# Wood stove woes - wood moisture



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

This is my second season with a wood stove. I have one of the newer EPA stoves made by Pacific Energy. I believe it was installed in 2004. Last winter I did not have many issues, but this season has been a real headache. First I got 3 cords delivered by the same guy as last year. Mostly ash. About 1 cord was bone dry and burned well, about 1 cord soaked to the touch, and 1 cord about in between. Only the driest stuff (which I've used up by now) burned well - the rest takes a long time to get hot and sizzles/drips out the ends. Well, I called this guy up and he told me I was being "unrealistic" about moisture content. He offered me $25 off.

I still needed another cord, so I found someone else. This guy assured me that the moisture was below 20%. He dropped it off yesterday, a big load of locust. However, I'm having an even worse experience with this wood. Even after placing the wood on top of a big bed of coals raked to the front of the stove, I can't get the temperature (measured on stovepipe) over 200 degrees. It makes a lot of popping sounds but burns very slowly with almost no flame. Meanwhile there is a ton of smoke coming out of the chimney. This is with the air control all the way open. I've had it fully open for 2 hours now.

So I contacted guy #2 and he assured me that neither he nor any of his customers is having any trouble with this wood. I told him I had an EPA stove and he had no idea what that meant.  He says he has an "old cast iron stove".

Am I getting screwed here? I don't have enough experience to know what the issue might be. Meanwhile the coldest days of winter have hit. This is all very frustrating. Please help!


----------



## bholler (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> This is my second season with a wood stove. I have one of the newer EPA stoves made by Pacific Energy. I believe it was installed in 2004. Last winter I did not have many issues, but this season has been a real headache. First I got 3 cords delivered by the same guy as last year. Mostly ash. About 1 cord was bone dry and burned well, about 1 cord soaked to the touch, and 1 cord about in between. Only the driest stuff (which I've used up by now) burned well - the rest takes a long time to get hot and sizzles/drips out the ends. Well, I called this guy up and he told me I was being "unrealistic" about moisture content. He offered me $25 off.
> 
> I still needed another cord, so I found someone else. This guy assured me that the moisture was below 20%. He dropped it off yesterday, a big load of locust. However, I'm having an even worse experience with this wood. Even after placing the wood on top of a big bed of coals raked to the front of the stove, I can't get the temperature (measured on stovepipe) over 200 degrees. It makes a lot of popping sounds but burns very slowly with almost no flame. Meanwhile there is a ton of smoke coming out of the chimney. This is with the air control all the way open. I've had it fully open for 2 hours now.
> 
> ...


Get a moisture meter and test it.  Very few guys sell dry wood and if they don't it is typically costs twice what others sell for.  But if the second guy said it was under 20% yes he probably lied.


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

bholler said:


> Get a moisture meter and test it.  Very few guys sell dry wood and if they don't it is typically costs twice what others sell for.  But if the second guy said it was under 20% yes he probably lied.


hmm...he's a nice guy and I have no reason to think he'd be lying to me. I don't doubt that this stuff works in his stove. But it's definitely not working in mine.

I do have a moisture meter actually. When I let a piece of wood come up to room temp, split it, and check against the freshly split side, I'm getting around 30% on average.




Edit: He just texted me to say that he tested the moisture outdoors without splitting the wood. Could that be the reason for the discrepancy here? I'm thinking of asking him to come take this stuff back...


----------



## bholler (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> hmm...he's a nice guy and I have no reason to think he'd be lying to me. I don't doubt that this stuff works in his stove. But it's definitely not working in mine.
> 
> I do have a moisture meter actually. When I let a piece of wood come up to room temp, split it, and check against the freshly split side, I'm getting around 30% on average.
> View attachment 237957
> ...


Nice guy or not he told you it was under 20% and it is at about 30%.  That means he liked to you


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

Can you confirm that the correct way to test wood is to do it at room temperature against a freshly split part? I need some kind of evidence on my side if I'm going to ask him to take it back. Otherwise I think he'll just say "this wood works for me and everyone else, I tested it at under 20%, sorry but this is your problem".


----------



## jetsam (Jan 11, 2019)

It's borderline criminal to burn wet locust. Get it covered and it will be amazing in a couple years.  For now, you may be stuck with compressed wood logs from a store.

