I cut 10 cords of wet pine/aspen each summer for my family as well as our in-laws. I go to great lengths to season my wood throughout the summer. With the 100+ temps and strong, very dry winds it only takes 6-8 weeks to season our wood. I protect it from the rain only. When winter comes it is stored in a shed. My father-in-law, on the other hand, leaves his share of the same wood in rounds, and exposed to all moisture throughout the summer, fall and winter months. Although we are in the high desert we still get a substantial amount of summer monsoons. By the time we begin our winter heating his wood is not nearly as dry as mine. We both have similar stoves, both older, rectangular, and large. I have never had a problem with efficiency. Dad has to have his at full speed all the time or it just won't burn, which creates way too much heat. I'll get to my point, he complains that the stove is just poorly designed. I disagree, I believe he is burning wet wood. He has this ridiculous theory that his wood freeze dries throughout the winter. I realize that scientifically speaking, this is possible under optimal conditions, but regardless of the below freezing temps we get, there is also a lot of rain and consistently warm (40+), humid winter weather. There is also the constant melting snow on cold, but sunny winter days, causing the wood to melt snow from underneath. I do not believe that pine can dry through the process of sublimation when it is consistently exposed to rain and melting snow. He is ready to spend a lot of money replacing the stove which I believe is totally unnecessary. I believe his stove issues are due 100% to laziness. He only leaves the wood out because he is too lazy too use tarps or any other sort of protection. I would love to hear what any experts might have to say about this situation. In regards to any chimney factors, his 6" pipe goes straight up 10-12 feet. Regardless of how the vents are adjusted, his stove will only work well with maximum ventilation (door open). "The Earth Stove" is the only identification I could find on it. The interior dimensions are 18"wide, 18" deep, 12" tall. I have even burned some of my seasoned wood in his stove to show him the stove works well but he adamantly believes that his stove sucks and his wood is seasoned. My goal here is to convince him that 14" rounds will not season in less than 3 months while exposed to rain and/or snow at least once a week. I also won't mention the constant watering his wood gets from our high output irrigation sprinklers running EVERY day. He seems to think THAT moisture is evaporated before the sun goes down each day. Aside from your expert opinions, I would love to know of a site where I can show him solid information regarding this situation. Thank You