may be in trouble

steeltowninwv said:

.....is 27 way too high?...i got some fairly dry wood probably around 22% some lower....

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I have no experience with an insert like yours. However, you have to burn what you got. You will be able to find a way to get great heat out of your oak. But you will have to experiment to find what is best for your circumstances.

27% is not too high for my stand alone stove. I have fooled with different procedures and tried suggestions from other members on this forum. The suggestions work. The little stove of mine runs us out of here, even if the wood moisture is not as low as some recommend. What I arrived at is small loads burned hot.

Sounds like that wood should have been left out in the wind to help drying. Stacked in the shed it won't dry a whole lot. If it were me, I'd get some other wood and wait another year on the oak.

Yeah man, as far as wet Oak goes that isn't that bad. You could mix it in with the drier wood and you should be good to go. Finding dry wood for this year is not impossible, but an extremely hard proposition.
I was kind of in your situation last year and the only advice I got was to let it season three years and find better stuff. Well, that is just not possible to do sometimes. My oak was a good bit higher than 27% too. If you split some of that down into smaller pieces and mix it, you'll be alright. Just check your chimney more frequently. And let Oak season for at least 15 years prior to using next time...

We have all been there...including myself right now....I would split your oak down to smaller sizes, and just try to get some airflow around it.
I am going have to mix mine in, so its going to be about 2/3rd maple/beech and 1/3rd not so seasoned oak. (got myself a sooteater, so I am going to clean mid burning season just to make sure things are ok)

I echo the 'we have all been there' sentiment. Mix in with dry wood and check chimney more frequently and vow to be better prepared for next year. I didn't appreciate the wisdom of dry wood until I was in your shoes, but now I burn two year, seasoned hickory and oak. What a difference. Backwoods Savage is spot on with his advice. KG