Testing Your Wood - Breckwell SW940 Owner's Operation And Instruction Manual

Your oven was designed to burn wood only; no other materials should be burned. Waste and other fl ammable materials should
not be burned in your oven. Any type of wood may be used in your oven, but specifi c varieties have better energy yields than others.
Please consult the following table in order to make the best possible choice.
TYPE WEIGHT
(LBS. CU. FT., DRY)
Hickory 63
White Oak 48
Red Oak 46
Beech 45
Sugar Maple 44
Black Oak 43
Ash 42
Yellow Birch 40
Red Maple 38
Paper Birch 37
Elm/Sycamore 34
Red Spruce 29
It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY WOOD only in your wood oven. 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 oven is caused by the fact that the wood used was too damp or has dried in poor conditions.
These problems can be:
• Ignition problems
• Creosote build-up causing chimney fi res
• 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 elements but not the sides.

TESTING YOUR WOOD

When the oven is thoroughly warmed, place one piece of split wood (about fi ve inches in diameter) parallel to the door on the
bed of red embers.
Keep the air control full open by pulling on it and close the door. If ignition of the piece is accomplished within 90 seconds from
the time if was placed in the oven, 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 oven. Large amounts of creosote could be deposited in your chimney, creating potential conditions for a chimney fi re.
Breckwell
WOODSTOVE UTILIZATION
PER CORD EFFICIENCY
RANKING
4500 1.0
4100 .9
3900 .8
3800 .7
3700 .6
3700 .6
3600 .5
3400 .4
3200 .3
3100 .3
2900 .2
1800 .1
SPLITS MILLIONS
BTU's/CORD
Well 31.5
Fair 28.6
Fair 27.4
Hard 26.8
Fair 26.2
Fair 25.6
Well 25.0
Hard 23.8
Fair 22.6
Easy 22.1
Very Diffi cult 20.1
Easy 16.1
15