Too much creasote?

[bholler]

I absolutely agree with you bob but would like to add if you are covering with a tarp only cover the top don't wrap the whole thing. if you wrap it it will trap moisture and really slow down the drying process. here in pa with good hard woods we can get away with one year cut split and covered or even a little less. actually penn states ag extension says 6 months cut split and covered but that is a little short in my experience. I am glad I am not from some of the climates you guys are from that need 2 or 3 years that would just suck

 

[ridensnow23]

Wet wood - as in a little snow on it or it rained last night is not the issue if the wood has been CSS for 2-3yrs. This is just a bit of surface moisture and unless you are packing your stove 1/2 full of snow this burns right off. It is the "green" wood or wood that has a true interior moisture content that is being referred to here as wet(above 20%). Many a 15% split has been placed inside stoves this winter with a little snow or moisture on the outside with nary a hint of creo being developed. Get the inside dry and worry less about the outside - your stove, flue and warm family will thank you.

I have to disagree with this. The wood had been CSS for 2 years. I had it covered with a poly tarp which eventually disintegrated. I removed the poly tarp and never replaced it, so it got rained and snowed on since the end of summer. The result was that the core of the wood was dry, but the bark turned into a sponge for water.

The wood took a long time to flame up, and the entire burning process was just sluggish. This was locust. I have to assume that if the wood had been debarked before stacking, then it probably would have been a different story.

I went back to pulling wood from a covered stack of oak and sweet gum. Everything is back to normal now. No waiting around for an hour waiting for the wood to flame up. I also put a new cover on the locust. It should be good to go next year.

 

[Kosmik]

So if I take a match to the black shiny flaky crud it will torch?

I don't know if a match will do it, but a gas torch should.
In the firepit, if it goes, it goes.