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Firewood TOO dry

Started by Ford_man, March 09, 2013, 09:30:10 AM

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Ford_man

I was told several years ago that firewood that was too dry don't have enough moisture to produce the gas to maximize the heat from the wood. Has anyone ever heard this. splitwood_smiley

beenthere

Not true, IMO.
Comes from someone trying to justify selling you green wood, or wood not seasoned long enough.
I like it good and dry as it gives off more heat.

Now granted, burn times (smouldering times if you wish) can be adjusted and maybe fine tuned with some "less than dry" wood, but that is a personal matter with knowing a lot about heat needs and knowledge of the wood stove. All are a bit different, and it takes time to learn all the angles.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

r.man

Control can be achieved with varying moisture content but I agree that drier is better. I know someone who is burning 5 yr old wood and not complaining about it being too dry.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

doctorb

Ford_man-

I, too, have heard that, and I have seen it mentioned here on the Forum.  Outside, wood will only dry to a given point, as the ambient temperature and humidity will not allow it to go lower.  I would guess that this is very dependent upon where you are located, as the desert would be an ideal place to season wood, and a rain forest may not be.  If you are not placing your firewood into a kiln to control the drying environment, I would not worry about your wood being too dry.  For every wood burner here on the Forum, I'll bet each of them would rather burn wood that's as dry as you can get it, wherever you live, than wood that's still green.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

martyinmi

Google "wood too dry" Ford_man. :P
Too dry wood can cause a few issues suck as "huffing", which can lend itself to stuck solenoids form too much creosote, as well as fan housings and squirrel cages plugging up with creosote.

I'm with doc though. I'd rather have a pile of 15% mc wood to burn than 30%. If I'd get too much huffing, I could(and do) add some wetter stuff to help control the burn.
No God, No Peace
Know God, Know Peace!

gpearston

Isn't creasote content and moisture level directly tied together? 

beenthere

gpear
I gather it isn't so direct, as a lot will also depend on the wood stove design and its operation, including the stack construction.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Slabs

I echo doctorb.

A LOT of extra moisture SEEMS to induce more creosote percipitation in the stack if it isn't hot enough to keep the moisture from condensing on the walls of the stack.  As evidenced on the floor below Ol' Smokey's output plenum.

Every pound (about a pint) of water you have to evaporate in the boiler sends 970 BTU up the stack instead of into the house.
Slabs  : Offloader, slab and sawdust Mexican, mill mechanic and electrician, general flunky.  Woodshop, metal woorking shop and electronics shop.

CTYank

Quote from: gpearston on March 09, 2013, 01:53:58 PM
Isn't creasote content and moisture level directly tied together?

No. "Creosote" results from incomplete combustion of volatiles. Available oxygen, high temps (>1000F), time and turbulence are the keys. Water is a lousy fuel, and a common fire-fighting agent, because of cooling effect. Because of that, it can make complete combustion difficult- so, you need extra primary air, and fire eventually "takes off."

Firebrick (or sintered vermiculite) lining of firebox serves to keep temps up- a Good Thing. Then, when gases leave firebox, conduction of heat can get serious.

Never, ever met wood that's too dry. Never. Old Wives', or scammer's tale. BS.
'72 blue Homelite 150
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SwampDonkey

Also on the wood storage, not only the climate. If it's in a heated dry building it continues to dry as you heat the house. There is no heat in water, unless your splitting atoms. :D I don't want anything to do with smoldery fires, bad business. Even with seasoned wood, a smoldery fire is still no good.

The guys around here on the green wood kick, cut it today and burn it tonight. My grandfather's neighbors years ago were always gathering wood with a hand sled, fresh cut off the stump in the winter time when most were working on the next years wood. They would place the green frozen wood on the oven door to melt off the ice and snow before adding to the fire. One of the boys that grew up in that family said he was never going to do that any more. He was going to have it cut ahead. And he's now in his 80's and still has his wood cut and stacked well in advance for the next fire season. However, one winter his wife wasn't thinking clearly and decided to clean the ashes out of the stove and put them in a cardboard box. Set it out on the porch. ::)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

With wet wood you first have to boil the moisure out of it .The volatable gasses which in fact create the creosote aren't hot enough to combust and the resulting residue is what causes the formation of creosote .

