hergom MANCHESTER Mode D'emploi page 37

8 - SELECTING FIREWOOD
Burn only natural wood in the Manchester stove,
since it has not been designed to burn other types
of fuel.
CAUTION: DO NOT USE CHEMICALS OR LIQUIDS
TO LIGHT THE FIRE. DO NOT USE COAL, PELLETS,
CHARCOAL, OR OTHER MATERIALS AS FUEL;
THEY ARE NOT SAFE. DO NOT BURN RUBBISH OR
FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS.
The quality of the wood directly affects heat output,
the duration of the combustion process and the
performance of the stove. Generally, softwoods
burn hotter and faster, while harder types of wood
take longer to burn and produce better embers.
The density and moisture content are two critical
factors to consider when buying wood for the
stove.
Following is a list of some kinds of timber and their
BTU (British Thermal Unit) values. The higher the
BTU value, the longer the combustion. Generally,
wood with a higher BTU is ideal for a log stove.
Moisture content also plays a key role in the
performance of your stove. Freshly cut wood
from a living tree (green wood) contains a lot of
moisture. As you might imagine, green wood
burns very poorly. Green wood must be dried
before being used in the stove. To dry green wood
correctly, split the wood and stack it. Let it dry in
for one year. Green wood can yield less than 2,000
Btu per pound, while dry wood can yield up to
7,000 Btu per pound.
Stack firewood on a structure so that it is not
touching the ground. Only cover the top of the
stack. If you cover the sides of the stack with plastic
or tarpaulin covers, the moisture will be trapped
and the wood will not dry. On how to stack wood,
an elderly inhabitant of the U.S. state of Vermont
once said, "the spaces between the logs must be
large enough for a mouse to pass between them,
but not so large to allow a cat to catch it".
CAUTION: DO NOT STORE FIREWOOD IN THE GAPS
SEPARATING THE STOVE FROM COMBUSTIBLE
MATERIALS.
Calorific Value of wood
Weight-Lb/Power-Btu Ratio
Common Name
HIGH
Black birch
Apple tree
White oak
MEDIUM-HIGH
European beech
Maple
Red Oak
White ash
Yellow birch
MEDIUM
Gray birch
White birch
(paper)
Black walnut
Cherry-tree
Green ash
Black cherry
American elm
White elm
Black ash
Red maple
Douglas Fir
MEDIUM-LOW
Box elder
Red alder
Pine wood
Norway Pine
Heart pine
Catalpa
Black spruce
Ponderosa Pine
LOW
Fir
Willow
Balsam Fir
White Pine
Spruce (White)
Linden
Poplar
White Cedar
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Lb BTU
3,890 26800
4,100 26500
4,012 25700
3,757 24000
3,757 24000
3,757 24000
3,689 23600
3,689 23600
3,179 20300
3,179 20300
3,192 20200
3,120 20000
2,880 19900
2,880 19900
3,052 19500
3,052 19500
2,992 19100
2,924 18700
2,900 18100
2,797 17900
2,710 17200
2,669 17100
2,669 17100
2,669 17100
2,360 16400
2,482 15900
2,380 15200
2,100 14500
2,100 14500
2,236 14300
2,236 14300
2,104 14100
2,108 13800
2,108 13500
1,913 12200