Handling Fuels; Maintenance - SCAN 58-2 Assembly And Instruction Manual

14

Handling fuels

Selecting Wood/Fuel
You can use any type of wood as firewood, however, harder types,
such as beech, ash, are generally better for heating as they burn
more evenly and create less ash. Other wood types like maple, birch
and spruce are excellent alternatives.
Handling
Firewood is best if you fell the tree, and saw and split the wood,
before May 1st. Remember to cut the logs to match the size of your
wood-burning stove's combustion chamber. We recommend a dia-
meter of 6-10 cm. The length should be about 6 cm shorter than
that of the combustion chamber to leave enough space for air to
circulate. Firewood with a greater diameter needs splitting. Split
wood dries faster.
Storing
You need to store the sawn and split firewood in a dry place for 1-2
years before burning. Wood dries faster if you stack it in an airy place.
Before use, store the firewood for a few days at room temperature.
Note that wood absorbs moisture during the autumn and winter
seasons.
Moisture
To avoid environmental issues, and for optimum burning, wood
has to be perfectly dry to be suitable for use as firewood. The max.
residual moisture in the wood should not exceed 21%. A moisture
content of 15-18% yields best results. As an easy way of checking if
wood is dry, just knock two pieces of wood together. If the wood is
moist, the sound will be dull.
If you use damp wood, most of the heat it produces will be used
to evaporate the water. The temperature in the wood stove does
not rise, and the room is not sufficiently heated. Of course, this is
not economical, and it will cause soot build up on the glass pane,
in the stove, and in the chimney. Burning moist wood also causes
pollution.
Understanding units for measuring wood
Various units of measurement are used for wood. Before you buy
wood, it makes sense to familiarise yourself with the terms. There
are various brochures, in public libraries for example, that cover this
topic.
Use of the following as fuel is illegal
Painted, pressure impregnated, or glued wood, driftwood from the
sea. Never burn chipboard, plastics, or chemically treated paper.
These materials are dangerous to humans, to the environment, your
wood stove, and your chimney. To keep a long story short – make
sure you burn only quality firewood.
Firewood fuel value
The fuel value is different for different types of wood. In other words,
you need to use more wood of certain types to achieve the same
heating performance. This Instruction Manual assumes that you
will be using beech, which has a very high fuel value, and is also a
wood that is easy to procure. If you use oak or beech wood fuel, note
that these wood types have a greater fuel value than, say, birch.
Make sure you use less fuel to avoid damage to the wood-burning
stove.
Wood types
Hornbeam
Beech/Oak
Ash
Maple
Birch
Pine
Fir
Poplar
M A I N T E N A N C E
Kg Dry wood/m 3
Compared to
beech
640 110%
580 100%
570 98%
540 93%
510 88%
480 83%
390 67%
380 65%
Maintaining your wood-burning stove
Apart from regular chimney sweeping, your wood-burning stove
does not require any regular maintenance.
Coated surfaces
Clean your wood-burning stove by dusting with a dry, lint-free
cloth.
If the topcoat is damaged, you can purchase a repair spray from your
authorised Scan dealer. As slight differences in colour are possible,
spray a larger area to achieve a natural transition for best results.
For best results, apply repair spray when the wood-burning stove is
hand-hot.
Cleaning the glass
Our wood-burning stoves are designed to prevent serious soot build
up on the glass. The best way to achieve this is to make sure you have
a sufficient combustion air supply. It is also important to use dry
wood, and have a correctly dimensioned chimney.
Even if you follow all of our instructions, a slight film of soot can
build up on the glass. You can easily remove this build up by cleaning
with a dry cloth and glass cleaner. Your authorised Scan dealer stocks
a special glass cleaner for this purpose.
Combustion chamber lining
Slight cracks can appear in the combustion chamber lining due to
moisture, or to the heating/cooling process. These cracks have no
influence on the heating performance or lifetime of your stove.
However, if the lining starts to crumble, you must replace it. The
combustion chamber lining is not covered by the warranty.
See page 15 for how to fit the combustion chamber sides in stoves
with steel panels.
Seals
All wood-burning stoves have seals made of ceramic material fitted to
the stove, the doors, and/or the glass. These seals are subject to wear
and tear, and must be replaced when necessary.
Chimney sweeping and cleaning your
wood-burning stove
Follow national and local chimney sweeping regulations. We
recommend having the wood-burning stove cleaned regularly by
the chimney sweep.
Before starting to clean your wood-burning stove, and sweep the
flue pipe, we recommend first removing the smoke deflector plates.
Use only original replacement parts for maintenance and repairs
of your stove.
Note! Make sure the stove is cold before starting maintenance or
repair work.
Removing the smoke deflector plates
Be very careful when removing the smoke deflector plates from the
stove.
Lift up the lower smoke deflector plate, remove the pin, and remove
the smoke deflector plate; see page 15.
Lift up the upper smoke deflector plate, pull it back, and take it out.