Assumptions and stove issues

[elmoleaf]

In reading various posts on here about stove performance issues, it seems assumptions always come into play.
"I know such and such is good" or "I know my wood is dry". It probably always helps to ask yourself if you do in fact know or if you've assumed.

I had a problem last year with my stove. Left side seemed to be throwing off much more heat than the right. I'd thought maybe it was the stove design, since I'd rebuilt the stove myself two years earlier and KNEW the seams were good.
I finally got down and looked closer. The enamel was flaking along a seam on the left....from the extra heat. I looked even closer. There was a gap in the seam. Major air leak. After fixing it, no more uneven heat.

Another example. My bathroom fan never worked very well and bathroom was always very cold. I'd always assumed it was a crappy unit, since it's 40 years old. I finally looked closer. The flexible exhaust hose in the attic was bent such that the air damper was stuck open, allowing cold air to flow back down the line. I also discovered that the unit was installed with a big gap in the plaster around the perimeter, which was typically hidden by the trim ring. As a result, when the fan was running, it was probably pulling as much air back down through the gap from the attic as it was sucking from the room. Fixing both issues makes me realize the fan is fine, and the bathroom is warmer and less humid.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I hear you loud and clear. It is very easy to "think" you know exactly but sometimes we find to our embarrassment that we indeed were wrong. Methinks in the wood heating clan that 99% of the time people think their wood is well seasoned or dry or ready to burn when in fact it is marginal at best. I've challenged a few around here who complain about their stoves to come over and get some of our wood and try it to see if there indeed might be a difference. Sadly, most won't even try that because they know their wood is good.

I hired a man this fall to do a days work and in one of our conversations wood heat came up. He swore up and down that it is better to cut your wood in late summer or early fall and burn it that year. I also can say I saw him last winter bringing in new loads of wood in January, February and March. Well, he got through the winter but it was only with the help of the oil furnace. I challenged him to wait until January and then come and get enough wood for 2 days from us, free of charge. Burn that wood for 2 days and then return to the crap he will be burning of his own. I'm waiting to see if he does.