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WOODSTOVE UTILISATION
Your heating unit was designed to burn wood only; no other materials should be burnt. Wastes
and other flammable materials should not be burnt in your wood stove. Any type of wood may
be used in your stove, but specific varieties have better energy yields than others. Please
consult the following table in order to make the best possible choice.
Average Energy Yield Of One Air Dried Cord Of Cut Wood
Wood species
Energy yield
(millions of BTU/cord)
High energy yield
Oak 29
Sugar Maple
28
Beech 26
Yellow birch
25
Ash 24
Elm 23
Medium energy yield
Larch (Tamarack)
23
Red Maple
23
Douglas red fir
23
Silver birch
22
Alder 18
Poplar 17
Hemlock 17
Low energy yield
Spruce 17
Pine 17
Bass 16
Fir 13
Data provided by Energy, Mines and Resources - Canada
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU USE DRY WOOD ONLY IN YOUR WOOD
STOVE.
The wood must have dried for 9 to 15 months, such as 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 since one, two or even more years, it is not necessarily dry, if it has been
stored in poor conditions; under extreme conditions, it may even rot instead of drying. The vast
majority of the problems related to the operation of a wood stove are 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 fires
low energy yield
blackened
windows
incomplete log combustion
Smaller pieces of wood will dry faster. All logs exceeding 6" in diameter should be split. The
wood should not be stored directly on the ground. Air should circulate through the cord. A 24"
to 48" air space should be left between each row of logs, which should be placed in the sunniest
location possible. The upper layer of wood should be protected from the element but not the
sides.
