Broke down and bought a load of wood

[michael]

Hello stove burning friends. It's official, I didn't cut enough this year.

I had about a cord left, and it's still a little green. I really screwed the pooch on this one. This summer I rented a log splitter and to make it worth my while, I went out before hand and cut up an extra red maple. Well, I split this wood and put it into the barn first, expecting to burn it this spring. It's kinda seasoned and will pretty well, but not near as well as the stuff I had at the beginning of the burning season.

Lesson learned! Wood must season outside!

The wood I purchased was $50 a truckload and is mostly oak. Unfortunately, it needs a bit more seasoning also. He dried it in a barn just like I did. Not many radial cracks and bark is still firmly attached.

Any tips for burning almost ready wood other than hot as possible?

I did get a lead on some rough sawn oak timbers (4"x6") that are cut into 12"-17" chunks from a saw mill. A friend let me try some that he bought and they burned okay over a hot fire.

 

[Todd]

Split the wood smaller and bring a few days worth inside near your stove to help the drying process.

 

[kregars]

Regarding burning of cardboard in a woodstove. I have access to nearly a palet of virgin (no ink and heavy duty stuff used to ship heavy items in). Up till now I have only been using strips added to the kendling but not more than maybe 4-5 cut to 3in x 15in. I've read NOT to burn cardboard, but also that as long as there is no ink, you are somewhat ok. I've also been using palet wood (oak) as I have been able to get the broken non returnable palets..again..as kindling.

So..question...is it ok to burn more cardboard?

Is it also ok to burn more palet wood...fires up quick and hot..so it would merely be mixed in more for my short hot burn fires (east coast weather where we need just a few hours of boosted heat from time to time).

I'm looking at a few cat. stoves..they state specifically NOT to burn cardboard..I'm guessing it gunks up the cats..but if I burn it to get the fire going BEFORE engaging the cats..am I still ok?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Sandor]

Regarding burning of cardboard in a woodstove. I have access to nearly a palet of virgin (no ink and heavy duty stuff used to ship heavy items in). Up till now I have only been using strips added to the kendling but not more than maybe 4-5 cut to 3in x 15in. I've read NOT to burn cardboard, but also that as long as there is no ink, you are somewhat ok. I've also been using palet wood (oak) as I have been able to get the broken non returnable palets..again..as kindling.

So..question...is it ok to burn more cardboard?

Is it also ok to burn more palet wood...fires up quick and hot..so it would merely be mixed in more for my short hot burn fires (east coast weather where we need just a few hours of boosted heat from time to time).

I'm looking at a few cat. stoves..they state specifically NOT to burn cardboard..I'm guessing it gunks up the cats..but if I burn it to get the fire going BEFORE engaging the cats..am I still ok?

Thanks in advance,

On the Woodstock stove, the lever that engages the cat does so by blocking the direct vent to the chimney. So, when the lever is disengaged (bypass) , combusted air can still flow through the cat.

I cleaned the cat, from inside the stove, after about of month of burning and it was covered in ash. That being said, I have burned about a cord of pine during the day, in bypass mode, and oak at night with the cat engaged. I think what happened was when I loaded the stove for the eve, I kicked up ash from cardboard, pine bark and poplar and it got sucked up into the cat. Poplar produces alot of white, fluffy ash.

Oak pallet wood is an excellent fire starter. Especially to get you going in the morning with red embers.

I have burned 4 different steel stoves for years, and I understand about "boosting" the heat output when need be. With a soapstone stove, you do not need to do that... its all about momentum.

So, I think next year, when I'm done with the pine (leftover from clearing my lot) I will just use fatwood to light with and only burn hardwoods. I think the cat will stay much cleaner. Then again, if you burn 24x7 with this stove, you will not be striking many matches, or using much fatwood.

 

[MarkM]

I would probably only use the cardboard sparingly along with some kindling to get the fire going. I think too much at once would cause problems with the combustor.
Pallet wood should be ok, but again in moderation. Great to get a fire going and ok to throw a couple pieces in with some other firewood. Too much at once will overfire the stove. I often have some scrap oak and cherry boards left from woodworking projects that I'll mix in with regular wood. But too much at once burns way too hot.
Just my opinion.