Drolet Wood Stove - Manual (Page 19)

19
OPERATING YOUR DROLET WOOD STOVE
FUEL
Your stove was designed to burn wood only. No other type of fuel should be used. Waste and other
flammable materials are prohibited. Any type of wood may be used in your stove, but specific varieties have
better energy yields than others. Please consult the following table in order to make the best possible
choice.
AVERAGE ENERGY YIELD OF ONE AIR DRIED CORD OF CUT WOOD
High Energy Yield
MBTU/cord MBTU/cord MBTU/cord
Oak 29 Sugar Maple 28 Beech 26
Medium Energy Yield
MBTU/cord MBTU/cord MBTU/cord
Yellow birch 25 Ash 24 Elm 23
Larch (Tamarack) 23 Red Maple 23 Douglas red fir 23
Silver birch 22
Low Energy Yield
MBTU/cord MBTU/cord MBTU/cord
Alder 18 Poplar 17 Hemlock 17
Spruce 17 Pine 17 Bass 16
Fir 13
Data provided by Energy, Mines and Resources - Canada
It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you only use DRY WOOD in your wood stove. The wood must have
dried for 9 to 15 months, so that the humidity content 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, especially if it has been stored in poor conditions. Under extreme conditions, it may even
have rotten instead of drying. This point cannot be overstressed enough; 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. These problems can be:
- Ignition
problems.
-
Creosote build-up causing chimney fires.
-
Low energy yield.
-
Blackened glass door.
-
Incomplete log combustion.
- Etc.