Start cutting, splitting, and stacking some pine now. Keep it covered and it will be ready next year, before the locust is.


----------



## MagdalenaP (Jan 11, 2019)

There's no someone selling wood doesn't know how to check properly for moisture content. 

Are you bringing wood straight from outdoors to the stove? I've found having some wood near the stove for a few days helps a bit.


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

Aha!

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/moisture_meter_v1_01-04-2017final.pdf

"Split the firewood, then shortly after, stick the prongs of the moisture meter into the newly split side of the wood. If possible, test the wood when the outside temperature is 50-90F. Lower wood temperatures result in lower indicated moisture content. See correction table..."


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

MagdalenaP said:


> Are you bringing wood straight from outdoors to the stove?


I keep about 2 days' supply indoors next to the stove.

*sigh* If you want something done right...


----------



## Chas0218 (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> I keep about 2 days' supply indoors next to the stove.
> 
> *sigh* If you want something done right...


I live in upstate NY where are you located? I have firewood in Newark and Beaver Dams (Watkins) I have some extra wood if you are close enough. It is all Red Maple and Ash. The Red maple is reading 20-22% and the Ash 20% both sizzle on the bark side a bit probably just from the recent weather but are dryer than what you're trying to burn.

I have stacked Cherry that was 21" long and 5" across close to the stove and removed about 7% M.C. in 8 hours. This wasn't closer than the recommended distance to combustibles, it isn't ideal but does work. Helps if you have a fan blowing on the wood.


----------



## Kevin Weis (Jan 11, 2019)

That locust still looks way green to me.  Remember locust has a natural preservative in it (whatever that is) which is why it was (and still is) used for fence posts and other ground contact applications.  When its green those natural chemical in it are going to boil out of it making it very nasty.  You can always tell when anyone is burning locust that's not dried sufficiently, very aciderous odor to the smoke and very unpleasant.


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

Chas0218 said:


> I live in upstate NY where are you located? I have firewood in Newark and Beaver Dams (Watkins) I have some extra wood if you are close enough. It is all Red Maple and Ash. The Red maple is reading 20-22% and the Ash 20% both sizzle on the bark side a bit probably just from the recent weather but are dryer than what you're trying to burn.
> 
> I have stacked Cherry that was 21" long and 5" across close to the stove and removed about 7% M.C. in 8 hours. This wasn't closer than the recommended distance to combustibles, it isn't ideal but does work. Helps if you have a fan blowing on the wood.


Ah, I'm actually east of Albany, near the MA border. I appreciate the offer though!

My current plan is to call this guy and ask him to consider taking his wood back and giving me my money back. And then get my fourth cord from the original guy. His wood was wet, sure, but not consistently, and I'm at least able to heat my house with it.

As for stacking it near the stove - that's what I did with the first guy's wood (the ash). It works ok if it's close to being dry enough. I feel like it won't help much with this locust, what with it being such a dense wood and still green (as Kevin pointed out). When he dropped it off I was struck by the bright yellow color.


----------



## Chas0218 (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> Ah, I'm actually east of Albany, near the MA border. I appreciate the offer though!
> 
> My current plan is to call this guy and ask him to consider taking his wood back and giving me my money back. And then get my fourth cord from the original guy. His wood was wet, sure, but not consistently, and I'm at least able to heat my house with it.
> 
> As for stacking it near the stove - that's what I did with the first guy's wood (the ash). It works ok if it's close to being dry enough. I feel like it won't help much with this locust, what with it being such a dense wood and still green (as Kevin pointed out). When he dropped it off I was struck by the bright yellow color.


I figured I would at least offer wasn't too sure where you were located. You're right tho the locust won't, nothing will help it other than stacking it for next year or the year after.


----------



## jetsam (Jan 11, 2019)

Kevin Weis said:


> That locust still looks way green to me.  Remember locust has a natural preservative in it (whatever that is) which is why it was (and still is) used for fence posts and other ground contact applications.  When its green those natural chemical in it are going to boil out of it making it very nasty.  You can always tell when anyone is burning locust that's not dried sufficiently, very aciderous odor to the smoke and very unpleasant.



Last year I found a pile of locust sitting in the woods behind the house- I guess at some point a tiny (~8") locust had fallen into the cleared area, and someone bucked it and threw it back in the woods.  It sat there for a minimum of 3 years- who knows how much more- until I found it.

