This begins our 3rd season with our Progress Hybrid woodstove. Back in the early 1990's I had a old "smoke dragon" and it seemed to not matter what type of wood or moisture content that I fed it. My experience with the Progress Hybrid has definitely been quite different than what I experienced 25 years ago. We truly struggled our first two years trying to get seasoned wood. Sometimes I would open the door to the stove and hear a sizzling sound as the moisture was boiling out of the wood. Other times I would come out in the morning and see the glass on the woodstove all covered in carbon because the wood had too much moisture in it. That being said....I currently have a mixture of red oak, white oak, and maple that has been seasoned for a full three years that has a moisture content below 20%. The PH is functioning amazingly well! It truly is significant how differently the stove operates with seasoned wood under 20% moisture content. The heat output is greater. The front glass stays clean. Getting and keeping the fire going is easy. All I can say to those of you that are just beginning your journey with a woodstove is that it will get better if you work towards getting three years ahead on your wood. It definitely takes time and diligence but it really pays off!
And burning gets easy, like you say. No poking at the wood, trying to get it to burn. I just load a top-down, light, and close the door for the duration. Just a couple air adjustments at the beginning, and you're done. 
