28
fire. Never burn salt wood, beach wood, chemically treated wood, or wood removed from salt water,
since the deposits left will deteriorate the firebox. Damage caused by chemicals or salt is not covered
under warranty.
Seasoned cord wood is recommended. Wood should be air dried in a covered and ventilated area for a
minimum of six months (one year or more is recommended). This reduces the moisture content of the
wood, resulting in a better stove performance. Wood species with moisture content of 20% or less are
ideal. Dry, seasoned cord wood, can be distinguished from green wood by the cracks at each end of the
logs. Wet or green wood will tend to cause the fire to smoulder, producing large amounts of creosote.
Creosote buildup could result in a chimney fire. This wood will also prove difficult to keep burning
properly, and fires will tend to go out. Green wood produces very little heat, and sometimes causes
customers to think that the stove does not work.
Decayed wood or low-density wood has very little energy content or heating value, and will not burn
satisfactorily for long periods of time. An example of the energy values of some common wood fuels
found un North America is given in Table 3.2 below.
Wood species Energy yield
(millions of BTU/cord)
Oak 29
Sugar Maple 28
Beech 26
Yellow birch 25
Ash 24
High energy yield
Elm 23
Larch (Tamarack) 23
Red Maple 23
Douglas red fir 23
Silver birch 22
Alder 18
Poplar 17
Medium energy yield
Hemlock 17
Spruce 17
Pine 17
Bass 16
Low energy yield
Fir 13
Data provided by Energy, Mines and Resources – Canada
There are numerous types of manufactured logs sold on the market. You must be very careful with this
type of product. Many brands of manufactured logs contain chemical additives. DO NOT BURN ANY
MANUFACTURED LOGS CONTAINING CHEMICAL ADDITIVES. If you do, you may damage your
stove and void the warranty. Logs containing chemical additives burn a lot hotter and were designed for