Depends on how you burn it too .If you load that stove up to the top and close it down no matter who made it it will cresote .On the other hand if you build up a good bed of coals and only add wood enough for a couple hours at a time  it stands to reason you will not get the build up nearly as bad .You get just as much heat out of it too if you do it right .

martyinmi

Quote from: CTYank on March 10, 2013, 01:20:40 AM

Never, ever met wood that's too dry. Never. Old Wives', or scammer's tale. BS.

Have you ever ran a down draft gasification unit? Or spoke to an engineer who designed them? ???

I didn't think so.

There is a reason that the ideal moisture content of well seasoned wood is considered 20%. :o

Continue your studies compadre. You'll catch on soon enough. ;)
No God, No Peace
Know God, Know Peace!

Al_Smith

 :D Nephew you are compairing apples to oranges .A gassifier is a different breed of cat than a regular burner .

On a regular old stove with a design that is older  than dirt not too many of them are designed to burn off the gasses like a gasser .I built one a long time ago build on the design of a Vermont downdrafter and did it ever work fine .Never the less it was a gasser by design .It created very little accumulation of creosote ,only the top 6 inchs of the flue where it exited the roof and not much there either .

So you folks with multi thousand dollar high tech gassers are in a different ball game than us lowly peons with our old wood stoves .Never the less both provide heat .

The difference is we of lowly means prefer nice dry oak ,hickory,ash  etc. while you folks could burn swamp willow if you choose to .Come to think about it though it might be all you can find in the middle of a swamp so that might have something to do with it . ;D

beenthere

And speak to the engineers and techs that do the third party stove testing to come up with the measurements for the EPA ratings, certification, etc.

They use very dry wood sticks under very controlled conditions. Just so they can control one more variable.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Al_Smith

 :D Oh Lawdy don't tell me the EPA got their noses into wood stoves now ,good grief . What is this world coming to now ?

Geeze they keep on next thing you know they'll insist on a catalytic converter on a horse .That or insist that Beano be a part of it's diet .I almost think they are starting to think like Al Gore and his theory of too many grazing animals .Cow farts,bad business he said .

What about whales though ? One big old blue whale could  cause more flactuation than a whole herd of black anges .Beano for marine mammels maybe but just one whale would take a bushell basket full .

I suppose they might whine and cry if you burned old tires in the stove but mankind has been burning wood since they discovered fire .Much before Bic lighters were ever thought of .

doctorb

I don't have the anser to this conundrum, but I can tell you this.  I have been running a gasser (2300) for four heating seasons.  Almost every stick I have put into it has been oak, black locust or maple, and almost every stick had a MC of between 15-20%.  I have occasionally thrown in a log or two with higher MC, but not often.  I have never had any huffing, and I have never had difficulty maintaining a long duration coal bed. 

From the comments over the years here on the FF, I have got to disagree with AL a little bit.  IMO, it's the older technology, pre-gasser OWB's that could burn wood that's just been cut.  My understanding of the gassifier stoves is that, with green wood and a prolonged idle time, restarting the fire between cycles gets difficult and you can have your fire go out completely.  As has been mentioned already, green wood's moisture must be steamed off, decreasing the heat output.  Gassers are all about a healthy hot coal bed to burn the smoke with downdrafting through the coals.  Wet wood would impede that process, IMO.  So you read that some OWB owners can cut, split and feed that wood to their unit the same day, but that is not what I believe will work with a modern gassifier stove.  As a matter of fact, one of the downsides of this new technology is the space required to store your fuel ahead of time, so that, when you use it, it's nice and seasoned.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

thecfarm

Swampdonkey is talking about a wood stove,almost sounds like a cook stove. I really don't see how they kept warm. Or did they?  ;D   I was late getting my wood in at my other house one year. That was a bad year trying to keep the fire going. I got SOME heat,but I had to open the draft more to do it. I knew better.
Now I have a OWB. I burned green wood about a half season just to try an experiment.I still had enough dry so if my great idea did not work I could grab the dry wood and be saved from another dumb idea. This OWB was brought when the gassers were still on the drawing board. I got plenty of heat,but the fans ran more to dry out the wood and more steam-smoke was produced too. More wood was burnt too. Not an experiment I will need to do again.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Al_Smith

