Ashley 1440E, Owner'S Installation And Operation Manual, Page: 18 / 28

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Operation
The top down method of fire building is recommended for this appliance. After making sure that the stove air
intake controls are fully open (open all three air controls to there maximum setting). Place the largest pieces of
wood on the bottom, laid in parallel and close together. Smaller pieces are placed in a second layer, crossways
to the first. A third layer of still smaller pieces is laid crossways to the second, this time with some spaces between.
Then a fourth layer of loose, small kindling and twisted newspaper sheets tops off the pile.
Higher efficiencies 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 fire
starters made from paper, cardboard, saw dust,
wax and similar substances for the purpose of
starting a fire 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 floor 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 fire, even though the surface is dry, it may not be fully cured, and should be
seasoned longer
Your furnace was designed to burn wood only; no other materials should be burned. Waste and other flammable
materials should not be burned in your furnace. DO NOT USE CHEMICALS OR FLUIDS TO START THE FIRE. DO NOT
BURN GARBAGE, GASOLINE, NAPTHA, ENGINE OIL, OR OTHER INAPPROPRIATE MATERIALS. Any type of wood may
be used in your furnace, but specific 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
Difficult
20.1
Red Spruce 29 1800 .1 Easy 16.1
It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY
WOOD only. 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 furnace is caused by
the fact that the wood used was too damp or
has dried in poor conditions.
These problems can be:
• Ignition problems
• Creosote build-up causing chimney fires
• Low energy yield
• Blackened windows
• Incomplete log combustion