Choosing Firewood; Buildinga Fire; Breaking I N Your Wood Stove - HearthStone Heritage 8021 Owner's Manual

C F
HOOSING IREWOOD
Your Heritage Wood Heater is designed to only burn
firewood-also known as cordwood.
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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 ideal for a wood stove.
HIGH: Apple, Black Birch, Hickory, Locust, White Oak,
Black Beech, and Mesquite
MEDIUM HIGH: White Ash, Beech, Yellow Birch, Sugar
Maple, and 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."
HearthStone Quality Home Heating Products Inc ®
Firewood should not be stored within the stove's specified
clearances to combustible materials.
B A F
UILDING IRE
Once you understand the controls of your wood stove and
have chosen the appropriate firewood, you are ready to start
a fire.
B I Y
REAKING N OUR
It is imperative that your stove be "broken in" slowly.
Soapstone must be "seasoned"; over-firing a new stove may
cause soapstone to crack or may damage other stove parts.
Moisture in the soapstone must be driven out slowly to
minimize the "shock" to the stone of its first exposure to
high firebox temperatures. In addition, the asbestos-free
furnace cement must be cured slowly to insure adequate
sealing and bonding.
When you light your first fires, the wood stove will emit
some smoke and fumes. This is normal "off-gassing" of the
paints and oils used when manufacturing the wood stove. If
you find it necessary, open a few windows to vent your
room. The smoke and fumes will usually subside after 10
to 20 minutes of operation. The odor and smoke will end
once the stove is "cured".
The first fires may produce other odors from impurities that
exist in the area immediately surrounding the stove. Some
of these impurities can be cleaning solvents, paint solvents,
cigarettes, smoke, pet hair, dust, adhesives, a new carpet,
and new textiles. These odors will dissipate over time.
You can alleviate these odors by opening a few windows or
otherwise creating additional ventilation around your stove.
If any odor persists, contact your dealer or an authorized
service technician.
If you adhere to the following break-in procedure, as well
as all other operating procedures in this manual, the cast
iron and soapstone components of your stove will give you
many years of trouble-free use. With use, the color of the
soapstone may change and small fractures may appear on
the surface of the stone. These changes will only add
character and distinction to your stove.
Avoid the following conditions that can cause the soapstone
or cast iron pieces to break:
•
Do not throw wood into the stove.
•
Do not use the doors as leverage to force wood into the
stove.
•
Do not load wood that is encrusted with ice into a
burning stove as the thermal shock can cause damage.
16
W S
OOD TOVE
Heritage Model 8021