Woodstove user tips

[vtsnowedin]

How long do you all season your wood? We won't burn anything less than 4 years. Maybe a rare occasion 3 years if the tree was on the ground to start with. We clean the stack regularly but never really have a buildup.

Six months on average. sometimes a year or better sometimes stump to stove non stop. Stacked in the cellar next to the furnace the heat will dry out a green pile in about two weeks. What I'm burning now was storm damage that sat in a log length pile all summer and was about half dry when I blocked and split it last fall. My wood furnace will burn anything and a large chunk not quite dry makes a good last log of the night.

 

[sherpa]

I usually let my wood dry for six months but last winter was warm and we did not use as much. We had a few more trees fall in the forest roads that we harvested. Right now we have about 5 years worth of good split firewood stacked in the dry. I also have at least 4 big oaks down in the forest that have fallen so there is another year or two worth of firewood.
sherpa

 

[kw22614]

Through a normal winter we'd go through maybe 4-6 cords. Last few years have been unusually warm so have only burned 2 1/2-3 1/2. Now have about
10 cords split & stacked. I usually start in late spring collecting blocked wood from cleared sites and homeowners who've had work done (free). Come about late Aug I'll start splitting and when it gets cold,Nov(?), I stack it. I guess mine seasons anywhere from 5 - 6 months. But I always burn from opposite ends of the pile each year so wood is good and dry. I always cover my stack too - keeps the squirlls real happy.

 

[dave1949]

At least one year split and stacked, two is better. It also depends on the wood size and species. I burn a lot of small sapling and limb wood which dries a lot faster than say oak split from a large trunk.

The wood I will burn beginning next Nov./Dec. was split, stacked and tarped last October, and was cut to stove lengths during the spring and early summer.

 

[chopped]

I like a year undercover, but have burned fresh cut wood ,I use a wood furnace so it burns hot.In this time of year even the tin cans last only a day before they are gone and the bottles melt to a gooey glob.I clean maybe twice a year, get maybe 2 1/2 gallons each cleaning,Its a 30 foot chimney 8x12....Pine is good after it dries out,Im now adding pine along with the hardwoods, works great.

 

[DKCDKC]

I burn oak and hickory, with a little poplar for kindling. I have folks cut firewood on my property on shares, so I never really have to down trees... 'Cept when they're dead and too close to buildings or fences. I've gotten real good at dropping them where I want them. I leave the wood blocked until close to time to burn. I like to burn wood about 6 to 12 months old, but warmer winters recently mean some is a few years old - and I don't like it. My stove simply burns it too fast. I can't damp the stove down enough and it gets too hot for my taste. Just a single log on a coal bed goes too fast, even with the damper closed. The problem is that the stove is a great burner and super efficient, but the damper, when fully closed, allows a bit of air past it, and that's all the fire needs. I draw my air from outside through a vent in the back of the stove, so I am considering putting an old PVC pipe valve on the vent to absolutely shut off the air to see what that does. The plastic pipe would be on the fresh air side and below the stove, so it won't be affected by the heat.

 

[dave1949]

One thing I have come to like about my masonry-style heater is there is no fire tending to speak of. I light a fire in it once per day using about a 5 gal. bucket worth of wood. When that has burned down to coals, I put in another 5 gal. bucket's worth. Pull the coals together with the poker when it's about done. That's it until the next day 99% of the time. There is no messing with damper controls, it's supposed to burn hard.

Masonry/contra-flow heaters are best designed into new construction in most cases.

 

[sherpa]

Another way to control air like a damper is to put a cap on top of your chemney. I was getting some down draft from high winds, so I put a cap up there and it slowed my burning down a lot, just like a damper. It did stop the wind as well.
sherpa

 

[300UGUY]

I don't know if referrals are kosher here, but Hearth.com has a whole community who are simply nuts about woodburners!

 

[Scooby074]

Best advise is burn dry wood at a hot temperature.

What most of us consider "dry" isnt what the "experts" on Hearth do. They want C/S/S for 3 years and a moisture content under 20%. What may be a bit of overkill... my wood is generally 20% and up, aged 1 year at most. But it might be worth a look over there for tips. They are to woodstoves what TBN is to tractors.Hearth.com Forums Home

EDIT: looks like 300 beat me to the Hearth shout out :thumbsup: