Dry wood is a must.

[Robbie]

My wood is dry this year. What a pleasure to burn dry wood. Last year I bought all my wood, it was all advertised as seasoned.........some of it dripped water in my stove, the other sizzled all the time.

My wife got upset several times because I had to constantly open the door to give it oxygen in hopes it would catch.

The importance of dry wood in my opinion is probably the most important thing a wood burner must make sure of, without this single thing, nothing else really matters, though every thing else is important too.

This year so far, I can put a seasoned smaller round of oak on just a few coals and within a couple minutes it in full blaze.

I feel more like a man, every time I get a fire going I run around the living room screaming "FIRE !" I have made FIRE !........... :coolsmile:

If your trying to burn wet wood, try to find some dry and it will make a huge difference even in the way your stove performs I think.


Robbie

 

[DonCT]

I feel more like a man, every time I get a fire going I run around the living room screaming "FIRE !" I have made FIRE !........... :coolsmile:

I think that's almost a must!

 

[Robbie]

Yes it is important how you act, look and dress while making a fire. (using dry wood of course) :lol:




Robbie

 

[Roospike]

Some people thought i was nuts only putting a few small splits in my Summit stove and the secondary combustion was working with such a small load ...........DRY WOOD BABY !

I always say a good rule of thumb is 9 months to season ....
I normally burn 2 years out so a good supply to get ahead is a must.
I know I want the max BTU's out of all the hard work I did with all of my wood , thats 4 sure.

First year i drove my family NUTS starting a fire.
Ever seen the show Cast Away with Tom Hanks ?

"Look what i have created .........FIRE! "

 

[Roospike]

AwHa ........FIRE !!

 

[Robbie]

Those are great pics ! I love that movie too............

I've been burning a very small split of oak and hickory (extra dry) for about 4 hours now, and still some left.

If you ever burn dry wood, you will never go back to wet............. :lol:




Robbie

 

[BobTheTomato]

You and I were in the same boat last year. I ran out of wood 1/2 through the winter and scrambled to cut anything that was halfway dry. It always sucked in the morning to try to get any type of fire going. Now I have 3 times the seasoned wood and I am like you. I cant believe how easy it catches. Hooray for dry wood. =)

 

[DavidV]

My wood is dry. And it makes starting it pretty easy too. I have started using bags of shavings from my woodshop. I take a small brown lunch bag of shavings, stick it in the stove and pile some wood on top and around it.....making sure not to compress it. Then I light the bag and tear it open a bit. Close the door nearly all the way to create a strong draft, blast furnace effect. As the shavings burn the ashes tend to fall away exposing the other shavings underneath. That's all it takes. The 2-4 inch splits I put in with the bag catch fire and she's rolling in no time. An absolute joy.

 

[hilly]

I was saying the same thing to my wife last night about seasoned firewood. Last year we used wood that had been cut and split for a couple of years, but it was left laying in a heap in the shade. In the spring I stacked it all up in the sun and wind and what a difference! The glass on our stove used to get a bit dirty around the edges, maybe a one inch band, but this year there is hardly a trace of soot on the glass. The fire also starts so much easier than last year as well.

 

[Rick]

You're all making me feel terrible about my supply this year. I'm normally set a year in advance, but I got my dad a stove last year and gave him 4 cords of my wood. Then along came baby, and being extra busy at work. I'm still splitting for this year, although the wood was cut last year. I feel like I let myself and my family down, especially my wallet. Oh well, I look forward to next year. Enjoy your dry wood, always remember how special it is.

Rick

 

[heydan]

I noticed that some wood I stored in my basement in the same room as my oil burner got very dry very fast. I suspect the heat from the oil burner helps dry the air down there.