14
WOODSTOVE UTILIZATION
Your heating unit was designed to burn wood only;
no other materials should be burned. Waste and
other flammable materials should not be burned in
your 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.
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 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.
VISIBLE SMOKE
The amount of visible smoke being produced can be
an effective method of determining how efficiently
the combustion process is taking place at the given
settings. Visible smoke consist of unburned fuel and
moisture leaving your stove. Learn to adjust the air
settings of your specific unit to produce the smallest
amount of visible smoke. Wood that has not been
seasoned properly and has a high wood moisture
content will produce excess visible smoke and burn
poorly.
EFFICIENCY
Efficiencies can be based on either the lower
heating value (LHV) or the higher heating value
(HHV) of the fuel. The lower heating value is when
water leaves the combustion process as a vapor, in
the case of wood stoves the moisture in the wood
being burned leaves the stove as a vapor. The higher
heating value is when water leaves the combustion
process completely condensed. In the case of wood
stoves this would assume the exhaust gases are room
temperature when leaving the system, and therefore
calculations using this heating value consider the
heat going up the chimney as lost energy. Therefore,
efficiency calculated using the lower heating value
of wood will be higher than efficiency calculated
using the higher heating value. In the United States all
wood stove efficiencies should be calculated using
the higher heating value.
The best way to achieve optimum efficiencies is to
learn the burn characteristic of your appliance and
burn well-seasoned wood. Higher burn rates are not
always the best heating burn rates; after a good fire is
established a lower burn rate may be a better option
for efficient heating. A lower burn rate slows the flow
of usable heat out of the home through the chimney,
and it also consumes less wood.
TESTING YOUR WOOD
When the stove is thoroughly warmed, place one
piece of split wood (about five inches in diameter)
parallel to the door on the bed of red embers.
Close the door. If ignition of the piece is accomplished
within 90 seconds from the time if was placed in the
stove, your wood is correctly dried. If ignition takes
longer, your wood is damp.
If your wood hisses and water or vapor escapes at
the ends of the piece, your wood is soaked or freshly
cut. Do not use this wood in your stove. Large amounts
of creosote could be deposited in your chimney,
creating potential conditions for a chimney fire.
TAMPER WARNING
This wood heater has a manufacturer-set minimum
low burn rate that must not be altered. It is against
federal regulations to alter this setting or otherwise
operate this wood heater in a manner inconsistent
with operating instructions in this manual.
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
