If you do have a stove equipped with secondaries and you do happen to burn wood that is less than fully seasoned is it ok to run stove? Will you have anything go wrong other than a lower temp fire and possible creosote buildup?
Poor conditions for running a stove with secondaries.
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Bub381 said:
Dirty window. Frustrated people waiting to be nice and warm while you try to make unseasoned wood burn. Smoke out the flue. If you're asking whether or not the stove will be somehow damaged, the answer is no, it will not be damaged...unless in your utter frustration you do something seriously irrational. Rick
BeGreen said:
Or complaining that the stove is malfunctioning or not working properly, when in reality it is the wood or operator error. Seem to remember those complaints more than a few times.
It's like putting knowingly bad fuel in your vehicle. Yes, it will run but not right and in time it will gunk things up.
All i wanted to know, thanks. 10-4 on the operator/ supposed stove error.Just hard to find dry wood my 1st yr burning.Just put my firewood up.Alot of spruce and pine that was already down but people were going to throw away which has been seasoned 2 yrs and maple i stated drying 2 wks ago that was freshly cut.Just new at this so have to ask this seemingly foolish stuff. Just like to cover all bases.
You can add some dry pallet wood, it will help get the temps up and help maintain secondary burn.
Just don't use too much at one time.
Just don't use too much at one time.
Burning unseasoned wood will burn inefficiently even with secondary air tubes. It's like trying to burn gas in your car engine with water in it. It won't give you much heat but the big problem is that it will deposit creosote in your chimney from the moisture and cool chimney walls. This can cause 3rd degree creosote which is like baked on glass and almost impossible to clean with a brush. To me it's just not worth it for a little temporary heat.
Just figure i'd have the seasoned softwood to keep things up to temp.Trickle in the 7 month dry maple and yes i know the differnce in burn time between soft and dry wood.
Agreed. Spruce, pine and most maples should be fine this Fall if they were split reasonably small and stacked in the open.
Bub381 said:
You should be fine for the coming winter with this mix. You will get different opinions on this, but I would keep the wood exposed to wind and sun until late fall, and then put it under cover.
You might have some luck offering to clean up people's woodlots. Wood that has been laying down or is standing dead can give you a leg up in the saddle, and it would be a win/win for people who just want their acreage looking a little nicer.
Don't hesitatet to ask questions--if people here jump you for asking noob questions, it's just cuz they're in a mood to tease--sorta like having 123 older brothers--they're not going to let you get away with a thing (I had to stop myself from responding to your other thread by saying that cats don't make good fuel even when they're well seasoned)--but will have your back in a heartbeat. So ask away, and grin and bear it.
The problem with starting out with less than ideal wood is that it becomes very difficult to evaluate all those other factors that might need tweaking: stove, chimney, circulation, insulation, windbreaks, etc. I'd encourage you to keep working on this dry wood issue because of that.
Don't hesitatet to ask questions--if people here jump you for asking noob questions, it's just cuz they're in a mood to tease--sorta like having 123 older brothers--they're not going to let you get away with a thing (I had to stop myself from responding to your other thread by saying that cats don't make good fuel even when they're well seasoned)--but will have your back in a heartbeat. So ask away, and grin and bear it.
The problem with starting out with less than ideal wood is that it becomes very difficult to evaluate all those other factors that might need tweaking: stove, chimney, circulation, insulation, windbreaks, etc. I'd encourage you to keep working on this dry wood issue because of that.
There's also the Wood Shed forum on this site for specific questions about all things pertaining to wood. That would be the best place to pursue this line of questioning. There are lots of good folks there including some folks that may have some Maine specific tips or sources to point out.
Bub381 said:
There are no foolish questions, only foolish people who don't ask questions ;-)
You have the same wood problem nearly all newbies get when using wood stoves.!
And I know because I was in that category too, switching from an open wood fire where I burned anything that came along, to a wood stove which needed really dry wood to get the best results.
My advice is to try to get hold of some wood that seasons quickly, like ash. Birch also seasons quickly when split, make sure you split it quite quickly as the bark is virtually waterproof and the damp inside will rot it under the bark. Other tip is to split your wood a bit on the small side to season quickly, although being smaller, it will tend to burn a bit quicker.
If you have the storage space, go out now and get some extra wood for following years so it will have plenty of time to season, it will probably also be a bit cheaper now than in a couple of years time.
And if you are burning wood that is not properly seasoned, make sure you keep an eye on the flue for creosote buildup, and get the flue swept frequently.
Hope that helps
Not much to add to this thread that hasn't already been said . . . except to say take a breath in, hold it and release . . . you'll do fine . . . we've all (or most of us anyways) been where you are and got through that first year with less than optimal wood . . . maybe the heat output wasn't quite so good, maybe the wood didn't ignite so easily, maybe we ended up gunking up our glass more often and had to clean the chimney more frequently . . . but we all got by, none of us froze to death and in the process we learned how to operate our stove efficiently and safely and learned the importance of getting ahead on the wood supply.
Your first year may be tough or it may be OK . . . and you may even think you did well . . . until you burn in the second year with wood that has been seasoned longer and with a woodstove that you know how to operate effectively . . . so keep taking in those breaths . . . and release those breaths.
Oh yeah . . . as mentioned . . . get some pallets . . . if you need to bring your stove up to temp and your wood isn't quite as good as you were hoping . . . the pallets help a lot . . . helps get the fires going and helps "dry" out any semi-seasoned wood in the stove. They're not much fun to process, but when used in conjunction with semi-seasoned wood they can help you get through that first year . . . in subsequent years you may no longer need them if you've made sure to get your wood put up ahead of time.
Your first year may be tough or it may be OK . . . and you may even think you did well . . . until you burn in the second year with wood that has been seasoned longer and with a woodstove that you know how to operate effectively . . . so keep taking in those breaths . . . and release those breaths.
Oh yeah . . . as mentioned . . . get some pallets . . . if you need to bring your stove up to temp and your wood isn't quite as good as you were hoping . . . the pallets help a lot . . . helps get the fires going and helps "dry" out any semi-seasoned wood in the stove. They're not much fun to process, but when used in conjunction with semi-seasoned wood they can help you get through that first year . . . in subsequent years you may no longer need them if you've made sure to get your wood put up ahead of time.
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