Hearthstone Quality Home Heating Products, Inc
®
Model 8370
19
C
HOOSING
F
IREWOOD
Your Shelburne Wood Heater is designed to
only burn firewood-also known as cordwood.
▌
CAUTION:
DO NOT USE CHEMICALS OR
FLAMMABLE FLUIDS SUCH AS
GASOLINE, NAPHTHA, KEROSENE,
CHARCOAL LIGHTER FLUID OR
ENGINE OIL TO START A FIRE. DO
NOT USE CHARCOAL, PELLETS,
COAL, ARTIFICIAL LOGS OR ANY
OTHER MATERIALS AS FUEL; THEY
ARE NOT SAFE. DO NOT BURN
GARBAGE.
The quality of your firewood affects heat output,
duration of burn and performance of your stove.
Softwoods generally burn hotter and faster,
while hardwoods burn longer and produce more
coals. Density and moisture content are two
critical factors to consider when purchasing
wood for your stove.
The following is a list of wood species and their
relative BTU (British Thermal Unit) content.
The higher the BTU the longer the burn.
Firewood with higher BTUs is generally
considered more ideal for a wood stove.
HIGH:
Apple, Black Birch, Hickory, Locust,
White Oak, Black Beech, Mesquite
MEDIUM HIGH:
White Ash, Beech, Yellow
Birch, Sugar Maple, Red Oak
MEDIUM LOW:
Black Ash, White Birch, Grey
Birch, Elm, Norway Pine, Pitch Pine, Black
Cherry, Soft Maple, Tamarack
LOW:
White Pine, White Cedar, Balsam Fir,
Spruce, Aspen, Basswood, Butternut, Hemlock
Moisture content also plays a key role in the
performance of your stove. Wood freshly cut
from a living tree (green wood) contains a great
deal of moisture. As you might expect, green
wood has difficulty burning and should be
seasoned before using it in your wood stove. To
properly season green wood, it should be split,
stacked and allowed to air dry for a period of
one year.
Stack the firewood on skids or blocks to keep it
off the ground, cover only the top of the stack.
Plastic or tarps that cover the sides of the
woodpile trap moisture and
prevent the wood
from drying. As for stacking, an old Vermonter
said, "The spaces between the logs should be
large enough for a mouse to get through, but not
for the cat that's chasing it."
Firewood should not be stored within the stove's
specified clearances to combustible materials.
