8 - SELECTING FIREWOOD
Burn only natural wood in the Manchester stove,
since it has not been designed to burn other types of
fuel.
CAUTION: DO NOT USE CHEMICALS OR LIQUIDS TO
LIGHT THE FIRE. DO NOT USE COAL, PELLETS,
CHARCOAL, OR OTHER MATERIALS AS FUEL; THEY
ARE NOT SAFE. DO NOT BURN RUBBISH OR
FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS.
The quality of the wood directly affects heat output,
the duration of the combustion process and the
performance of the stove. Generally, softwoods burn
hotter and faster, while harder types of wood take
longer to burn and produce better embers. The
density and moisture content are two critical factors
to consider when buying wood for the stove.
Following is a list of some kinds of timber and their
BTU (British Thermal Unit) values. The higher the
BTU value, the longer the combustion. Generally,
wood with a higher BTU is ideal for a log stove.
Moisture content also plays a key role in the
performance of your stove. Freshly cut wood from a
living tree (green wood) contains a lot of moisture.
As you might imagine, green wood burns very
poorly. Green wood must be dried before being used
in the stove. To dry green wood correctly, split the
wood and stack it. Let it dry in for one year. Green
wood can yield less than 2,000
Btu per pound, while dry wood can yield up to
7,000 Btu per pound.
Stack firewood on a structure so that it is not
touching the ground. Only cover the top of the stack.
If you cover the sides of the stack with plastic or
tarpaulin covers, the moisture will be trapped and
the wood will not dry. On how to stack wood, an
elderly inhabitant of the U.S. state of Vermont once
said, "the spaces between the logs must be large
enough for a mouse to pass between them, but not
so large to allow a cat to catch it".
CAUTION: DO NOT STORE FIREWOOD IN THE GAPS
SEPARATING THE STOVE FROM COMBUSTIBLE
MATERIALS.
Calorific Value of wood
Weight-Lb/Power-Btu Ratio
Common Name
HIGH
Black birch
Apple tree
White oak
MEDIUM-HIGH
European beech
Maple
Red Oak
White ash
Yellow birch
MEDIUM
Gray birch
White birch
(paper)
Black walnut
Cherry-tree
Green ash
Black cherry
American elm
White elm
Black ash
Red maple
Douglas Fir
MEDIUM-LOW
Box elder
Red alder
Pine wood
Norway Pine
Heart pine
Catalpa
Black spruce
Ponderosa Pine
LOW
Fir
Willow
Balsam Fir
White Pine
Spruce (White)
Linden
Poplar
White Cedar
40
Lb
BTU
3,890
26800
4,100
26500
4,012
25700
3,757
24000
3,757
24000
3,757
24000
3,689
23600
3,689
23600
3,179
20300
3,179
20300
3,192
20200
3,120
20000
2,880
19900
2,880
19900
3,052
19500
3,052
19500
2,992
19100
2,924
18700
2,900
18100
2,797
17900
2,710
17200
2,669
17100
2,669
17100
2,669
17100
2,360
16400
2,482
15900
2,380
15200
2,100
14500
2,100
14500
2,236
14300
2,236
14300
2,104
14100
2,108
13800
2,108
13500
1,913
12200