The preceding is an excerpt from “THE WOODBURNERS ENCYLOPEDIA” published by Vermont Crossroads Press,
Inc. – Dec., 1976.
WOOD IS A SAFE CLEAN AND ECONOMICAL FUEL
Equivalent Value #2
Heating Oil Litre
Note: To change litres to US gal. multiply by 264
For the least amount of wood handling, the wood with the highest heat content is most desirable.
An open fireplace can actually refrigerate a house because it sucks in so much cold air, which is only partially used for
combustion. A carefully designed fireplace makes use of perhaps 10 – 15 % of the heat available; most still going up the flue.
The well-constructed potbellies get perhaps 20 – 25 % and the automatic, draft regulated, tightly sealed wood heaters get
perhaps 50 %.
Notice that the percentage efficiency goes up as the combustion process becomes more and more controlled. The roaring fire
is a complete waste of fuel. The best situation is one where the combustion chamber is gas-tight. This allows a controlled fire
that toasts the wood and puts the right quantity of wood gas in the right place and at the right temperature for optimal
combustion and heat transfer.
The NEWMAC COMBINATION OIL AND WOOD FURNACE toasts the wood to charcoal and the charcoal and the charcoal
burns to dust leaving a minute amount of residue. From the above heat values, it can be seen that a cord or Hickory wood is
equivalent to $ 248.22 (@ 30.0 cents litre) worth of oil, over twice as much as you would pay for a cord of wood.
Without taking into account all the free wood that is available, EFFICIENT WOOD HEATING cuts your heating costs in half.
MAINTENANCE AND OPERATING BULLETIN
Regarding Multifuel and Solid Fuel Burning Heating Units
The following are some suggestions with reference to the above:
1. MAINTENANCE:
In addition to periodic cleaning, it is most important that the unit be cleaned thoroughly at the end of each heating
season. Both the primary and the secondary heat exchangers should be given extra attention with a steel scraper
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