Several posts lately have had me thinking about many of the people new to burning wood. Sometimes I think people are confusing wet wood with unseasoned wood or should we say, thinking they are the same thing. They are not! Naturally the creosote problem usually comes into play and also poor burning wood or "this stove won't throw much heat."
So what happens to the wood if it rains or snows and you want to burn it? In the first place I believe it does not matter too much if there has been a recent rain or snow but it does matter a lot on what that wood was like before it rained or snowed. If the wood is just wet on the outside from recent moisture then that will dry off quite fast. Outdoors around here it usually takes less than a day to dry off that moisture (as I usually state; wood is not a sponge unless it is punky). Or one could just bring in the next load and stack it on the hearth to let the stove dry the wood.
But what about all the creosote that is being produced? This is a common problem and just keeps coming up over and over again and very rarely do people think it is the fault of the wood. It seems that most folks who buy wood take the word of the wood seller that the wood is ready to burn or is seasoned. Sorry, but very, very rarely is this the case.
Someone posted a link to a video that had a great illustration concerning the amount of moisture that is in wood. (Perhaps someone could post a link that that video as I forgot where it is. Thank you.) Quite simply, it showed two pieces of wood placed on a balance scale. One piece was seasoned and the other was freshly cut. Naturally, they did not weigh the same. Then they started adding some water in a cup to the dry side and kept pouring water in until the two sides balanced. It is amazing how much water it took to balance those two pieces of wood.
Now imagine what happens if each of those types of wood are placed into a wood heating stove. The first thing that happens when we reload our stoves is that the moisture is driven or evaporated from the wood as the flames begin. Once that moisture is gone the wood burns great. Now if we can imagine putting in the seasoned log, it won't take long for the fire to get going. However, if we put in the unseasoned log, it takes a lot longer to dry out that wood before it will burn. In the meantime, this moisture is headed right straight up the chimney.
Question: what effect does this moisture have on our chimneys? Do you suppose the chimney temperature is higher or lower when this moisture is being evaporated? Does all the moisture just go out the top of the chimney having no effect on the sides or wall of the chimney?
We also recently saw a thread where someone linked to a Youtube video where this poor fellow was really running down these new EPA type stoves. In his ignorance, he was burning green or unseasoned wood and expecting good results. That will not happen. This poor fellow also had a split sitting on top of his stove! No doubt he thought that would dry the wood enough. Sorry, it won't happen.
So to all the folks new to wood burning we ask that you please, please do yourself a big favor and make sure you have good dry wood to burn in that wonderful new stove you just bought. If you have creosote problems or your glass gets dirty, do not blame the stove or the stove pipe or the chimney. Plain and simple: it is the fuel you are trying to burn.
You would not consider burning poor fuel in your automobile or truck because the thing just would not run right. It is the same situation with your stove. So let's put good fuel in our stoves so we can let them perform the way they were intended to perform. It matters not if you have a cat or a non-cat stove; they both need good fuel.
I have not posted this thread in order to flame anyone or put anyone down in any way but have posted in the hopes that it might help a few people. I'm sure others will add to this post and I thank you for doing so as that is what needs to be done. I could write more but let's let some other folks chime in on this.
So what happens to the wood if it rains or snows and you want to burn it? In the first place I believe it does not matter too much if there has been a recent rain or snow but it does matter a lot on what that wood was like before it rained or snowed. If the wood is just wet on the outside from recent moisture then that will dry off quite fast. Outdoors around here it usually takes less than a day to dry off that moisture (as I usually state; wood is not a sponge unless it is punky). Or one could just bring in the next load and stack it on the hearth to let the stove dry the wood.
But what about all the creosote that is being produced? This is a common problem and just keeps coming up over and over again and very rarely do people think it is the fault of the wood. It seems that most folks who buy wood take the word of the wood seller that the wood is ready to burn or is seasoned. Sorry, but very, very rarely is this the case.
Someone posted a link to a video that had a great illustration concerning the amount of moisture that is in wood. (Perhaps someone could post a link that that video as I forgot where it is. Thank you.) Quite simply, it showed two pieces of wood placed on a balance scale. One piece was seasoned and the other was freshly cut. Naturally, they did not weigh the same. Then they started adding some water in a cup to the dry side and kept pouring water in until the two sides balanced. It is amazing how much water it took to balance those two pieces of wood.
Now imagine what happens if each of those types of wood are placed into a wood heating stove. The first thing that happens when we reload our stoves is that the moisture is driven or evaporated from the wood as the flames begin. Once that moisture is gone the wood burns great. Now if we can imagine putting in the seasoned log, it won't take long for the fire to get going. However, if we put in the unseasoned log, it takes a lot longer to dry out that wood before it will burn. In the meantime, this moisture is headed right straight up the chimney.
Question: what effect does this moisture have on our chimneys? Do you suppose the chimney temperature is higher or lower when this moisture is being evaporated? Does all the moisture just go out the top of the chimney having no effect on the sides or wall of the chimney?
We also recently saw a thread where someone linked to a Youtube video where this poor fellow was really running down these new EPA type stoves. In his ignorance, he was burning green or unseasoned wood and expecting good results. That will not happen. This poor fellow also had a split sitting on top of his stove! No doubt he thought that would dry the wood enough. Sorry, it won't happen.
So to all the folks new to wood burning we ask that you please, please do yourself a big favor and make sure you have good dry wood to burn in that wonderful new stove you just bought. If you have creosote problems or your glass gets dirty, do not blame the stove or the stove pipe or the chimney. Plain and simple: it is the fuel you are trying to burn.
You would not consider burning poor fuel in your automobile or truck because the thing just would not run right. It is the same situation with your stove. So let's put good fuel in our stoves so we can let them perform the way they were intended to perform. It matters not if you have a cat or a non-cat stove; they both need good fuel.
I have not posted this thread in order to flame anyone or put anyone down in any way but have posted in the hopes that it might help a few people. I'm sure others will add to this post and I thank you for doing so as that is what needs to be done. I could write more but let's let some other folks chime in on this.
