Sort of new, need some advice...

[chadlebo]

Here's the setup. Thought I put this up this yesterday morning... Don't mind the mess, hanging wires, or wood cart way too close.

I'll take some more moisture readings today, per your instruction. I'll let you know what I come up with... dealing with Daddy duties until Mommy gets back from the dentist.

 

[northwinds]

Even if you can get that stove operating optimally, it's going to be tough to heat that house from the basement with any modern EPA stove. I wouldn't worry so much about heat leaving the chimney as the heat getting sucked up by the cement in your basement.

 

[chadlebo]

Tracking on the loss through the concrete, North. We're in the process of a fairly extensive renovation, to include deep energy retrofit. Eventually, the block walls and floor will all be insulated. The renovation is part of the reason we went with this stove... no central air/ heat in here, long term plan is to have in floor heating run by an array of solar hot water panels for the bulk of our heating needs. Figured we'd use wood as backup and supplemental when the panels aren't producing the heat we need. Also, until we get to that point, this was going to be our main source of heat. I've awarded myself a Google doctorate in heat transfer, and while heat transfer from the basement to the first floor won't be ideal, I've incorporated a few design tweaks (completely open stairwell, floor vents, etc) that will optimize it as much as I can. (One of the misses' contingencies on my pursuit of complete self reliance is that I can't completely abandon aesthetics. We ran the Timberline as an insert on the main floor the first year we lived hear, and after humping wood up the stairs for four months, and the God awful mess in the main living space, we both decided that wasn't going to work. So, to the basement we go.) Regardless of basement or main floor, I'm still putting BTU's inside my living envelope, which is the end goal. Going apples for apples, the Timberline used to run us out of the house. On days where I really got it cooking, the basement would be over 100, main floor was 80+, second story was usually closed off, but still above 60. I've yet to get the IR to warm the basement over 80. And we've since replaced the old ratty R-19 in the ceiling with R-19 batt over top of an inch and a half of closed cell foam spray foam (bout R-7 per inch), I figure we're better off insulation wise than last year.

But, long story short, yeah, I know. Wife is never going to allow "ideal", so I'm going with "as close as possible without pissing her off."

 

[northwinds]

I heat from the lower level of a a hillside ranch in a cold climate. Insulated walls and carpeting. We spend most of our time in the lower level (bedroom and family/hobby room and hiding from the upstairs teen-agers), so it works for us. The wide open staircase is key for getting the heat upstairs.

To me, it sounds like the wood may be the problem. With good wood, you really should be able to get the stove up to 550 on a reload within 30 minutes and then make the gradual adjustments down to low in another 15 mintues. Then it's just a matter of letting it coast between 550 to 650 for several hours. But it
won't stay there. After 8-10 hours, it will drift down to 100-200 and just enough coals for an easy reload. That provides enough heat for my 2300 square foot house unless it's below zero. Today, it was minus 14 F overnight, so I'll probably light up my small upstairs insert for a load or two to even out the house temps.

 

[chadlebo]

So, check on my meter... pulled in three chunks from three different sources. One piece from the load I bought last week, one from the stuff I cut over Christmas (these were standing, live red oaks), and one from a pile I'd cut about a month ago from an old standing dead tree that we affectionately refer to as "the stank wood" (I have no idea what it is, but it smells terrible. Whitish yellow grain, and what bark was left peels off into ribbon-y paper like stuff.) I brought all three chunks inside about an hour and a half ago to bring up from outside temps (about 20F, 12F with wind chill). First reading was on the split surface immediately after bringing inside. The bought wood was 19.3%, cut stuff was 15.3%, and stank wood was 33%. After an hour and a half, I split each, and checked the freshly split surface. Bought wood was 23%, cut wood was 21.4%, and the stank wood was 45%. I'm fairly relieved about the bought load, but holy WTF on the stank wood... I'd been mixing it with the bought wood thinking it would even out, but I might suspend that... although I'm a bit suspicious about the fresh cut stuff reading 21%. It's been stacked, uncovered in a high wind path for about eight weeks. I know that trees are allegedly "dryer" in the winter since the sap stops running, but should it be that dry already? Seems pretty low considering the circumstances...

 

[northwinds]

It does seem low for dead standing oak. Some of the limb wood can be dryer, but the big trunk pieces are usually full of moisture even when dead. Oak doesn't really start drying until it's split and stacked.

Anyhow, all of your wood is on the wet side for an EPA stove. It sucks but it's a change that everyone experiences when moving from a smoke dragon. In the long run, with better wood, you will burn less wood and burn it more cleanly. My wood has all been split and stacked three years ago, which is overkill for many people on this site who don't have the room for storage. Personally, I have never run into "the wood is too dry" problem.