That stuff  was in near-pristine shape. Even the stuff at the soggy bottom of the pile had only a tiny bit of punk at the very outside.

I have it tarped and drying along with a 2-year-old pile of maple now, we'll see how the stove likes it next year.  It was small enough that I wouldn't have even grabbed it except that it was locust!


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

I'm trying to make sense of his claim that this wood works fine for him. I honestly doubt he is deliberately lying. My impression is that he delivers a lot of firewood in this area.

Are EPA-certified stoves just more picky about moisture?


----------



## begreen (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> Can you confirm that the correct way to test wood is to do it at room temperature against a freshly split part? I need some kind of evidence on my side if I'm going to ask him to take it back. Otherwise I think he'll just say "this wood works for me and everyone else, I tested it at under 20%, sorry but this is your problem".


You are testing it correctly and he is not. Wood dries from the outside in. It can read 10% lower or more on the outside surface and ends and still be wet in the core. Try it on some green wood. This is not rocket science. Testing at room temp is less important than testing on the freshly exposed face of wood after resplitting.


braley said:


> Are EPA-certified stoves just more picky about moisture?


Yes, an old smoke dragon will smolder and doesn't need high firebox temps to burn cleanly.


----------



## begreen (Jan 11, 2019)

Your wood is about one third water currently. It will never get to 0%. In our shed the wood stabilizes around 15% due to ambient winter moisture. The doug fir we are currently burning is in the 17-18% range.

Your EPA stove's firebox needs to get above 1100º at the top in order to promote good secondary combustion. The volatiles are reburned there.

If you are buying more wood now, buy enough for next year too and stack it off the ground, top covered.


----------



## TWilk117 (Jan 11, 2019)

Bright yellow? Sounds like mulberry.


----------



## jetsam (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> I'm trying to make sense of his claim that this wood works fine for him. I honestly doubt he is deliberately lying. My impression is that he delivers a lot of firewood in this area.
> 
> Are EPA-certified stoves just more picky about moisture?




You hear that a lot, but honestly it depends more on the operator than the stove.

I've run a lot of terrible, terrible wood through my BK. 

But yes, new stoves definitely will not perform the same. You need to adjust your burning (and sweeping) practices a lot with bad wood.

The only reason old stoves are "better" at burning wet wood is that you don't have a secondary burn to begin with, so its absence won't be noticed.  It's a bit like saying that your lawn tractor shifts better than your car because it doesn't have a transmission.

That doesn't stop people from saying it, though!


----------



## TWilk117 (Jan 11, 2019)

Mulberry bark is very similar to locust. This guy may not know what he’s talking about or he’s trying to pull one over on you.


----------



## jetsam (Jan 11, 2019)

begreen said:


> Yes, an old smoke dragon will smolder and doesn't need high firebox temps to burn cleanly.



Ever swept the stack after smoldering a smoke dragon with wet wood?  That is not just dirty burning, it's filthy burning. (I know you didn't mean for it to come out like that.)


----------



## begreen (Jan 11, 2019)

jetsam said:


> Ever swept the stack after smoldering a smoke dragon with wet wood?  That is not just dirty burning, it's filthy burning. (I know you didn't mean for it to come out like that.)


Figured that was implied with a smoldering fire. Smoke = unburnt gases. If the gases are cool, they will condense and form creosote deposits.


----------



## TWilk117 (Jan 11, 2019)

Here is some mulberry I cut yesterday. Does it look like this?


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

Thank you guys for all the replies! Nice to know I'm not crazy or doing something wrong.

Here's what it looks like. It looks yellower in reality than in this pic.


----------



## TWilk117 (Jan 11, 2019)

Hard to tell from the pic. Some of the yellower splits look like mulberry, others look like maybe locust.


----------



## begreen (Jan 11, 2019)

You are not being unrealistic about moisture content, just a bit unrealistic about what wood sellers sell. There are only a few that will guarantee truly seasoned firewood. For others, seasoning can mean one week or 6 months. The inconsistency of the first ash delivery could be because the wood was split into a big pile. Ash usually dries quickly, but if it sat on the ground at the bottom of the pile it will take much longer to dry. There is a seller south of you that will guarantee dry wood, but they are sold out now. It's late in the season.
https://cordkingfirewood.com/
Start getting a couple years ahead on your firewood stash and you can go ahead and buy fresh cut at a lower price. In the meantime try to buy faster drying wood (ash, soft maple) and test a few splits off of the truck before they dump the load.

