Getting top performance from your wood stove
If your wood stove is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it with a new advanced model.
The carefully designed internal features and clear viewing glass of these modern stoves make clean and efficient wood heating much easier and more enjoyable. Advanced technology burners are easy to spot: they’re tested and certified as clean burning according to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.
While upgrading to an advanced technology stove or fireplace is the most environ- mentally sound decision you can make, it may not be immediately affordable for you. If this is the case, there are still ways you can improve the performance of your existing model.
Wet wood makes efficient, safe and convenient wood heating impossible. As a general guide, firewood that is cut, split and stacked under cover in the spring will be ready for burning that fall. The wood should be kept outside in an open area to dry. Avoid storing unseasoned wood in your basement because it can support the growth of unhealthy molds.
The moisture in firewood, which is 35 to 50 per cent water by weight when cut, slows the combustion process and produces an inefficient fire that is slow to start and hard to sustain. Properly seasoned wood is around 20 per cent. This moder- ate moisture content actually stabilizes the combustion process by preventing the wood from burning too quickly. Remember: • Burn only dry firewood in your stove. • Don’t burn painted or treated wood, wood with nails, or salt-water driftwood. • Don’t burn garbage, plastics or rubber. • Use newspapers and small dry pieces of wood to kindle a fire—never use liquid fire starters. For more information about clean burning wood-heating appliances, visit the Natural Resources Canada web site at www.nrcan.gc.ca/es/erb/reed/ public e.htm, or visit Wood Heat’s comprehensive Canadian site about wood heating at http://woodheat.org