I have been using our Lopi Declaration for about 2 weeks. I am using wood from trees that were cut down on our property, and I hand split it at least a year ago. The trees had probably been dead for years. It has been seasoning in an uncovered wood pile in our woods (shady) for about 3 months and then covered (under a tarp) for at least 9 months. The wood is a mix of red oak (70%) and tulip poplar (30%).
I get this heavy build up (creosote?) on the glass, which can not be removed with Windex. Using a damp paper towel dabbed in the ashes works better, but the build up returns every morning after a slow overnight burn
(air control pulled out to about 90% or 100% closed). This leaves some hot coals in the morning allowing for a fast restart. We always have a fast, hot burn for about an hour at least once a day.
The stove is installed with about a 20' stainless steel flue.
Here are my questions:
1) Is my wood considered well seasoned?
2) Does rainy weather (high humidity) affect seasoned wood that is covered much?
3) Is this build-up normal with well seasoned wood?
4) Is the slow burn dangerous for my flue (creosote build-up)?
5) Is the Rutland Conditioning Glass Cleaner worth while?
http://www.rutland.com/productinfo.php?product_id=43
6) I think I read somewhere that I should pack the firebox pretty densely for the overnight burns. Is this correct proceedure?
Thanks,
Joe