And clean your chimney once for every cord burned while burning this less satisfactory wood.


----------



## showrguy (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> Thank you guys for all the replies! Nice to know I'm not crazy or doing something wrong.
> 
> Here's what it looks like. It looks yellower in reality than in this pic.
> View attachment 237967


The guy brought you GOOD wood, just not DRY wood...
I'd stack and cover for maybe next year, you can tell it's been dead awhile and might dry over a "normal" summer.... Not like the damp, rainy, humid, muggy one we just went through..


----------



## TWilk117 (Jan 11, 2019)

I would pick out the cleanest/ driest wood and bring as much of it in doors as you can, as stated before you could have a fan circulating air around it. Maybe even a space heater if you don’t mind paying the electric. 
Also, thinner splits dry out quicker.


----------



## Woody5506 (Jan 11, 2019)

even if he did deliver mulberry and not black locust (they look similar) they are both top tier firewoods, so in that regard he certainly wouldn't be pulling one over on you. 

You should ask sellers how long the wood has been split, I find typically they are honest with their answers because usually, to them, 6 months = seasoned. The only guy in my area (Rochester) who sells pretty decently seasoned wood claims he keeps it stacked in log form for a year before he splits it, then one year split, THEN puts it out for sale. I don't really buy wood but the two times I did, his stuff was pretty good, but a lot of the oak and hickory in it I set aside for the following year.


----------



## bholler (Jan 11, 2019)

MagdalenaP said:


> There's no someone selling wood doesn't know how to check properly for moisture content.
> 
> Are you bringing wood straight from outdoors to the stove? I've found having some wood near the stove for a few days helps a bit.


The vast majority of people selling firewood have absolutely no clue how to check moisture content.


----------



## Woody5506 (Jan 11, 2019)

Most people that dont read message boards like these wouldnt really give moisture content a thought. 


My "professional" installer told me wood should ideally be at 0% moisture. I guess he thinks I should only burn pallet wood then.


----------



## braley (Jan 11, 2019)

So most people selling firewood have no idea what they're doing? That's a little disturbing...


----------



## wilsoncm1 (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> So most people selling firewood have no idea what they're doing? That's a little disturbing...



Oh they know the mechanical job of felling, bucking and splitting well enough.


----------



## blacktail (Jan 11, 2019)

bholler said:


> The vast majority of people selling firewood have absolutely no clue how to check moisture content.


Or how to measure a cord.


----------



## tgumby4 (Jan 11, 2019)

That looks like really nice wood even though the moisture content is high.  If you have the available space I would keep the wood and season it for next winter so your not in this same situation next year.


----------



## Ctwoodtick (Jan 11, 2019)

Woody5506 said:


> Most people that dont read message boards like these wouldnt really give moisture content a thought.
> 
> 
> My "professional" installer told me wood should ideally be at 0% moisture. I guess he thinks I should only burn pallet wood then.


Yep, I’ve had staff at a stove shop “test” a piece of their kiln dried wood with moisture meter I bought from them at 0.  Not good.


----------



## Dix (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> Ah, I'm actually east of Albany, near the MA border. I appreciate the offer though!
> 
> My current plan is to call this guy and ask him to consider taking his wood back and giving me my money back. And then get my fourth cord from the original guy. His wood was wet, sure, but not consistently, and I'm at least able to heat my house with it.
> 
> As for stacking it near the stove - that's what I did with the first guy's wood (the ash). It works ok if it's close to being dry enough. I feel like it won't help much with this locust, what with it being such a dense wood and still green (as Kevin pointed out). When he dropped it off I was struck by the bright yellow color.



I'd keep it, & let it season for next year. Seasoned is a problem. I got a guy, but I'm on Long Island,  butso is he  

Get some bio brick types, and do what you can. Pallets, pine that's split ( you can burn pine if it's seasoned, and it seasons quick for me !!). 

Get ahead, it's the only way.


----------



## ShawnLiNY (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> So most people selling firewood have no idea what they're doing? That's a little disturbing...


