Drolet 58991 User Manual

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20
WOODSTOVE UTILISATION 
Your heating unit was designed to burn wood only; no other materials should be burnt.  
Wastes and other flammable materials should not be burnt in your wood stove.  Any type 
of wood may be used in your stove, but specific varieties have better energy yields than 
others.  Please consult the following table in order to make the best possible choice. 
AVERAGE ENRGY 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 related 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