What a difference a year makes...

[bfitz3]

Last year, a rather bitterly cold winter, I dealt with marginally seasoned wood, and not quite enough of it. I was happy with the stove/wood burning, but didn't really appreciate what it can be.

This year, I moved an extra cord of well seasoned wood into the garage. It was stacked somewhat by species with my most reliable wood, beech, in position to be burned now through February. The weather has been warm (30-45) so I took the opportunity to check the stack... Nice and clean!... And have been reducing to the size of the fires with the warmth. Still, this weekend has been nothing but quarter loads of beech with cold starts in the morning. The house is hitting close to 80! It has me wishing I had some more poplar to burn.

Anyway... This post is really about the stunning difference I've seen in the stove's performance with an extra year of seasoning. It makes the hours I've spent busting my hump to get a few years ahead worth it. I have 2+ years beyond this season CSS. Hopefully, I can ease up this spring summer now that I'm a bit ahead of the curve. Meanwhile, It's been 17 months since I refilled the propane tank. Before the stove, I'd call every 5-6 weeks in the heart of winter.

 

[mark cline]

Dry wood makes all the difference in the world and being 2-3 yrs ahead gives you a nice relaxed feeling as your sitting in your underwear because its 80 in the house.

 

[Dobish]

i was thinking the same thing as I was stacking yesterday. I have a bunch of stuff that I split and stacked last summer and fall, and i have a bunch more to split and stack over the next few weeks. Most of that is elm and some pine, so it should be ready for next year. The locust, walnut and boxelder are shaping up to be ready for 2018.

 

[sportbikerider78]

I open the windows at 73F. Drives my wife nuts.

 

[Woody Stover]

Once my wood got down to 18% or so, I saw an additional 150* stove top temp. That's over the cat but I'm sure the sides also rose correspondingly.