To all 'newbies' and us 'smoke dragon' vets: Don't blow off the Dry Wood Mantra

[WoodpileOCD]

Been burning wood for 30+ years but not until the middle of last season with an EPA stove. The last 20 years with a smoke dragon insert that really threw off the heat and REALLY ate the wood. Didn't matter what kind or condition, throw it in, open it up and let er rip. Repeat every 2-3 hours including the middle of the night.

Got my Buck last year and wasn't really that impressed with it but it was better than what I had. The reason being, I was burning wood with 25-35% moisture I found out with MM. This year I'm burning the same wood but at about 20% and WOW, what a difference. Last year I struggled to get the cat over 800-900 and was giddy when it went to 1200. This year, getting 1500 is a non issue on virtually every burn. Right now I'm burning pine and poplar and just this morning got 1400+ for about 4-5 hours on just 4 small spits that would have been gone in 30 minutes with my old Black Bart. Holding my oak and hickory (CSS for a full year now) in reserve and using the free 'trash' wood people leave on the curb already cut to length. I'm about 2 years ahead now so my oak should be awesome next year.

Just thought I would share my experience with any skeptics or people disappointed with their new stoves. Can't wait to get my liner installed which I've started another thread on. All of the above with a crappy slam install but with a chimney and flue that draw great.

 

[Todd]

Yep, if you burn good dry wood you've won most of the battle. That new liner will also make a big improvement. I didn't realize what I was missing til I joined this site many years ago and found out it was best to get 2 or 3 years ahead. I use to just cut and split in the Spring and early Summer thinking that was good enough for the up coming Winter.

 

[Lanningjw]

This ash is from June 2010. I started burning some of it this week and I agree, the dryer the wood the better the cat works in my blazeking.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vV419ZiC3pU/TL-VpmWAPnI/AAAAAAAAONA/axdc1GPOzb0/s400/IMG_3063.jpg

 

[Backwoods Savage]

WoodpileOCD, your years are a few short of ours but you definitely have the right idea. Fortunately I grew up burning dry wood and then really saw the difference when I was helping neighbors. I also saw a huge difference one year when, after an injury I was not able to put up wood for a few years so we bought some wood. It was freshly cut white ash. I know, you hear the same baloney over and over about how you can cut ash and burn it right away. It is pure baloney all the way. Well, we did get through that winter and did not freeze but we saw first hand how badly the stove operates with not good dry wood. I've preached dry wood since getting on this forum and it seems now most of the guys expect to see it from me. It is just a solid fact that if you burn dry wood, 99% of your burning problems will be solved and you'll burn a lot less wood to keep warm. That is why we keep 3 years or much more on hand every year. Sometimes as much as 7 years on hand, cut, split and stacked out in the wind.