY important.. When you start the stove leave the top lever open this is the cat bypass(also you must open the bypass if you need to open the door on the stove), and open the secondary air on the side door about 3/16" to 1/4" open.. The cat air is the small brass damper up top, leave that guy open just a tiny bit for normal burns (this feeds air to the cat for high burns) or close it for long slow overnight burns.. When your cat temp gauge reaches about 350 to 400 degrees close the cat bypass and once the cat goes to about 800 degrees you can adjust the secondary air to get the amount of heat you need.. Hard to explain all this hope this helps.. Always keep the ashbin door closed or you will overfire and if you decide to play with the primary air you can overfire with this as well so I left it closed and the ashbin full and it will not hurt anything plus insulates the bottom of the stove.. I strongly suggest you leave the front doors closed and use the side door to load the stove plus it's less messy and easier to load this way..

Good Luck!

Ray


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## hvacceo (Sep 29, 2011)

Thank You everyone for being so helpful with this concern of mine. All of you must be very successful in whatever you are doing since you are so helpful with this little problem. I only wish I could have my people be this helpful to my clients.

Thank You All


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## Don2222 (Sep 29, 2011)

Hello

I had a cast iron Vermont Castings Consolidated DuchWest Airtight Federal Design Coal/Wood stove with catalytic Combustor for 19 years!! I did have the air adjustment know on the Ash Bin door. That was for letting in air under the grates for burning coal!

Anyways if you want the original 1990 - 3 page PDF Brochure of all the models including the FA288CCL as pictured below just PM me with your E-mail Address.

The last pic was of my stove! 

Good Luck!


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## hvacceo (Sep 29, 2011)

AND  it keeps getting better. I am ever so happy to have met all of you. Thank You again.....

Hey, If any of you need Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Solar, or Geothermal help, please let me know..I will try and help..


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## begreen (Sep 30, 2011)

There is frequently chatter in the DIY and Green Room forums about HVAC, Solar and Plumbing questions. Good to have you on board.


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## hvacceo (Sep 30, 2011)

I will look forward to joining them in the near future. I have just rebranded my company to include Plumbing, Electrical, Solar and geothermal. The business is located outside of Chicago's suburbs. Advice is always welcome and appreciated from those that have been working in this field longer than I have. I own a 100 year old company with roots back to 1911. Now we need continued growth to overcome this economy and market we are in.. 

Thanks for your input.


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