Quadra-Fire 31M-ACC-GT Operating Instructions, Burning Process, Wood Selection & Storage

		R	3100 Wood Stove Series (ACC)
	A.8	Operating Instructions
	Fire Safety		WARNING
To provide reasonable fire safety, the following should be			Fire Risk
given serious consideration:			Do NOT store wood:
	1. Install at least one smoke detector on each floor of		• Closer than required clearances to com-
			bustibles to appliance
	your home to ensure your safety. They should be		• Within space required for loading or ash
	located away from the heating appliance and close		removal.
	to the sleeping areas. Follow the smoke detector		Do NOT operate appliance:
	manufacturer’s placement and installation instructions,		• With appliance door open.
	and be sure to maintain regularly.		• With ash removal system door open.
2. A conveniently located Class A fire extinguisher
	to contend with small fires resulting from burning		WARNING
	embers.
			Fire Risk.
3. A practiced evacuation plan, consisting of at least two
			• Do NOT burn wet or green wood.
	escape routes.
			• Store wood in dry location.
4. A plan to deal with a chimney fire as follows:
			• Stack wood so both ends are exposed to air.
	In the event of a chimney fire:		Wet, unseasoned wood can cause accumulation of
			creosote.

a.Notify fire department

b.	Prepare occupants for immediate evacuation.		C. Burning Process
c.	Close all openings into the stove.
			In recent years there has been an increasing concern about
d. While awaiting fire department, watch for ignition
	of adjacent combustibles from overheated stove		air quality. Much of the blame for poor air quality has been
	pipe, hot embers or sparks from the chimney.		placed on the burning of wood for home heating. In order to
			improve the situation, we at Quadra-Fire have developed
B. Wood Selection & Storage			cleaner-burning woodstoves that surpass the requirements
			for emissions established by our governing agencies. These
Burn only dry seasoned wood. Store wood under cover, out			woodstoves, like any other appliances, must be properly
			operated in order to insure that they perform the way they are
of the rain and snow. Dry and well-seasoned wood will not
			designed to perform. Improper operation can turn most any
only minimize the chance of creosote formation, but will give
			wood stove into a smoldering environmental hazard.
you the most efficient fire. Even dry wood contains at least
15% moisture by weight, and should be burned hot enough			1. Kindling or First Stage
to keep the chimney hot for as long as it takes to dry the
wood out - about one hour. It is a waste of energy to burn			It helps to know a little about the actual process of burning in
unseasoned wood of any kind.			order to understand what goes on inside a stove. The first
Dead wood lying on the forest floor should be considered wet,			stage of burning is called the kindling stage. In this stage, the
			wood is heated to a temperature high enough to evaporate the
and requires full seasoning time. Standing dead wood can			moisture which is present in all wood. The wood will reach
be considered to be about 2/3 seasoned. To tell if wood is			the boiling point of water (212°F) and will not get any hotter
dry enough to burn, check the ends of the logs. If there are			until the water is evaporated. This process takes heat from
cracks radiating in all directions from the center, it is dry. If			the coals and tends to cool the appliance.
your wood sizzles in the fire, even though the surface is dry,			Fire requires three things to burn - fuel, air and heat. So, if
it may not be fully cured.
			heat is robbed from the appliance during the drying stage,
Splitting wood before it is stored reduces drying time. Wood			the new load of wood has reduced the chances for a good
			clean burn. For this reason, it is always best to burn dry,
should be stacked so that both ends of each piece are
			seasoned firewood. When the wood isn’t dry, you must
exposed to air, since more drying occurs through the cut ends
			open the air controls and burn at a high burn setting for a
than the sides. This is true even with wood that has been
			longer time to start it burning. The heat generated from the
split. Store wood under cover, such as in a shed, or covered
			fire should be warming your home and establishing the flue
with a tarp, plastic, tar paper, sheets of scrap plywood, etc.,
			draft, not evaporating the moisture out of wet, unseasoned
as uncovered wood can absorb water from rain or snow,
			wood, resulting in wasted heat.
delaying the seasoning process.
March 2, 2007		7033-277C		Page 25