Heads up First Year Hi Tech Stove Operators (Dry Wood!!)

Huntindog1 said:

Go find you some dry wood before its all bought up.

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That ship already sailed months ago.

A month or two before burning season cover it up to keep it max dry.

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That isn't really needed.

Ahhh soon we will be hearing how "these new EPA stoves are junk", "my old stove heated way better", "the chimney was fine with my last stove", "the wood is seasoned it burned fine with my last stove" and on and on.

Everyone get their game faces on we will be helping a bunch of new frustrated burners before long.

Lots of wood talk in the Wood Shed forum, which is another part of hearth.com

Huntindog1 said:

Go find you some dry wood before its all bought up.

Go get you a Moisture Meter (Lowes $30) , take it with you.
Dont take the guys word for how well its seasoned , measure it.
I like 18% moisture or less but most will say 20% or less is fine.
These newer design stoves have to have well seasoned wood like 2 years seasoned is the best.
Oak takes 3 years to season.
Wood that is CSS is best as Cut-Split-Stacked for 2 years or more makes for the best fire wood.
Air gets to it better that way.
A month or two before burning season cover it up to keep it max dry.

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When I put in my PE Summit last November, I got kiln dried wood which was equivalent to about 2 months of summer drying. As long as I got plenty of air into the wood, it burned fine, and when I cleaned my chimney it was pretty clean except for the last 4 feet which was above the roof line. That wasn't excessively dirty, just a bit more dirty than the lower section. This year I'll be using wood that is dried for 7-12 months, and I don't expect any concerns.

These new stoves are designed to burn at two levels, the red base of the fire, and the blue hot volatiles at the top of the fire. Less dry burns less hot because of the moisture so you have to make special efforts to get a lot of oxygen to the fire.

Most people I know do not have the money to buy enough wood in advance to have a three year supply, or have a place to store 3 years of wood. I have no place to put 15 cords of wood.

MY opinion based on my my experience. Prior to the PE I used a side drafting stove which burned very cleanly and I NEVER had any creosote build-up for wood that was dried for about 7-9 months.
'

I cut mine down in March and split/pile it in April - Mostly Cherry, some Maple and some Ash (same program for the past 30 years). First 3 fires in my new Englander 30 (first high tech stove) and its burning fantastic. I have not checked the moisture level, maybe i will do this just out of curiosity?

Having gone from old to new last year, I will agree with my learned friends.....dry is why the heat goes into the home an the steam to the sky!

Osceola said:

I cut mine down in March and split/pile it in April - Mostly Cherry, some Maple and some Ash (same program for the past 30 years). First 3 fires in my new Englander 30 (first high tech stove) and its burning fantastic. I have not checked the moisture level, maybe i will do this just out of curiosity?

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What kind of wood are you burning? Glad it went well for you.

dafattkidd said:

What kind of wood are you burning? Glad it went well for you.

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90 % Cherry, 10% Maole and 10% Ash.

I have burned oak after less than a year and it sizzles, and needs to be split pretty small to get it going. Glad the woods your cutting and burning are drying out. I have found that sugar maple dries out pretty fast. I assume that's what you meant by "maole"?

I hate buying firewood after last year.

dafattkidd said:

I have burned oak after less than a year and it sizzles, and needs to be split pretty small to get it going. Glad the woods your cutting and burning are drying out. I have found that sugar maple dries out pretty fast. I assume that's what you meant by "maole"?

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Sorry I did mean Maple, WHEN you cut down the tree makes a huge difference as far as moisture content, during the cold winter months the standing tree will have a lot less moisture. Over the past years I have found January/early march to be optimal. Oak is not a very popular wood burning choice around these parts simply because there is so much more Cherry,Ash and Maple.I would bet that because of its density Oak would have a very long dry time.