Harman Stove Company SF-150 SF-250 manual Electrical, Fuel, Wa rn i n g s

build-up has occurred.

If creosote has accumulated, it should be removed to reduce the risk of a chimney fire.

If an over-fire situation should occur, be sure ash door and fire door are closed.

In the event of a soot fire, call your fire department immediately, and make sure the ash door, fire door and drafts are closed.

6. Electrical

6.1Wa rn i n g s

Turn off electric power at fuse box or circuit breaker panel before mak- ing any line voltage connections. Follow local electrical codes. Be sure to route power so that it does- n’t come in contact with the stove.

IMPORTANT! ALL WIRING SHOULD BE DONE IN ACCOR- DANCE WITH LOCAL AND STATE CODES.

7. Fuel

7.1F i rewood and Coal Fuel I n f o rmation Sheet

The energy content of most hard- woods, and all but a few softwoods, is generally estimated to be around 8,6000 BTU’s per pound at zero percent moisture content. This, however, would not be a practical value to use in the calculation of fuel needed to meet a given heat load. All the BTU’s available in wood are not generated as usable, sensible heat. Much of this heat is dependent on the appliance’s efficiency and is required in the venting system to generate a draft. Also, firewood is not available at zero percent mois- ture. Well seasoned, sheltered wood contains an approximate minimum moisture of 20%, where the same

wood left to the elements may have a moisture content as high as 80%.

One cubic foot of hardwood weighs about 45 pounds. One cubic foot of water weighs 62.5 pounds, and the amount of energy required to evap- orate only one pound of this water is over 1,000 BTU’s. If the same cubic foot of hardwood has a mois- ture content of 80%, it would weigh approximately 80 pounds, and the energy lost in boiling off this mois- ture could theoretically be as high as 35,000 BTU’s, not to mention a sore back from carrying the soggy stuff.

In summary, burn only well-sea- soned dry wood. Wood must not only be of a reasonable quality and seasoned, but to get its maximum heat energy output, it must be dry.

Seasoning - unseasoned (green) wood, when used as fuel, offers many potential problems. It is of course much heavier than seasoned wood because of its high moisture content. When burned, it loses much of its heat value in boiling off this moisture. It is difficult to ignite and is sometimes hard to keep burn- ing. But its major evil is creosote, as will be discussed in the next section. Seasoning is easy! The cutting, stacking, and putting it under cover is the hard part; but once this is done, just leave it alone. leave it alone for at least one year -- better two. If wood is cut in the dead of winter, little seasoning takes place until the temperature rises above freezing. If the wood is stored unprotected, minimal seasoning can occur. Moisture from high humidity, rain, snow, dew, etc., will be absorbed into the wood and then must be evaporated before the sea- soning process can begin again. If you live in an area where the win- ters are long and hard, you can expect your wood to take longer to season than wood stored in a more temperate climate. However, as wood is susceptible rot, it can be

stored too long. Rotten wood con- tains less heat energy than good wood, so the more advanced the rotting, the less BTU’s can be derived from the fuel.

Choosing a kind of firewood to burn in your stove naturally depends on what is available to you. If all you can obtain is softwood, obviously, that will be your choice.

Softwoods like pine, spruce, and fir are easy to ignite because they are resinous. They burn rapidly with a hot flame. However, since a fire built entirely of softwoods burns out quickly, it requires frequent atten- tion and replenishment.

This characteristic of softwoods can be a boon, if you want a quick warming fire or a short fire that will burn out before you go to bed.

If you do have a choice, for a long lasting fire, it is best to use the heav- ier hardwoods such as ash, beech, birch, maple and oak.

By mixing softwoods with hard- woods, you can achieve an easily ignited and long lasting fire.

So that you have an idea of how firewood is described and sold, you should first know that the most common measure is the standard cord. A cord is a well-stacked pile of logs 4 ft. by 4 ft. by 8 ft. Wood is also sold by the ton.

If you buy wood by weight, look for the driest wood. Don’t pay for extra water! Small twigs and branches found in your yard and wood wastes found around sawmills are also good. When you buy wood, request a mixture of wood species and diameter sizes. the wood should be generally sound, but don’t worry about small pockets of rotten wood that you may find in logs.