Heatmor 200 SSP, User Manual

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What should I burn?
this furnace is designed to burn soft or hard wood pellets OnLY.
Wood pellets are generally made from compacted sawdust; they are usually a byproduct of saw milling or other
wood transformation activities. They are very dense in formation and generally come in 40 pound bags. They
will be either 6mm or 8mm in diameter. Lower ash content pellets are suggested.
Pellet Fuels Institute has standards and a vast amount of information on the internet available. You can go to
www.pelletheat.org for more information.
You should properly store the pellets for the most efficient combustion. See “Handling and Storage of Wood
Pellets” for more information. Properly stored wood pellets will have a moisture content of 2-5%.
How does a fire burn out?
When the temperature of the water has reached its high limit (185 degrees Fahrenheit), the combustion air
blower(s) shut off. At this point, the fire “banks”. When the air combustion blower(s) turn back on, there may
not be enough coals to restart the fire. You will then need to restart the fire using the manual ignition. If this
situation occurs often and the weather is fairly warm, you may want to transfer to your standard system for
better efficiency.
A new unit will require the establishment of “bed of coals” which will aid in re-establishing proper combustion.
This may take a few burn cycles.
Stages of Combustion
During the four stages of combustion, wood breaks down into water, smoke and charcoal.
The
first stage occurs when the wood pellets are augered into the firebox. The pellets must be heated to drive
off the moisture. The higher the moisture content, the greater the amount of heat needed and subsequently lost
for heating purposes. The drier the wood pellet, the more rapidly it can be heated and passed through this first
stage of heating the water. When moisture is being driven from the wood pellets, white smoke may be emitted
from the chimney. This is what we call “steam smoke”. It is mostly water vapor.
In the
second stage , at 500 degrees Fahrenheit, wood begins to break down chemically. If this smoke is
released but not burned, two-thirds of the energy in the wood will be lost. A hot fire is needed to burn the
smoke.
The
third stage takes place at temperatures above 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point, the smoke is
burning at 100 percent efficiency, as long as
the proper amounts of oxygen, temperature and draft are present.
If one of these elements is missing, the combustion will be incomplete. The third stage is the most important
stage of wood combustion since smoke represents two-thirds of the wood heat.
The
fourth stage takes place after 1100 degrees Fahrenheit to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures have
been reached. The smoke and gases are completely burned and the charcoal remains, which represents
approximately one-third of the wood heat, and allows the fire to re-start when required.
Please refer to the “Outdoor Wood Furnace Best Burn Practices”
located on the inside front cover of this manual.