Ziprich said:
Hello everybody. I am very new to the wood stove game, as a matter a fact i haven't started yet. I'm having a Harman TL300 installed next Monday, and i have 5 cords of wood out side of my house. i have always wanted to burn wood and i am so excited to now have my own house to do it in.
The big problem I have right now is that I believe i have been mislead by my friends, family, and wood salesman. They all told me that the wood i bought and gathered this summer would be fine to burn this winter. Last night when i first got on Hearth.com i found out that they were very wrong. Now i don't know what to do, i don't want to wait till next year to burn the stove, but i also don't want to have trouble with my stove.
Please let my know if there is anything that i can do to fix my problem. Also any feedback on the Harman TL300 would also be great. Thank you very much!
Welcome to the forum Ziprich.
Don't feel too bad because you have done much like other new wood burners. That is, put the stove in and then think about the fuel. However, if you are very careful you may get through your first year without too many problems. You have taken a couple steps in the right direction already.
First, do you know what kind of wood you have?
If it is oak, then by all means, do not try to burn it. Oak is about the slowest drying wood there is but once it is dry it is about the best you can find. As others have suggested, you might luck out and find some dead standing trees and if so, at least the tops of those trees will probably be dry enough to burn right away. What else can you do?
1. If it is not already, move that wood into the spot on your place that gets the most wind. If it can also get sunshine, so much the better but go for the wind first of all.
2. Make sure it is stacked loosely. Don't try to make this a perfect stack that really looks neat. The most important thing you need now is for air circulation so don't stack it tight. Also, make sure it is stacked so air can circulate under the wood. Even landscape timbers will work good for stacking the wood on.
3. Don't cover the wood or if you feel you must, then make sure you cover only the top of the stacks. Never cover the sides or ends. Remember, you want air circulation.
4. Stack in single rows and leave enough room between the rows that you can walk comfortably between the rows. Again, the wood needs air.
5. If you need to, don't be afraid to re-split the wood into smaller pieces as this will help the wood dry quicker.
6. I hate to recommend this but you may find yourself having wood inside for a couple days before putting it into the stove. If you do this, watch for any bugs as you don't want too many crawling critters in the house, or at least most folks don't. But some have had good luck stacking lots of wood close to the stove. However, that comes with a risk.
7. By all means,
CHECK THAT CHIMNEY AT LEAST ONCE PER MONTH. If it needs cleaning then do not hesitate a day. Clean it or hire it done. Your second year will go much better than the first year but this is really important to keep that chimney clean. Just imagine how your car would run if the exhaust pipe was partially plugged. Or stick a potato on the end of your exhaust pipe and drive down the highway. That is how a stove will work if the chimney starts to plug with creosote. Problem is, that stuff will also light and cause a large fire that can sound like a locomotive. Do you want that in your house?
8. Have I mentioned that you need to check and clean your chimney monthly?
Also, you now know that one of the very best things you can do right now is to get all the wood you need to burn this winter....plus all the wood you need to burn the following winter. I always recommend folks be 2-3 years ahead on their wood supply. We already have more than one case of some folks who, because of sickness or injury are not able to put up wood this year but fortunately most of them have a few years ahead on their wood so they are fine. Remember too that a nice wood pile is better than money in the bank as it will pay many more dividends than the bank will.
Good luck to you and be sure to visit The Wood Shed too. Lots of good knowledgeable folks there who are willing to help.