just cant win...

Sorry about your high blood pressure. If it's sizzling and steaming, it's not seasoned yet.

What happened since November of 2013 when you posted?:

"Well folks, this is my third year burning with this stove and as my firewood stack seasoned over the past few years, so did my love for this stove. I'm actually surprised at how well it heats the house. I've yet to turn the heat on yet in our 4 bedroom cape"

and

"I see 600-700 degrees quite frequently on my Hampton stovetop temps."

Is it possible that you are just hitting some unseasoned oak in your piles?

It's also true that heating with wood isn't for everybody.

northwinds said:

Sorry about your high blood pressure. If it's sizzling and steaming, it's not seasoned yet.

What happened since November of 2013 when you posted?:

"Well folks, this is my third year burning with this stove and as my firewood stack seasoned over the past few years, so did my love for this stove. I'm actually surprised at how well it heats the house. I've yet to turn the heat on yet in our 4 bedroom cape"

and

"I see 600-700 degrees quite frequently on my Hampton stovetop temps."

Is it possible that you are just hitting some unseasoned oak in your piles?

It's also true that heating with wood isn't for everybody.

Click to expand...

good question, sounds like they were pretty satisfied back then.

I've also thought about pellets but thought it might be more hassle. I'd have sell wood to buy pellets, so why not just burn wood. Sound like your wood isn't seasoned enough. If it's seasoned it won't sizzle. Oak does take a long time.

I burn both, the wood stove kicks a$$.....Have 11 cord left of nice seasoned cherry,maple and oak. I keep the XXV on low 24/7 and go through a bag a day, just enough heat to keep kitchen and sunroom at + or - 72 degrees. The Encore takes care of the other 2000 sq. ft.

What did you top cover the wood with, and did you get it up off the ground?

Poly tarps are going to leak, so expect some moisture if that's what you are using. Rubber roofing material for flat roofs works much better for covering the top of the stack.

If you can get some shipping pallets for free, stack the wood on top of those. It will also help with the drying.

I built one of these wood sheds over the summer for about $400 in materials. I like it a lot. Makes stacking easy and keeps the wood a lot drier than covering with a tarp. I'll probably build another one this summer.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/_mobile/home/how-to-plans/sheds/how-to-build-a-firewood-shed#slide-1

Keep on mind that the wood is outside so there is always going to be some moisture. Get a moisture meter and check the wood. Anything less than 20% is good. A little steam and sizzle can be expected.

When you say sizzle and steam are you talking about can't get the stove to burn hot or just sizzling on a fresh load. If the latter, I wouldn't let that bother me to the point of getting rid of the stove, it happens.

Have you checked the pipe? How's it look?

TTigano said:

The stacks were top covered with tarps... Then fully covered a few months ago. Water still seems to find its way in. I've brought some wood inside and am drying it by the stove to see what happens.

Click to expand...

I think you'll get good results this way. Letting it dry inside with the stove radiating on it for a few days works wonders, especially with surface moisture.

I get a little sizzle with oak as well upon reload which is no concern. There's sizzle and then there's beyond sizzle with bubbling with moisture pouring out of the wood. Mine is limitted to just a little sizzle on the corner of the split now and then upon reload. It sizzles out after a few minutes. Is this the case or is is sizzlling for a longer period of time?

Getting ahead is just gonna be necessary. In your area, sounds as if ambient moisture and etc. is a problem. You will have to get creative on the space issue. A friend of mine did that here, he felt he did not have room for a shed like mine, which holds around 5 cords [two yr. supply just in the shed]. So one thing he did was to build a storage area beneath their raised backyard deck. Then he fixed up an area around the back two sides of his garage, a small roof-like construction a couple feet to cover another row of stacked split wood between a little sidewalk and the garage walls. Unobtrusive and he took out the narrow iris bed to do it. He sacrificed almost zero backyard that way. Another friend had a concrete porch, went up six or eight steps to the landing. He somehow got rid of that porch and replaced it with a wooden-framed one, and again, had a bunch of storage there beneath the porch. I have a carport in which I park a vehicle, but there is enough room along one side of the concrete floor to stack almost a cord of split wood, I have it up to shoulder height and the carport is 24 ft. long. I have other storage, too. You have to do something about drying the wood or have a reliable source from which to purchase it. Which you know, I'm just throwing out some ideas.

I made a wall of wood between my yard and the neighbors. It allows me to single stack for better drying and it make a pretty attractive fence, plus it takes up no room. I have 6 cords stacked this way.

Are you on the coast?

Try Resplittng the wood. It will dry out faster and hopefully take the sizzle out, restoring your confidence in the hampton. If you had killer results before, you can get there again.

Try making some smaller splits as well. I try to keep about half large for longer burns. The other half I just beat on until they resemble toothpicks. They're nice for start ups and short shoulder season fires.

About a little sizzle, cant wood ends absorb some moisture and sizzle out while firing up? I have had black walnut split really small for three years that still sizzles, and yes its stacked in the sun and wind, its catches fire ez and gives a hot burn but Ill see some foam out of the end. After a wind storm my friend gave me some oak and he helped me load it up and complained how heavy it was , in return I gave him that same walnut to take to deer camp and when he loaded it up in his truck he couldnt believe how light it was , I told him he was loading wood not water lol.

I'm in the same boat. Got to the stack with oak maybe 1 1/2 dry, sugar maple from hurricane sandy and ash from the derecho that blew through here. It sizzles for 5 to 10 minutes and then it off to the races. I loaded the semi-seasoned oak the other night, it sizzled for 5 minutes then took off stove went to 700. Same with the ash and maple. I try to keep a lot of wood next to the stove to dry out the surface moisture. Don't give up yet, and please don't get rid of the insert for a pellet insert. While its still heat, in no way does it compare to wood heat. You would probably be kicking your self in the a$$ for making that decision.

Had a similar problem earlier this year, got into a bad patch of wood, ash of all things. All part of the learning process. Split it down smaller as needed, mix and match and hang in there!

It's funny the big spits don't sizzle but the small splits do , hmmmm

Scols said:

Try making some smaller splits as well. I try to keep about half large for longer burns. . .

Click to expand...

jatoxico said:

Split it down smaller as needed, mix and match and hang in there!

Click to expand...

+1
In my stove, larger splits in the back with smaller splits front and top works best. . .gives the bigguns more time to cook as the smaller stuff in the front burns away.

Reloading sooner when the stove and coal bed are hotter will help too. That heat energy helps to cook the water out of the wood.