Cannot get stove hot enough.

[Andropolis]

I can never get my stove up to temperature... I like to have it atleast between 450 and 550 and I can rarely get it there. My wife and I were pretty cold last night and I became a bit frustrated. I have this hot bed of coals covering the floor of the insert.. but the wood just barely flames. The temperature just sits between 325 and maybe 375. I'm rather frustrated with the wood I've purchased. This is the second cord from a different seller that has been too wet. Both sellers told me the wood was well seasoned. Is it just impossible to dry wood in Northeastern Ohio where the humidity is always so high?

Anyway, I just hope I can harvest wood and have it dry enough for next winter. I'm going to buck anything I get into 16" lengths and maybe that will help. Maybe even 12 - 14" lengths. I just want dry wood next winter.

Does anyone have any input on a sure way to make sure spring harvested wood can be dried and ready for late fall? I've harvested / dried none last year because this is my first winter with the stove.

Also... how much is a good moisture meter, how do you use one and would it be helpful?

Thanks!

p.s. I did get the stove up to about 550 last night but only by rolling logs out of corrogated cardboard. I'd rather just use wood...

 

[PAJerry]

N.E. Ohio is no different than here. Wood dries just fine if stacked and set in a place where full sun and wind can do their thing. I think that now is a bad time to buy wood from anyone if you are planning to use it right away.

 

[pistonslap]

Are you building your fire right? How large is your bed of coals before you go to bigger wood? Sometimes it takes me a few hours to get the right amount of coals to burn some of my bigger pieces. If there is not enough coals, the bigger pieces will light and burn, but not enough to really get going and produce high heat. Also, try throwing some smaller pieces in with your first few big pieces. This will usually produce enough flame to get the big ones going good.

 

[bruce56bb]

harbor freight has an ok moisture meter for around $20. and if you mention brother bart when purchasing i think he gets a kickback

 

[hearthtools]

you also want to make sure it is not the stove

If you have a CAT stove check and clean the cat

If you have a NON cat stove check the air holes and air chamber that feeds it is not full of ash

Make sure your liner is clear

Make sure you Rain cap in the top is clear.

 

[babalu87]

There are a few things you can try to help the cause.

Stack as much wood as you can inside the house, that wood will be more ready than it is now in February/March
Inside doesnt mean in the garage, in the house. Even the basement will help especially if you can put a box fan on low blowing at it.
I did this with some wood last winter and after a month it burned much better.

Get your hands on some pallets.
Mixing in a few pieces of pallet wood ON TOP of the wood you are having issue with will help immensely.
By putting the extra dry wood on top it will help to burn off any moisture that is escaping from the un-seasoned wood.
Moisture is robbing the firebox of heat and also creating much in the way of creosote. A clean chimney is paramount especially if you have issues with the wood. A good magnet can take out the nails if it is a problem.

Harbor freight has a good cheap moisture meter for less than $30 with shipping, wood must be just split to get a good reading though.

Begin to harvest your wood for next season ASAP
Cutting it up at 12" isnt going to do much for you.
If you can get some cardboard put a layer on top of the woodpile when you stack it then cover the TOP only with a tarp.
The cardboard will help to absorb moisture on wet days and it releases it much quicker than the wood does.
Maple, Hickory and Ash (that can almost be burnt when its cut down) dry fairly quickly compared to the Oak family.
Dont be afraid to burn Pine either. As long as its seasoned it is fine for burning it just doesnt last as long but a few splits of nice dry pine could be what that questionable wood needs to get up to speed.

Good luck

 

[Andre B.]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/5289/
In this thread I put a post with a drawing on how I build a fire to get things heated up fast.

Some types of wood does not seem to burn as well in a stove without a grate especially if the wood is put into the stove broadside to the primary air flow. Splitting into smaller pieces and stacking in the stove so that there are more openings between the pieces can help. And resist the urge to cut the wood so that it just fits the width of the stove, if there are gaps on the sides some air can get around behind and help it burn hotter.

 

[begreen]

Andy, can you post your stove make and model? It's kind of hard to guess what's happening without a bit more info. How thick are your splits that you are putting on the fire? Try splitting up a good night or two's worth of splits in half and see if they don't combust hotter and faster.

 

[DriftWood]

There are a few things you can try to help the cause.

Get your hands on some pallets.
Mixing in a few pieces of pallet wood ON TOP of the wood you are having issue with will help immensely.
By putting the extra dry wood on top it will help to burn off any moisture that is escaping from the un-seasoned wood.
Moisture is robbing the firebox of heat and also creating much in the way of creosote. A clean chimney is paramount especially if you have issues with the wood. A good magnet can take out the nails if it is a problem.

I have been burning pallet wood for years and filtering out the nail with a wire screen before spreading on the lawn, a real pain. Using a magnet makes such good sense it is one of the best tips I have leaned here, thanks!!

 

[kevinmoelk]

There are a few things you can try to help the cause.

Get your hands on some pallets.
Mixing in a few pieces of pallet wood ON TOP of the wood you are having issue with will help immensely.
By putting the extra dry wood on top it will help to burn off any moisture that is escaping from the un-seasoned wood.
Moisture is robbing the firebox of heat and also creating much in the way of creosote. A clean chimney is paramount especially if you have issues with the wood. A good magnet can take out the nails if it is a problem.

I have been burning pallet wood for years and filtering out the nail with a wire screen before spreading on the lawn, a real pain. Using a magnet makes such good sense it is one of the best tips I have leaned here, thanks!!

