new guy, likes fire

[metalfingers]

Hi, I'm new here. After 16 years of being in town, my wife and I finally bought a house with a couple acres of timber, 2 fireplaces, a LP/wood burning boiler & a wood burning fireplace in the garage. I've always liked fires in the fireplace but now I'm looking to burn for an alternate source of heat. I've been busy doing research, bought a chainsaw & a used hydraulic splitter and have been going to town cutting & splitting. I should have a good stockpile for next year, but for this winter I've had to resort to buying wood on craigslist.

I'd like to familiarize myself with tree species, it's killing me to cut & split wood and not know kind it is, but I'm pretty sure it's decent hardwood. Along with that, I'd like to get this wood burning boiler figured out. I've been using it for about a month now and I seem to being using a ton of wood and not getting much heat.

I'll probably start a new thread on this when I can post better pictures and ask some questions, but here's what I got

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[maple1]

There is some fundamental info you should gather/track down in order to do any diagnosing.

Like, water/pipe temps everywhere the boiler water enters & leaves something, through the entire system, and flue temp & draft measurement. Accurately measured.

A good IR temp gun is good for the first part (spray shiney surfaces with flat black paint first) - an internal pipe temp thermometer & manometer is good for the second.

(Along with the fundamentals of dry wood & clean boiler...)

For starters...

 

[Lcback]

I can't help with boilers. I run a forced air furnace. But I have to ask the obvious question. Have you checked the moisture of your wood of c list? I have never seen actually dry wood be bought. They all lie. To check it you need a moisture meter. Split a piece open. Check it on the face of that fresh spit. If it's above 25% you aren't getting dry wood.
For what kind of wood you are cutting. It can be really tricky. Some woods are instantly identifiable. Cherry, silver maple, sassafras. Some like locust, hickory, oak take a trained eye. Take some pics of what you are cutting and post them in the wood shed. People like to help figure it out. Post a picture of the bark, and a split piece , leaves if you have any.


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[hondaracer2oo4]

Maple suggestions are good. Likely your issue boils down to wood moisture content. Pick up a moisture meter and take a look. I think you'll be surpised at how "seasoned" it is.

 

[metalfingers]

I have never seen actually dry wood be bought. They all lie.
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I am aware of this, main reason I am starting to cut my own. I usually ask them point blank "you sure this is dry"? Of course they all say yes, I guess I didn't think it affected the btu as long as I got it burning good. As far as Maple's suggestions, I have been digging into the system, trying to figure it out, I have a couple infrared temp guns and I just bought a cheap FLIR thermal camera for my phone... pretty cool. I've read about moisture content but never looked into buying a tester, I'll definitely get one.

 

[Fred61]

A good share of the btus stored in the log are used to boil the water out of the wood and are of no benefit to you.

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

Yes this makes a huge difference. You are using likely 1/3 of the wood you put in the stove to just burn off the moisture. The other issue is that unseasoned wood burns slow and cool causing low output temps and creosote formation.

 

[metalfingers]

So if wet wood is my main problem (which is very likely) how do I test the heat system? Since I can't trust anyone on craigslist, should I buy a few bundles of overpriced wood at the gas station and heat for a day on that? Any other places to get guaranteed dry wood? Also, are there any favorite moisture meters out there? I'm looking at a few on amazon, about to just flip a coin

 

[snavematt]

So if wet wood is my main problem (which is very likely) how do I test the heat system? Since I can't trust anyone on craigslist, should I buy a few bundles of overpriced wood at the gas station and heat for a day on that? Any other places to get guaranteed dry wood? Also, are there any favorite moisture meters out there? I'm looking at a few on amazon, about to just flip a coin

Go get some twisted 2x4s from the store, they cost less. cut them to length and burn those, just done use treated wood

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

You need to buy. Moisture meter. Get a good coal bed going with some 2x4 material then split all of your green hardwood small, say 2-3 inches across the face size. Try running that.

 

[Lcback]

Look for bio bricks or something similar in your area. Usually tractor supply sells some at a bit of ups charge. But still probably cheaper then the stuff at the gas station.


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[metalfingers]

Thanks guys, I'll pick up some lumber and bio blocks and give that a try.
I started a new thread on my heat system as I'm going to have more questions and try keeping it all in one place
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/char-lite-wood-burning-boiler-ceiling-radiant.160038/

 

[pernox]

Pallet wood can be a good (and free) source for "pretty much guaranteed dry" wood to test your system with, also.