Hearth and Home Technologies 31M-ACC-MBK Operating Instructions, Wood Selection & Storage

A.8	R	3100 Wood Stove Series (ACC)
	Operating Instructions
Over-Firing Your Appliance		B. Wood Selection & Storage (Cont’d)

WARNING

Fire Risk

Do not over-fire.

Over-firing may ignite creosote or will damage the stove and chimney.

To prevent over-firing your stove, DO NOT:

•Use flammable liquids

•Overload with wood

•Burn trash or large amounts of scrap lumber

•Permit too much air to the fire

1.Symptoms of Over-Firing

Symptoms of over-firing may include one or more of the following:

• Chimney connector or appliance glowing

wood out - about one hour. It is a waste of energy to burn unseasoned wood of any kind.

Dead wood lying on the forest floor should be considered wet, and requires full seasoning time. Standing dead wood can be considered to be about 2/3 seasoned. To tell if wood is dry enough to burn, check the ends of the logs. If there are cracks radiating in all directions from the center, it is dry. If your wood sizzles in the fire, even though the surface is dry, it may not be fully cured.

Splitting wood before it is stored reduces drying time. Wood should be stacked so that both ends of each piece are exposed to air, since more drying occurs through the cut ends than the sides. This is true even with wood that has been split. Store wood under cover, such as in a shed, or covered with a tarp, plastic, tar paper, sheets of scrap ply- wood, etc., as uncovered wood can absorb water from rain or snow, delaying the seasoning process.

•Roaring, rumbling noises

•Loud cracking or banging sounds

•Metal warping

•Chimney fire

2.What To Do if Your Stove is Over-Firing

•Immediately close the door and air controls to reduce air supply to the fire.

•If you suspect a chimney fire, call the fire department and evacuate your house.

•Contact your local chimney professional and have your stove and stove pipe inspected for any damage.

•Do not use your stove until the chimney professional informs you it is safe to do so.

Hearth & Home Technologies WILL NOT warranty stoves that exhibit evidence of over-firing. Evidence of over-firing includes, but is not limited to:

•Warped air tube

•Deteriorated refractory brick retainers

•Deteriorated baffle and other interior components

B.Wood Selection & Storage

Burn only dry seasoned wood. Store wood under cover, out of the rain and snow. Dry and well-seasoned wood will not only minimize the chance of creosote formation, but will give you the most efficient fire. Even dry wood contains at least 15% moisture by weight, and should be burned hot enough to keep the chimney hot for as long as it takes to dry the

C. Burning Process

In recent years there has been an increasing concern about air quality. Much of the blame for poor air quality has been placed on the burning of wood for home heating. In order to improve the situation, we at Quadra-Fire have developed cleaner-burning woodstoves that surpass the requirements for emissions established by our governing agencies. These woodstoves, like any other appliances, must be properly operated in order to insure that they perform the way they are designed to perform. Improper operation can turn most any wood stove into a smoldering environmental hazard.

1. Kindling or First Stage

It helps to know a little about the actual process of burning in order to understand what goes on inside a stove. The first stage of burning is called the kindling stage. In this stage, the wood is heated to a temperature high enough to evaporate the moisture which is present in all wood. The wood will reach the boiling point of water (212°F) and will not get any hotter until the water is evaporated. This process takes heat from the coals and tends to cool the appliance.

Fire requires three things to burn - fuel, air and heat. So, if heat is robbed from the appliance during the drying stage, the new load of wood has reduced the chances for a good clean burn. For this reason, it is always best to burn dry, seasoned firewood. When the wood isn’t dry, you must open the air controls and burn at a high burn setting for a longer time to start it burning. The heat generated from the fire should be warming your home and establishing the flue draft, not evaporating the moisture out of wet, unseasoned wood, resulting in wasted heat.

September 1, 2008 7033-277F Page 25