Problem, Solved.. kinda

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FishKiller

Member
Jan 25, 2013
96
well i reloaded this morning in the basement stove (earthstove 1002c). and it just about went out. took forever to light the cat and i couldn't keep it lit. i gave up after an hour.. lit the cat, set it to medium low (normal high cat burn setting) and went to back to sleep. she was pumping out good heat, cause the house never cooled off. it was nice today (30). so i let it go out, did a full clean out, cleaned the cat, checked the stack, etc. relight around noon, and it almost went out. i was really pissed. seemed like i couldn't buy a draft. let it die and started fresh... this time i noticed my logs were expelling a bit of water on the ends, there was my problem. not sure why, its off the same stack of wood. 3-4 year old white oak. only thing i can think of is the tarp was leaking and its surface moisture. its right around where the tarp pools. i usually keep 24-36 hours of wood in the stove room, but i'm a bit behind, will putting a big stack down near the fire help dry this out? i've burned over 2 cords of the same stuff so far and havrn't had an issue.
 
If after being split and stacked for 3-4 years, that's just going to be what it is. Bringing it in a house for a bit longer before putting it in the stove isn't going to hurt. Just make sure to keep it outside the stove's area of clearance to combustibles.

Maybe stack in a different location? Or where these in the middle of a big square shaped stacked and didn't get as much circulation that they would with more of a rectangle (longer rows, instead of more rows and deeper)?
 
I had this happen to me with some soft maple. It was not stacked in a sunny location where the prevailing winds could blow through it. Over the year and a half that it was stacked the tarp had low spots where I put a chunk of wood or a rock on top to hold down the tarp. That eventually let water into the stack in that area. It was so bad in some places that I found dirt forming and earthworms, 4ft off the ground! I only stacked there because it was next to the property edge and where the tree was felled. Won't do that again.
 
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