Helping to keep your family warm

BURNING WITH SEDORE STOVES
~ DIFFERENT FUELS ~

BURNING WOOD

You will get the most heat, and the longest burns out of a load of seasoned hardwood, however green or wet wood will still burn in the Sedore as long as it is put on top of dry wood, as it will dry out before it reaches the bottom.
Wood still seems to be the most popular fuel. Those that are able to store their wood indoors are getting the longest burn times, but most of us cannot store our winter's supply of wood indoors. Try to have at least one day's supply of wood inside. The reason for this is that it takes heat energy to warm the wood. If the wood is already room temperature understandably you will get more heat from the fuel.
You will discover that you get more creosote when you put in green or wet wood: however, this is not a problem in the SEDORE because as long as you have placed good dry wood on the bottom of the fuel load, the rest of the load doesn't matter much because it will dry before it reaches the fire. The creosote from the wet wood will stay in the front chamber and cling onto the lid and upper walls, where no harm can be done; it will simply dry and fall into the fire as the load is burned. Don't put wet wood on the bottom, as then you will not be able to create a hot enough fire at the bottom to make the "fire-wall" that traps the smoke in the burning chamber. You can now expect between 12-20 hours of burning time on just one fill-up of wood, depending on its degree of dryness.
Your wood can now be cut up to 18 inches long for filling the stove horizontally. Once a good bed of coals is established, (from burning your wood horizontally for the first few days), then you can put the wood in vertically and use as large of wood as the stove will hold. It is helpful when burning large chunks, to put smaller ones all around it, this seems to give the big piece a 'kick' during the burning process.
Seasoned wood means wood that has been cut and split and allowed to dry for one year. Some good hardwoods are maple, beech, oak, elm, and birch. You can burn softwoods in your new SEDORE stove too, however, softwood won't give you the length of burn that hardwood will. Some softwood is cedar, pine, spruce and poplar.

BURNING CORN/ COBS AND KERNEL

Corn starts best when thrown in onto a bed of coals, so we recommend you start the stove the same way as with wood. When you reach the 'stack temperature' of 550°F then throw in a sack full of corn, right on the cob, husks and all if you wish. Fill the load and shut the lid down. Close the draft bar down to less than 1/4 open as corn need less air than wood to keep a stack temperature of 200°F. You will get a higher heat from corn than you do wood. If I don't have much cob-corn, I always save it for the coldest days. One fill up of cob corn will give you at least the length of burn as wood, but you can increase the burn time for a load if you pour kernel corn over a fill up of cob corn. For example, it takes approximately two sacks, or one full wheelbarrow load of cob corn to fill the model 3000 stove. On top of this I added five 'milk jugs' full of kernels and poured it over the top. 24 hours later there was still a deep bed of coals, and the stack-temperature hadn't dropped at all. The draft setting is much lower when burning corn than it is with wood; corn needs very little air once it gets going.
If you wish to burn straight kernels you will need the hopper insert.
Just remember how the SEDORE stove burns. It heats the bottom to release smoke and gases. Traps them and circulates the gases around the fuel until it is burned clean. Any granular fuel, would plug the walls, so the basket hopper is needed to keep the fuel away from the walls.
The hopper is a simple tapered devise that goes right inside the stove. The wider end goes at the bottom, narrower one at the top. Start the stove the same --- with wood, and then work the hopper right down into a deep bed of coals. I like to add a couple small sticks of wood first, then fill the hopper slowly with kernel corn. Stay with the stove until you are sure this has caught, then adjust the draft bar accordingly keeping in mind that corn needs less air than wood.
You can burn any of the small granular fuels, such as kernel corn, wood pellets, grains, sawdust etc. either with the hopper insert (if burning them alone) or mixed with larger fuels that will allow enough air space for the gases to circulate.
Ex. You can put a pail of sawdust over wood, or put sawdust in a bag or box and add it to wood. You can mix kernel corn with cob corn-- wood pellets with wood--- etc.

BURNING RECYCLED FUELS

There are many different types of recycled fuels available. They can be made out of scrap wood, sawdust, cardboard or paper.
1. Recycled fuel nearly doubles in size when heated so never fill your stove more than 3/4 full.
2. Recycled fuel burns HOT. Set draft settings VERY low.

BURNING WOOD CHIPS

As long as the chips are big enough not to smother the flames, they can be burned in the stove as is. If your wood chips are small, you have a couple of alternatives. You can burn them with wood, cob corn, or any fuel that will allow air space or use the basket hopper
TIP--- When you put the basket hopper into the stove, on a bed of coals - always make sure you can close the lid completely before you fill the hopper.

BURNING SUNFLOWER HEADS

Sunflower heads burn the same as cob corn - no hopper is needed and a longer burn can be achieved by pouring straight seeds over sunflower heads - not too many or you will smother the flame.

HOPPER REQUIRED Sawdust Grains Seeds Wood pellets Kernel corn Anything granular

HOPPER NOT REQUIRED Cob corn Soft wood Scrap wood Hardwood Large wood chips Anything longer than 4"

In other words, any fuel that would smother the flame needs the hopper, unless you mix the granular fuels with larger fuels, to allow air space. For example, kernel corn can be added to cob corn or wood or any other large fuel.