Just had an hour or more conversation with the guy in the "woodstove" department of Applied Ceramics, the folks the make the cat for my Buck 80 and many other brands as well. Keep in mind he works for the company that makes a huge percentage of the cats for all brands of woodstoves!
Long story short, he ask me about my wood and I says: "I'm burning white ash that's been cut, split and stacked for 18 months in the sun and wind." I tells him: "I top covered my wood about 2 months before I burn." He says: "There's you problem! You're burning wood that has only been seasoned 2 months! He says: "You gotta build you a 3 sided wood shed with the open side facing east, asuming most of your weather comes out of the west." He says: "You gotta keep your wood out of the rain cause a stick of wood is like a paper towel, it'll just soak up the water and never season." Further he says: "You're not really seasoning your wood, You're doing a controled rot of your wood." I says: Hmmmm..... I'm gonna need a big shed cause I gots about 11 cord now cut split and stacked outside!
And all this time I thought you people knew what you were talking about!
Long story short, he ask me about my wood and I says: "I'm burning white ash that's been cut, split and stacked for 18 months in the sun and wind." I tells him: "I top covered my wood about 2 months before I burn." He says: "There's you problem! You're burning wood that has only been seasoned 2 months! He says: "You gotta build you a 3 sided wood shed with the open side facing east, asuming most of your weather comes out of the west." He says: "You gotta keep your wood out of the rain cause a stick of wood is like a paper towel, it'll just soak up the water and never season." Further he says: "You're not really seasoning your wood, You're doing a controled rot of your wood." I says: Hmmmm..... I'm gonna need a big shed cause I gots about 11 cord now cut split and stacked outside!
And all this time I thought you people knew what you were talking about!