Do you...?

[Bowow]

Does anyone mix real dry wood with some somewhat green wood to get longer burn times?

 

[webby3650]

No. That's a completely made up old tale.
The truth is, green wood doesn't burn longer, it takes longer to burn. You must boil the water out before it can produce BTUs. All the while building creosote in your flue.

 

[Bowow]

Ok, couple older guys at work were saying about Doing this and I was jw if that was true . Thanks

 

[webby3650]

Definitely not. You are much better off burning wood that produces heat right from the start. Try to sell them on a modern stove that easily burns all night with dry wood. They will thank you later!

 

[fossil]

The wet wood will just suck up a bunch of the heat from the dry wood trying to get dry enough to burn. Yeah, it'll probably take longer for the load to look like it's burned down, but you're just going to lose a lot of heat up the stack with the steam and exacerbate the problem of creosote in the flue. Rick

 

[Grisu]

Ok, couple older guys at work were saying about Doing this and I was jw if that was true . Thanks

I would ask them: Since when does water burn?

 

[gyrfalcon]

Ok, couple older guys at work were saying about Doing this and I was jw if that was true . Thanks

I live in rural Vermont where everybody grew up heating with a woodstove, and many still do. i've been told this over and over and over again by well-meaning people distressed by my obsession with having dry wood. At this point, i no longer try to argue with them, i just say thanks and change the subject.

Most people here still use old smoke dragons and consider wood that was cut down in the spring and left lying in the woods until cut to length and split in the fall 'seasoned.' i even know people who don't cut down trees from their woodlots until they run out in mid-winter. They are literally burning green wood, and you can't tell them it's not the way to go. Of course, they clean their chimneys at least once a month during burning season.

Last time my chimney cleaner was here last fall, he had a new assistant. He pointed to my chimney cap and said, 'look at how clean that is!' The assistant was astonished, and clearly didn't believe me when i told him the woodstove is my only source of heat and i burn 24/7 all the long Vermont winter and into spring.. i've lived here 10 years and have been burning for 8. i've so far met only one person, a retired farmer, who still uses an old pre-EPA stove but figured out for himself man years ago that dry wood burns better and more efficiently than green or 'seasoned.' He tells me his friends and family constantly tease and torment him about this peculiarity.

 

[begreen]

The same folks swear that burning pine will creosote your chimney up and start a chimney fire. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

 

[firefighterjake]

No.