Woodstove Utilization; Testing Your Wood - Breckwell SWC31 Owner's Operation And Instruction Manual

WOODSTOVE UTILIZATION

Your heating unit was designed to burn wood only; no other materials should be burned. Waste and other fl ammable materials
should not be burned in your stove. Any type of wood may be used in your stove, but specifi c varieties have better energy yields
than others. Please consult the following table in order to make the best possible choice.
TYPE
Hickory
White Oak
Red Oak
Beech
Sugar Maple
Black Oak
Ash
Yellow Birch
Red Maple
Paper Birch
Elm/Sycamore
Red Spruce
It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you use DRY WOOD only in your wood stove. Th e 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. Th is 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. Th ese 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. Th e 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. Th e upper layer of wood should be protected from the elements but not the sides.

TESTING YOUR WOOD

When the stove 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 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 fi re.
14
WEIGHT PER CORD
(LBS. CU. FT., DRY)
63 4500
48 4100
46 3900
45 3800
44 3700
43 3700
42 3600
40 3400
38 3200
37 3100
34 2900
29 1800
EFFICIENCY SPLITS
RANKING
1.0 Well
.9 Fair
.8 Fair
.7 Hard
.6 Fair
.6 Fair
.5 Well
.4 Hard
.3 Fair
.3 Easy
.2 Very Diffi cult
.1 Easy
MILLIONS
BTU's/CORD
31.5
28.6
27.4
26.8
26.2
25.6
25.0
23.8
22.6
22.1
20.1
16.1
Ussc