2nd year wood burner in the house.

[ChrisNJ]

Hey everyone, happy to have found this place.
Anywho due to the insane cost of heating my 2800sf with propane I put a Englander 3,000 Sq. Ft. Satin Black Wood Burning Add-On Furnace in my basement. Last year with my wife home all day feeding it and getting the house in the high 70's we actually burnt through upwards of 8 cords. From what I have been reading that seems to be an awful lot of wood but it was still cheap as hell compared to the propane.

So here are my questions, I didnt mind the cost of the 8 cords as wood in my are is typically $125.00 split and delivered for mixed hardwoods but could the lesser quality of the wood being mixed lead to additional volumn being burned, rather than all oak or maple ?

I had a landscaper drop off a load of oak and maple rounds last winter that I split and stacked for this year and now I am reading the oak needs 1-2 years to season rather than 9-11 months ?

Not sure if anyone else has one of these add-on furnaces but with a full load it needs to be refilled every three hours with a proper burn going, reviews on the homedepot.com site indicate others getting upwards of a day burn out of a load which I find hard to believe but I would not mind one I could fill and get a nights burn out of, is that possible ?

Thanks and greetings from Burlington County NJ

 

[gzecc]

Chris, I stay away from oak unless it falls in my yard. It does take two yrs to dry thoroughly. Too long to wait for me. Look for white ash, black locust, hickory, sugar maple, and osage orange. These have very high btu's and dry (split and stacked) in <9mos.
I would also bring the house down to 70 or 72 degrees if I were you, unless your selling sauna memberships.

 

[LLigetfa]

It sounds like your wood was not seasoned well enough and that you have yet to master the operation of the stove. Noobie burning with wet wood can consume as much as double. I think once your master the art and get better wood that your consumption will go down and your burn time go up.

Contrary to what most people think, kiln dried lumber still has a lot of moisture which will affect the R value of the insulation in year 1. Year 2 will be much better.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

[smokinj]

It sounds like your wood was not seasoned well enough and that you have yet to master the operation of the stove. Noobie burning with wet wood can consume as much as double. I think once your master the art and get better wood that your consumption will go down and your burn time go up.

Contrary to what most people think, kiln dried lumber still has a lot of moisture which will affect the R value of the insulation in year 1. Year 2 will be much better.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

+1

 

[ChrisNJ]

It sounds like your wood was not seasoned well enough and that you have yet to master the operation of the stove. Noobie burning with wet wood can consume as much as double. I think once your master the art and get better wood that your consumption will go down and your burn time go up.

Contrary to what most people think, kiln dried lumber still has a lot of moisture which will affect the R value of the insulation in year 1. Year 2 will be much better.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

Thats what I have been suspecting, thanks guys.

 

[bill*67]

welcome to the forum. im sure seasoned wood will work much better for you. make sure you know all the settings for your furnace and dont be afraid to experiment with them to find the best setting.

 

[Duetech]

Don't give up on the oak yet but get prepared if it is not seasoned for you. How well it seasoned depends on the size of the splits and whether the wood was stacked off the ground where it could get plenty of air and sun and little rain. Split some of your splits again and check them for visible moisture. The nature of red oak makes it easy to tell if the wood is way to wet. A moisture meter will put statistcal data in your hands but be sure to measure a fresh split for a reading. Generally 25% will work well but 20% or less is best. If you have the room for storage oaks makes a very dependable fuel source.

 

[Ratman]

Chris, I stay away from oak unless it falls in my yard. It does take two yrs to dry thoroughly. Too long to wait for me. Look for white ash, black locust, hickory, sugar maple, and osage orange. These have very high btu's and dry (split and stacked) in <9mos.
I would also bring the house down to 70 or 72 degrees if I were you, unless your selling sauna memberships.

I agree, except if you can get oak free or almost free then try to split it up nice and medium size and let it sit for 2 years. Oak it top notch firewood.

 

[Birdman1]

It sounds like your wood was not seasoned well enough and that you have yet to master the operation of the stove. Noobie burning with wet wood can consume as much as double. I think once your master the art and get better wood that your consumption will go down and your burn time go up.

Contrary to what most people think, kiln dried lumber still has a lot of moisture which will affect the R value of the insulation in year 1. Year 2 will be much better.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

+1

+2