Here's another tip for you... If you are using a large magnet, or very strong magnet you may find taking off the nails difficult. To avoid this, wrap the magnet in a rag, then pick up the nails. Form the rag into a little sack with the nails inside and pull the entire rag away from the magnet.

-Kevin

 

[Roospike]

There are a few things you can try to help the cause.

Get your hands on some pallets.
Mixing in a few pieces of pallet wood ON TOP of the wood you are having issue with will help immensely.
By putting the extra dry wood on top it will help to burn off any moisture that is escaping from the un-seasoned wood.
Moisture is robbing the firebox of heat and also creating much in the way of creosote. A clean chimney is paramount especially if you have issues with the wood. A good magnet can take out the nails if it is a problem.

I have been burning pallet wood for years and filtering out the nail with a wire screen before spreading on the lawn, a real pain. Using a magnet makes such good sense it is one of the best tips I have leaned here, thanks!!

Here's another tip for you... If you are using a large magnet, or very strong magnet you may find taking off the nails difficult. To avoid this, wrap the magnet in a rag, then pick up the nails. Form the rag into a little sack with the nails inside and pull the entire rag away from the magnet.

-Kevin

Good tip WM , I do this in my home shop and shop at work (metal working ) and put a magnet in a quart or gallon freezer bag and pull out the magnet after cleaned and the metal dont collect to the bag like it would a rag , nails are not going to be an issue like metal shavings would be tho.

 

[Gooserider]

I can never get my stove up to temperature... I like to have it atleast between 450 and 550 and I can rarely get it there. My wife and I were pretty cold last night and I became a bit frustrated. I have this hot bed of coals covering the floor of the insert.. but the wood just barely flames. The temperature just sits between 325 and maybe 375. I'm rather frustrated with the wood I've purchased. This is the second cord from a different seller that has been too wet. Both sellers told me the wood was well seasoned. Is it just impossible to dry wood in Northeastern Ohio where the humidity is always so high?

I don't know about your location and drying, but I don't have a problem drying it in New England, which also is fairly humid. However you probably won't get dry wood from a wood vendor - search the forums and you will see a consistent pattern of complaints about green/soggy wood and short cords. I mean no insult to those on the forums in the business, but it seems clear from the content of the posts here that the industry as a whole has major integrity issues that leaves it in the same honesty class as major party political candidates and the sleazier grade of used car salesmen.

My advice is to NOT buy processed wood if you are capable of processing it yourself - it is much cheaper and saves on health club dues if you get it as a truckload of "log length" logs, and cut to length and split them yourself. As a point of reference, last year a cord of cut / split was about $250. A load of log length, which is 4-6 cords processed, was about $350, or LESS than two cords worth of splits.

Get the log length in the spring, as soon as the snow (whatever that is) melts. Cut it into rounds as soon as you can, the length doesn't matter that much, do whatever fits your stove best. If not splitting right away stack and top-cover the rounds so they can start to dry. Split it, and as soon as it's split, build a woodshed and get it under cover.

The key thing is to get your wood in the spring and season it yourself. If you get it off the ground and covered on the top, it should be ready in the fall.

Anyway, I just hope I can harvest wood and have it dry enough for next winter. I'm going to buck anything I get into 16" lengths and maybe that will help. Maybe even 12 - 14" lengths. I just want dry wood next winter.

Length doesn't matter that much. Some folks claim that splitting it smaller will dry faster, certainly splits dry faster than rounds.

Does anyone have any input on a sure way to make sure spring harvested wood can be dried and ready for late fall? I've harvested / dried none last year because this is my first winter with the stove.

As I said, split as early in the year as you can, and get it under cover or into a woodshed. I think it helps to have the pile or shed set up so that you can burn in about the same order you split, just on the principle of "rotating the stock" and letting all the wood get as long to dry as possible.

Also... how much is a good moisture meter, how do you use one and would it be helpful?

I don't use one (yet), but lots of folks swear by them. The basic use is to grab a split to test and split it another time so that you can take the reading off the center of the newly split surface. IMHO if you are processing your own wood you don't really need one as the "ring test" will do well enough. The biggest use I would see is if purchasing allegedly "seasoned" wood from the wood guy to use it for verifying how much he's lieing to you about it being "dry" :roll:

Thanks!

p.s. I did get the stove up to about 550 last night but only by rolling logs out of corrogated cardboard. I'd rather just use wood...

Check with Dylan for the inside advice on cardboard

Gooserider

 

[babalu87]

I agree with you Goose

All I have to do is look at the HUGE piles of wood that are supposed to be drying at wood vendors.
Sure the stuff on the outside will dry but that stuff in the middle of that HUGE pile??????

I think you need to be at least a year ahead on wood whether you cut it down yourself or buy it.

 

[wg_bent]

I cut some dead trees last year that were elm and hickory. I stack my wood on pallets criss cross fassion and this morning when I tossed a hickory split on the fire it sizzled. This wood has been cut and split for over a year. covered only on top, but not real good sun. If you cut and split green wood in the spring expecting it to be good in the fall, I think your pushing it. depends on species though I'd bet pine may be ready.

 

[wahoowad]

he could also be using low btu wood. I know I see much higher temps (550-700) when I burn my good oak but lower temps when I burn my poplar and light cherry (350-450).

Low btu wood and still fine-tuning his burning techniques could be the cause.