Hello Braley , as others have said “seasoned “ is a subjective term , your seller may have no issue at all burning wood from this batch he may be mixing with drier wood or splitting very thin . If you got the approximate quantity you paid for I’d say he has done his job ( sellers down here on Long Island mostly Craigslist guys) are notorious for giving very short loads and really green wood . Lay this stuff up for next season as everyone has suggested go on the hunt for palletwood , or check construction dumpsters if money is tight or buy a pallet of bio bricks or similar and use those to help burn the most dry wood you have for this season , I have a great guy in green county but no one has seasoned wood now good luck ( and split small and stack inside preferably 3-4 days worth)


----------



## Ben Stark (Jan 11, 2019)

I’m sorry to say you aren’t going to be able to buy wood for sale that is actually seasoned and ready to burn. 

Not in NY and not this time of year. Very few people truly understand what seasoned wood is. Your best bet is to assume all wood you buy from someone else is green wood, Semi-seasoned at best. It will be ready next winter if you stack it off the ground and cover it. 

You can try to mix some of your existing wood in with cut up pallets. There’s no substitute for time when it comes to seasoning.


----------



## Woody5506 (Jan 11, 2019)

Funny thing is that eventually firewood dealers will almost HAVE to evolve to selling actual seasoned wood years from now assuming more and more old smoke dragon stoves get phased out for new ones. New stoves quickly teach people the importance and necessity of truly seasoned wood.


----------



## jetsam (Jan 11, 2019)

I am guessing mulberry on that picture. Not sure though, I have never split much of either one.

I don't think the bark would have all fallen off of the locust before it even hit 30% mc? 

Someone who lives in an area with more locust will know.


----------



## AlbergSteve (Jan 11, 2019)

braley said:


> Thank you guys for all the replies! Nice to know I'm not crazy or doing something wrong.
> 
> Here's what it looks like. It looks yellower in reality than in this pic.
> View attachment 237967


If the splits are bright yellow or yelowish-green, its probably just recently split and therefore still wet. The locust I split in the spring went from bright yellow to beige quite quickly after being split.


----------



## TWilk117 (Jan 11, 2019)

jetsam said:


> I am guessing mulberry on that picture. Not sure though, I have never split much of either one.
> 
> I don't think the bark would have all fallen off of the locust before it even hit 30% mc?
> 
> Someone who lives in an area with more locust will know.


Honestly I think locust is more likely to shed its bark soon on

Locust trees break and fall apart easily in storms and snow, the bark falls off just as easily.


----------



## edyit (Jan 12, 2019)

braley said:


> Ah, I'm actually east of Albany, near the MA border.



that's not upstate, that's central    wet wood sucks try getting a few packs of these and mix them in with it

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/redstone-wood-fuel?cm_vc=-10005


----------



## braley (Jan 13, 2019)

edyit said:


> that's not upstate, that's central


Haha. I'll give you that.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm going to stack this wood, cover it, and hang onto it till next year. Appreciate the tip on bio blocks as well. As it stands, I have about a cord and a half left of the semi-dry ash the first guy gave me. It's not ideal but like I said, at least I can heat my house with it. With such a mild December it was plausible that I'd be able to squeak by this winter with just that much, but now that the really cold temps are here, I'll need to look for more. I'm waiting to hear back from guy #1 and will look into bio blocks.

Crazy that getting seasoned wood is such  a struggle! It's so easy to check moisture and all you have to do is let it sit longer!! Not exactly rocket science.


----------



## Woodsplitter67 (Jan 13, 2019)

braley said:


> This is my second season with a wood stove. I have one of the newer EPA stoves made by Pacific Energy. I believe it was installed in 2004. Last winter I did not have many issues, but this season has been a real headache. First I got 3 cords delivered by the same guy as last year. Mostly ash. About 1 cord was bone dry and burned well, about 1 cord soaked to the touch, and 1 cord about in between. Only the driest stuff (which I've used up by now) burned well - the rest takes a long time to get hot and sizzles/drips out the ends. Well, I called this guy up and he told me I was being "unrealistic" about moisture content. He offered me $25 off.
> 
> I still needed another cord, so I found someone else. This guy assured me that the moisture was below 20%. He dropped it off yesterday, a big load of locust. However, I'm having an even worse experience with this wood. Even after placing the wood on top of a big bed of coals raked to the front of the stove, I can't get the temperature (measured on stovepipe) over 200 degrees. It makes a lot of popping sounds but burns very slowly with almost no flame. Meanwhile there is a ton of smoke coming out of the chimney. This is with the air control all the way open. I've had it fully open for 2 hours now.
> 
> ...



