CTYank said:
The primary draft setting controls the burn rate, and the optimum MC is 0%.
Even if that was true (which it most definitely is not), just how do you propose getting the wood down to 0% MC? Then how do you keep it there once you do?
A certain amount of water is necessary for a well-regulated and efficient burn. You can believe anything you want to, but when you plug one of these puppies into an EPA test flue, the numbers tell a different story. These EPA stoves are designed to be most efficient at the MC used to test them. That is,
16-20% MCWB, or 19-25% MCDB. Your meter reads MCDB, so the best range is 19-25% on the meter. Above and below that, overall heating efficiency decreases (more so on the "too wet" end of the spectrum than on the "too dry" end).
Of course, this is a broad generalization. Stoves, flues, wood type, operator effect, etc. are all contributing factors that could create differences in the findings, but the general trend for all wood burning appliances is to have an optimum MC that is well above 0%.