Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
I probably would though they are hard for me to find here and i have never used them before.
New to the forum and inserts.
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Ya I plan on getting some wood that is dry and stacking it for next season and the following. I have some land so I have room to stack it properly. Just need to figure out what a proper stack is.
I thought bio bricks were a no no with these stoves?
I can get a cord of kiln dried wood for ok money to at least enjoy this season as I will be moving in the current wet stuff I have now.
Any other suggestions would be great
I thought bio bricks were a no no with these stoves?
I can get a cord of kiln dried wood for ok money to at least enjoy this season as I will be moving in the current wet stuff I have now.
Any other suggestions would be great
jatoxico
Minister of Fire
Biobricks are not same as product like Duralogs.
They're just compressed sawdust. Just need to careful not to overload leading to overfire.
They're just compressed sawdust. Just need to careful not to overload leading to overfire.
That can be a real challenge depending on how wet the wood is and the species of wood. If this is oak, it is not going to dry out quickly. You could split it in half and bring some in the house in big totes and let it sit for a few weeks. But if the wood is essentially green then it's may take a year or two to dry. If it is >30% moisture content then I wouldn't mix it. The best thing to do in that case is to leave the wood stacked off the ground and top covered, and buy some known dry wood if true kiln dried wood is available. If not, consider buying high-quality, compressed sawdust logs or bricks.
I'll have the moisture tester tomorrow. So I'll check that out.
What does everyone do for wood storage? I've been watching a lot online and seeing so many different things. I was looking at getting a woodshed if that's even the correct name for it.
Something I can put the new dry wood in and leave the older wet stuff out for dry up.
What does everyone do for wood storage? I've been watching a lot online and seeing so many different things. I was looking at getting a woodshed if that's even the correct name for it.
Something I can put the new dry wood in and leave the older wet stuff out for dry up.
Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
Show us yours! Wood shed
The wood store, each bay lasts us about 1 year. Although its probably been a popular topic before (?) just thought I would like to start a thread to see differant designs.
www.hearth.com
All the ideas a guy could ever need are in that link. Even a simple prefab carport works just fine.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
You should really stay right there, any time you have the door open. The load can dry out a bit more and really take off in a short period of time. You can overfire and damage your stove if you are not right there to catch when the load takes off.
I found out my wife is way better at making fires than I am. She can make them and maintain them for hours.
That's the good news.
The bad news is, the wood I have is all over the place. Some 13% moisture. Some as high as 48%
I'm also having trouble getting the temp to go over 300°f. It really isn't heating up the house. Or even the room. We get the fire going, turn the air down a little. And continues to feed it more and more wood. But the temp never goes up.
That's the good news.
The bad news is, the wood I have is all over the place. Some 13% moisture. Some as high as 48%
I'm also having trouble getting the temp to go over 300°f. It really isn't heating up the house. Or even the room. We get the fire going, turn the air down a little. And continues to feed it more and more wood. But the temp never goes up.
Pull out the high moisture wood and set it aside for next year. Trying to burn it is an exercise in futility and a creosote maker. You can tell if it is really wet by weight. When in doubt, bang two splits together. If you get a musical note, it is dry. If one or both go thud, it is wet.
Ok. I'll let her know.
She does not pack a lot of wood in the firebox. She thinks it won't have enough air. I'll get her to pack more in. There is always a lot of extra room
She does not pack a lot of wood in the firebox. She thinks it won't have enough air. I'll get her to pack more in. There is always a lot of extra room
My wife runs the stove with partial loads, maybe about 1/2 full. She is more comfortable with a smaller load and that's fine. I'm glad she runs the stove when I am away.
Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
hickoryhoarder
Minister of Fire
In our area Menards has bundles of kiln-dried wood, reasonably priced at $3.99, that can be used right away. I tested two last week out of curiosity.
Have you read the directions for your insert very carefully? It is possible you don't have it set to get maximum air at the beginning.
Also, on my Lopi insert, the door must be open an inch or two, as you're starting the fire, to get adequate oxygen and hot burn. Usually for four to ten minutes. So you have to stay in the room. The Lopi insert is trickier to start a fire than most stoves I've used, but their directions are perfect. So maybe that's true with some other inserts?
Have you read the directions for your insert very carefully? It is possible you don't have it set to get maximum air at the beginning.
Also, on my Lopi insert, the door must be open an inch or two, as you're starting the fire, to get adequate oxygen and hot burn. Usually for four to ten minutes. So you have to stay in the room. The Lopi insert is trickier to start a fire than most stoves I've used, but their directions are perfect. So maybe that's true with some other inserts?
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
That's the thing with trying to burn wet wood; You burn it all up but get no heat. Better to stack it and wait, and used the compressed wood bricks for now.
I try east west. She likes north south.
Also I'm going to have to build a wood shed. Leave this current wood for next season and order some dry stuff this season. We are getting much better at having the fire run for a while and not have issues. But currently we are not getting enough heat from the unit. But it's all trial and error.
Can anyone show me pictures of a full unit? I'd love to show my wife so she knows you can put more in.
Also I'm going to have to build a wood shed. Leave this current wood for next season and order some dry stuff this season. We are getting much better at having the fire run for a while and not have issues. But currently we are not getting enough heat from the unit. But it's all trial and error.
Can anyone show me pictures of a full unit? I'd love to show my wife so she knows you can put more in.
lml999
Minister of Fire
No such thing as bad wood.
Even pine. (But lets not go there)Ideally, you want to take wood that has been cut and split and let it season at least one year. Two years is better (depending on the type of wood.) Over on the wood subforum you'll find lots of great ideas on how to stack wood outside (sun and wind is good, rain isn't bad).
And if you are going to burn regularly, to actually heat with wood, you want to stay two or three years ahead of your demand so that you always have good seasoned wood on hand. You have to expect that any wood that you purchase will be wet and green, not burnable for at least a year or two.
We have all learned this the hard way. Years ago I told one guy that something must be wrong with his wood...it just didn't burn. What was actually wrong was my expectation that freshly delivered wood was burnable.
You may be able to source a small amount of real kiln dried wood that is immediately burnable. That might cover you for this season.
Ya I'm hoping I can find some dry wood for this seasons and start getting wood for the next season and the one after. Keep a few years out.
Need to buy or make a wood shed.
I wish I had known I needed to get wood three years ago for a stove I didn't own and a house I didn't own
Need to buy or make a wood shed.
I wish I had known I needed to get wood three years ago for a stove I didn't own and a house I didn't own
Also... Is it wrong that I get so much more heat from the c550 when I open the door to feed it. Like the temp in the room goes up a good amount when I open the door. When the door is closed I just get a little heat from the unit.
lml999
Minister of Fire
That is radiant heat, but with the door open gobs of air are flooding in and actually cooling down the firebox. With the door closed, once the fire is going strong and the blower is going, there is a lot more convective heat.
PS: Was a block-off plate installed above this insert?
Included firebox shots in this thread.
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Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The...
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