 Your issue is your relying on somebody to season your wood. Seasoning wood is verry simple and easy to do. Stack it in a sunny location and let it sit there and let the sun beat down on it for 2 summers. Your purchasing the wood anyway so how hard would it be for you to get next years wood delivered and start seasoning it. Your unseasoned wood issue is not going to go away untill you start seasoning it your self. You need to be a little more proactive. Its mid January get some bio bricks and work on solving next years issues so you dont have them any more.. get some type of wood shed or wood storage going now and get more wood delivered


----------



## weatherguy (Jan 13, 2019)

I would take more than two days worth into the house and put the next load close to the stove for a few hours, only do this if you are there to watch it, mix in a couple bio bricks and youre golden.


----------



## kborndale (Jan 14, 2019)

braley said:


> Haha. I'll give you that.
> 
> Thanks for the input everyone. I'm going to stack this wood, cover it, and hang onto it till next year. Appreciate the tip on bio blocks as well. As it stands, I have about a cord and a half left of the semi-dry ash the first guy gave me. It's not ideal but like I said, at least I can heat my house with it. With such a mild December it was plausible that I'd be able to squeak by this winter with just that much, but now that the really cold temps are here, I'll need to look for more. I'm waiting to hear back from guy #1 and will look into bio blocks.
> 
> Crazy that getting seasoned wood is such  a struggle! It's so easy to check moisture and all you have to do is let it sit longer!! Not exactly rocket science.



Getting seasoned wood is not a struggle.  You just have to let it sit for a year.  For wood sellers that are selling dozens of cords a year, how could they possibly sell ready to burn wood?  Just splitting it and leaving in a pile only gets the top layer ready to burn.  They would have to split and stack dozens of cords and let them sit around for a year or two.  That just isnt going to happen so if buying wood you need to stack it and let it sit for at least a year.  Thats the only way to guarantee getting ready to burn wood.  "seasoned" does not mean ready to burn.


----------



## jaoneill (Jan 14, 2019)

edyit said:


> that's not upstate, that's central    wet wood sucks try getting a few packs of these and mix them in with it
> 
> https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/redstone-wood-fuel?cm_vc=-10005


To down-staters anything north of the Westchester County line is "upstate".....


----------



## ShawnLiNY (Jan 14, 2019)

jaoneill said:


> To down-staters anything north of the Westchester County line is "upstate".....


As a Long Islander I can say this statement is 100% true and we consider north of Albany ( Canada )  And the Adirondacks are past the arctic circle


----------



## jaoneill (Jan 14, 2019)

ShawnLiNY said:


> As a Long Islander I can say this statement is 100% true and we consider north of Albany ( Canada )  And the Adirondacks are past the arctic circle


I live in the north western foothills of the Adirondacks and I have to tell you, the last few days have felt like we're past the arctic circle.......


----------



## edyit (Jan 16, 2019)

I live right in the heart of the Adirondacks, literally 5 minutes from Whiteface Mountain, and you're not kidding about the temps, been darn cold, makes me glad I have a few years ahead on wood.


----------



## jaoneill (Jan 16, 2019)

edyit said:


> I live right in the heart of the Adirondacks, literally 5 minutes from Whiteface Mountain, and you're not kidding about the temps, been darn cold, makes me glad I have a few years ahead on wood.


Amen; we are near Star Lake, not generally quite as cold as you are in the heart of the hills.....


----------



## Stelcom66 (Mar 10, 2019)

edyit said:


> that's not upstate, that's central    wet wood sucks try getting a few packs of these and mix them in with it
> 
> https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/redstone-wood-fuel?cm_vc=-10005



What did you think of these? I have wood but wanted to try these so I just bought several 3 packs.


----------



## Kevin Weis (Mar 10, 2019)

I've used those.  They do relatively well.  Maybe a 3 hour burn time.


----------



## edyit (Mar 11, 2019)

they're not bad, I like them, i've picked up a few packs and burned them by themselves and mixed with regular wood, burned well both ways


----------

