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Your heating unit was designed to burn wood only; no other materials should be burnt.
Wastes and o ther flammable materials should not be burnt in your wood stove. An y type
of wood may be used in your stove, but specific varieties h ave 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
Wood species
Energy yield
(millions of BTU/cord)
High energy yield
Oak
29
Sugar Maple
28
Beech
26
Yellow birch
25
Ash
24
Elm
23
Medium energy yield
Larch (Tamarack)
23
Red Maple
23
Douglas red fir
23
Silver birch
22
Alder
18
Poplar
17
Hemlock
17
Low energy yield
Spruce
17
Pine
17
Bass
16
Fir
13
Data provided by Energy, Mines and Resources - Canada
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU USE DRY WOOD ONLY IN YOUR WOOD
STOVE. The wood must 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 since one, two or even more years, it is not necessarily
dry, if it has been stored in poor conditions; under extreme conditions, it may even rot
instead of drying. The vast majority of the problems relate d to the operation of a wood
stove are 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 windows
incomplete log combustion