Multiple chimney fires

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It's a mix of Ash & Oak, I'll take another look at the wood for splits & cracks. I'm trying to figure out how I can re-arrange the garage so I can store 4 face cords and order early. Thanks for the tips.
What are you paying for a full cord
 
If you put two two by fours on cinder blocks, and stick two shorter pieces in the holes of the blocks on each end, you can easily create a rack that stores one face cord off the ground. Put a tarp on it and let it sit, preferably for two yet.

This is what we call the two or three year plan here.

It'll burn much better, keep your chimney cleaner, and gives much more heat. Why? Because you don't have to boil off as much water using the BTUs of the wood itself. A split of 5 lbs at 20 percent moisture content has a full lbs of water in it. You need to boil that into vapor to push it up your chimney. And we all know how much energy it takes to boil water
 
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It's a mix of Ash & Oak, I'll take another look at the wood for splits & cracks. I'm trying to figure out how I can re-arrange the garage so I can store 4 face cords and order early. Thanks for the tips.
You have to physically split the wood, then check on the fresh surface with your moisture meter.
 
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Wood dries best outside in the sun and wind. Top cover for 2 -3 years for oak. I wouldn't wait for the fire. Inspect and clean your own chimney
 
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So just as a heads up.. wood dries from the outside inward.. so by your method your measuring the driest part.. you need to resplit the wood and check the moisture on the freshly split face with the pins going with the grain.. your issue is not with the stove but the wood your putting in it. If you are burning oak.. that species takes roughly 24 months to season.. I bet once you test the wood properly you'll see your moisture being more towards the upper 20s to low 30% moisture content..
 
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You have to physically split the wood, then check on the fresh surface with your moisture meter.
So just as a heads up.. wood dries from the outside inward.. so by your method your measuring the driest part.. you need to resplit the wood and check the moisture on the freshly split face with the pins going with the grain.. your issue is not with the stove but the wood your putting in it. If you are burning oak.. that species takes roughly 24 months to season.. I bet once you test the wood properly you'll see your moisture being more towards the upper 20s to low 30% moisture content..

So just as a heads up.. wood dries from the outside inward.. so by your method your measuring the driest part.. you need to resplit the wood and check the moisture on the freshly split face with the pins going with the grain.. your issue is not with the stove but the wood your putting in it. If you are burning oak.. that species takes roughly 24 months to season.. I bet once you test the wood properly you'll see your moisture being more towards the upper 20s to low 30% moisture content..
I will do that, thanks for the tip.
 
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I guess I've been checking my wood the wrong way all this time.
 
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I guess I've been checking my wood the wrong way all this time.
You're not alone, it's not uncommon. Basic instructions on testing wood moisture content should be in every stove manual.
 
In addition to what Stoveliker said... The water vapor from burning High Moisture Content wood cools off the fire and adds water vapor to your flue. So you end up with cool moist smoke, which is turned into Creosote.
 
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Thanks to everyone for your advice. I guess I've been checking my wood the wrong way all this time.

Everyone makes mistakes.. your not the first one.. hang around here more and up your game.. wood burning isn't that hard.. you just gotta know the process..
 
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Wood dries best outside in the sun and wind. Top cover for 2 -3 years for oak. I wouldn't wait for the fire. Inspect and clean your own chimney
This ^ ^ ^
And by "top cover" that means only the top, leave the sides open for air flow...otherwise the wood won't dry and you will only be growing mushrooms.
And consider installing a modern clean burn stove or insert...they actually put most of the heat into the house, instead of up the chimney.
Open fireplaces are very inefficient, and as you have found, dirty burners (creosote makers) especially with wet wood.
 
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Im pretty sure he got the idea by now.......fresh split room temp, all of that. We all make mistakes in life.
 
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not many people read the directions on anything they buy and wonder where they gone wrong. i have a old defiant 1 very old creosote factory if not burned right. i clean my chimney once a year and have no problems other than the first year that i burned it and didn't read here. now i burn it hot and have no problems
 
The wood is already split on delivery. I push the pins in as far as I can and I get around 15% +- on the logs that are stacked in the garage. I usually bring a small pile of logs inside so they can dray out a bit more before I burn them. I got readings from 7% to 9% on these logs which I just tested prior to posting my reply.
I seriously doubt 7% - 9%, borrow another moisture meter or two and validate your readings.
7% - 9% is wood that normally has been sitting in a covered well ventilated wood shed for 2 & 3 years and such dry would not make enough creosote to start a fire if burned correctly.
Take a existing split inside the house and let it warm up and acclimate for 30-36 hours, re-split it in 1/2 and take another reading on the new freshly split face.
Another test is drill 2 holes the size of your testers pins at least 1/4'' deep on a freshly split face and push the pins in as deep as they will go and take a reading, you will probably be surprised.
 
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