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It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY WOOD only in your wood stove. The wood should have dried for 9
to 15 months, such that the humidity content (in weight) is reduced below 20% of the weight of the log. It is very
important to keep in mind that even if the wood has been cut for one, two or even more years, it is not necessarily
dry, if it has been stored in poor conditions. Under extreme conditions it may rot instead of drying. This point
cannot be over stressed; the vast majority of the problems related to the operation of a wood stove is caused by
the fact that the wood used was too damp or had dried in poor conditions. These problems can be:
- ignition problems
- creosote build-up causing chimney res
- low energy yield
- blackened windows
- incomplete log combustion
WOODSTOVE UTILIZATION
This heater is designed to burn natural wood only. Higher efciencies and lower emissions generally result when
burning air dried seasoned hardwoods, as compared to softwoods or to green or freshly cut hardwoods.
DO NOT BURN:
1. Garbage;
2. Lawn clippings or yard waste;
3. Materials containing rubber, including tires;
4. Materials containing plastic;
5. Waste petroleum products, paints or paint thinners,
or asphalt products;
6. Materials containing asbestos;
7. Construction or demolition debris;
8. Railroad ties or pressure-treated wood;
9. Manure or animal remains;
10. Salt water driftwood or other previously salt water
saturated materials;
11. Unseasoned wood; or
12. Paper products, cardboard, plywood, or
particleboard. The prohibition against burning
these materials does not prohibit the use of re
starters made from paper, cardboard, saw dust,
wax and similar substances for the purpose of
starting a re in an affected wood heater.
Burning these materials may result in release of toxic fumes or render the heater ineffective and cause smoke.
Dead wood lying on the forest oor should be considered wet, and requires full seasoning time. Standing dead
wood can usually be considered to be about 2/3 seasoned. Splitting and stacking wood before it is stored
accelerates drying time. Storing wood on an elevated surface from the ground and under a cover or covered
area from rain or snow also accelerates drying time. A good indicator if wood is ready to burn is to check the
piece ends. If there are cracks radiating in all directions from the center then the wood should be dry enough
to burn. If your wood sizzles in the re, even though the surface is dry, it may not be fully cured, and should be
seasoned longer. Waste and other ammable materials should not be burned in your stove.
Do not burn manufactured logs made of wax impregnated sawdust or logs with any
chemical additives. Manufactured logs made of 100% compressed sawdust can be
burned, but be careful burning too much of these logs at the same time. Start with
one manufactured log and see how the stove reacts. You can increase the number
of logs burned at a time to making sure the temperature never rises higher than 475
°F (246 °C) on a magnetic thermometer for installation on single wall stove pipes or
900 °F (482 °C) on a probe thermometer for installation on double wall stove pipe.
The thermometer should be placed about 18” (457 mm) above the stove. Higher
temperatures can lead to overheat and damage your stove. Any type of wood may
be used in your stove, but specic varieties have better energy yields than others.
Please consult the following table in order to make the best possible choice.
TYPE WEIGHT (LBS. CU. FT., DRY) PER CORD EFFICIENCY RANKING SPLITS MILLIONS BTU’s/CORD
Hickory 63 4500 1.0 Well 31.5
White Oak 48 4100 .9 Fair 28.6
Red Oak 46 3900 .8 Fair 27.4
Beech 45 3800 .7 Hard 26.8
Sugar Maple 44 3700 .6 Fair 26.2
Black Oak 43 3700 .6 Fair 25.6
Ash 42 3600 .5 Well 25.0
Yellow Birch 40 3400 .4 Hard 23.8
Red Maple 38 3200 .3 Fair 22.6
Paper Birch 37 3100 .3 Easy 22.1
Elm/Sycamore 34 2900 .2 Very Difcult 20.1
Red Spruce 29 1800 .1 Easy 16.1