Running Out of Seasoned Wood

[EatenByLimestone]

You have to cook the water out. This makes less heat available to heat the home. While leaving the door cracked you are also pulling lots of warm, heated air out of the house. The makeup air is cold, outside air.

So, to overcome these disadvantages, you're going to have to burn more wood. More reloading, processing, etc.

 

[electrathon]

You have to cook the water out. This makes less heat available to heat the home. While leaving the door cracked you are also pulling lots of warm, heated air out of the house. The makeup air is cold, outside air.

So, to overcome these disadvantages, you're going to have to burn more wood. More reloading, processing, etc.

Stove air is only outside cold air if you have a direct connect outside air connection. Many people on here believe that using outside air is bad , so opening the stove door is no difference than closing it.

If your house is cold, burning wood that produces 20% less heat than it would if it was drier is a non-issue. I am not sure if the wood is being bought or obtained for the labor of it. If it is being bought there is an argument that it may be more cost effective to use another heat source. If it is collected then any heat obtained is better than being cold or paying for another source.

 

[Squisher]

when you crack the stove door. It draws warm air from your home up the flue at a fast rate. That air that is being removed from your home comes from outside whether you have an oak or not. Air can't leave the home without coming in some way.

Burning wet wood sucks. I've been burning four decades. It's harder to light, it will take longer to get up to temp therefore depositing much more creosote in your flue system as it's doing so and potentially lots more on every reload. And often truly wet wood as the OP says his is 25-30% plus will really struggle to get up to temp. And easily cool off below the point of supporting secondary combustion.

it's not just a simple equation of saying 20% less efficient. You would have to calculate the actual water content of the wet wood vs dry and compare the btus used to evaporate that extra moisture. Than subtract those btus from the btu potential of the load(weight/species) to get an idea of how much less efficient it is. Also more time with smoke coming out of the chimney is more lost potential btus and more chance of creo deposits in the chimney.

Creosote will be up, burn times and heat output will be down.

 

[Squisher]

Then you would also have to factor in the extra air volume you are sending up the flue by having to crack the door to get up to temp.

For me on a reload I open the door and place my load in and then close it. There is no cracked door time to get the draft going or up to temp.

If you are burning wet wood. How are you measuring it's moisture content? Also how are you measuring your temperatures on your setup?

 

[wizards8507]

Fresh split and meter measured on the new face.

I bought half green wood and half seasoned, as my stove was just installed in November so I had no time to do my own seasoning. In reality both orders are all over the place. I've had splits in the "green" stack measure 15% and splits in the "seasoned stack" as high as 30%.

Again, I'm not recommending burning green wood if seasoned wood is available. But it can be serviceable if it's all that's left. Some of my wettest loads have kept the hearth room in the mid 80s and my 2,200 Sq ft home in the high 60s in the farthest corners.

 

[Squisher]

I get the do what you gotta do. I've been there. Just check the flue regularly.

As a sweep, I don't recommend burning wet wood at all.

 

[Hogwildz]

I'm not trying to be argumentative and I recognize that I'm one of the most inexperienced burners in this forum, but I really don't understand the "extra time and work" argument with wet wood. I 100% acknowledge the inefficiency, but what extra work? I've used the same size splits of wet wood as I did when I was burning dry wood and the only difference is that I leave the door cracked for the first ten minutes of each load. After that, I'm burning at full non-creosote temperatures with good secondaries.

You will not get the usable BTUs out of wet wood. No matter how hot a stove you toss those splits in, those splits will cool the stove before it will get back up to normal temp. The added water/moisture will cause creosote during that time, especially using that as an ongoing practice. It will take expended energy to dry the wood and get it going well. You'll have a crapload of coals, all in not getting the heat from the same load that you would with the same load being dry wood. There is much more difference then merely, leaving the door open 10 minutes. If your theory was true, we would all be ding the same thing. You may reach "non-creosote" temperatures, but before it reaches that point, you're going to be creating creosote, and even up to temp, there is still water/moisture burning out of those splits. It doesn't just disappear, up the stack it goes.

Stacking splits in the stove room, does do a tremendous job of drying the splits out, and adds a little moisture to them home as a bonus. Been there, done that.

 

[Dix]

Wet wood is wet wood.

Like Hogs & others have said, you'll burn a lot of wasted energy, and work on clogging your chimney (been there, done that too .. clogged mine in 3 months my first year, thinking I was burning seasoned firewood.... ).

I have a good sized log ring near the PE. it's my back up. The firewood sits in it year round. I burn it down in the spring, and then reload it from the stacks before summer. The firewood is a year seasoned at that point, and sits inside with residual heat until summer, then basks in the glow of the AC in Summer,,,, I've never been disappointed in that firewood when I needed it.

I've also just gotten a cord of mostly maple, nicely split 8 months ago.... bringing it inside now for insurance.

Pallets & Bio Bricks or the equivalent, will get you through it. Alternate back up can supplement.

Get ahead, it's the best way.

Good luck !!