Hey Hogz, I get your point, but burning wet wood in a cat stove isn’t all the trouble you make it out to be. I did it for my first two years in a Jotul cat stove, and it wasn’t ideal, but I was able to make it work. No clogged cats, except the diesel foil cats that I melted and distorted. You just need to bake out the wood a lot longer before closing that bypass damper to engage the cat, and be especially careful of steam impingement on hot reloads by staying in bypass longer than the gauges would have you believe. If running a BK, this would also likely limit your ability to turn down to the lowest settings without stalling. Definitely a less pleasurable and productive burning experience, but it is doable, as I’ve done it.
I get it. I think we have all burned " less than optimal" wood. Usually the first year or so of getting into the wood burning world. I know I did. Yes it will burn, and it will bake, and it is a pita, and sadly, not put out the heat as good dry wood will. We have seen that complaint year in & year out. We've all done it, and while we made it work, it sucks. And knowing what we know now, we know the vast difference.
I cleaned my stack at least 2 or 3x I think the first year. That is when I took the 3 years for me, seriously. Whatever I have in the piles, at 3 years, is primo and ready to burn, regardless of size or species. It really is a great feeling knowing I won't have issues fighting to get some splits going, over the hump of boiling the moisture out, and huffing & puffing to keep it going.
In know I may seem harsh at times, much better than years ago, but the point is, I would rather get through to someone that with work, time & patience(and space if available)being 3+ years ahead gives a feeling of freedom, and one less thing to stress about in life. I'm all about simplifying my life.
Burn well and stay warm my burning brethren.