Oh now Doc I wasn't refering to a 1920 Round Oak pot belly parlor stove .Just an old standard plate steel stove used my a majority of people these days .Again it's all how you burn it .Never the less the coal bed in same has a great deal to do with how efficiently and how cleanly it burns .

Now I will indeed agree the optimum would be wood storage under some type of canopy .However my method of stacking on pallets under a plastic tarp has just as about as good of results .

Now you can get both extremes .People who mound up huge piles with no cover where it gets rain and snow and becomes homes for every critter known to man kind .

Conversely to have Swampish up there in the frozen tundra with a semi load in the basement .Good idea I suppose if you can do it .Might end up with a basement full of bugs is all  .They would be nice and warm though . ;D

r.man

I have burned green wood for extended periods of time in an OWB and the times that creosote built up in excessive amounts were when the combustion fan failed and when I didn't clean the ashes soon enough. If you impede the burn it will drip off the walls, if you burn hot the green wood doesn't produce much creosote on the inside of the stove.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

thecfarm

Not that it really matters,I do not notice a creosote in ANY wood that I have burned in my OWB. I have played around with all types of wood,wood that is dry,wood that is wet,wood that I picked up off the forest floor half rotten,both in the fall and frozen in the winter,wood that is standing dead for years,this is all both soft and hardwood. I am clearing a grown up pasture and either it goes into the brush pile,which does me no good, or the OWB and I get some heat from it. No matter what it's all going to make smoke.  ;D
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Al_Smith

You have to keep in mind most OWB's are  forced draft burners or at least those I've seen are .

It's kind of like compairing the old gravity natural draft furnaces to a stoker fed induced draft type .The former will blow black smoke to beat the band and the later will burn with almost  no smoke if the air adjustment is correct .Really it's kind of like running a gasoline engine with the choke about completely set closed  .

tyb525

Water from wood doesn't cause creosote, a cold fire does. So if you could burn green wood hot enough it won't creosote.

I have heard wood that dries too long begins losing the oils in the wood that burn and gasify. I don't have any firsthand proof to back that up though.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

SwampDonkey

Al, as far as bugs go, that presupposes that this old farm house has a finished basement. What I have is a rock wall. Any bugs I have is gonna be there wood or not. Bugs and dirt off wood doesn't win the argument. If that was the case don't hang the clothes out on the line and don't track yard dirt and grass into the wife's kitchen. Don't let the screen door hit ya on the way out. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Ford_man

I buy logs from a timber cutter that does a lot of clear cuts. The logs that I got this past summer I just stacked in a pile and will cut them this spring and put the wood in the woodshed. It is a lot less work to just run the elevator into the woodshed and fill it up than to pile cut wood on the barnyard and then move it. My woodshed is a leanto 12*32 ft closed on 3 sides with a 2 inch opening on the bottom of 2 walls and an opening about 10 inches along the one side. the front of the shed is open to the south. (A sliding door would be nice in the winter)
splitwood_smiley

Al_Smith

 :D Well Swamp it's not a big deal .If you toss the wood bugs and all into that furnace the bugs make heat too .

r.man

Al, you mentioned smoke and blowers, there was a veneer factory across from me and the one boilerman could almost hide the sun with black smoke. I think he must have put it on manual and then ran the feed too much. The smokestack was larger than a 45 gal barrel and maybe 75 ft tall.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

Al_Smith

I suppose it might it could be the operater or the design of the burner . Black smoke no matter if it's coal,oil or wood indicates not enough air for the amount of fuel .

Do this some time .Build a nice hot fire in a wood stove and lay the air to it .Once it's really cooking good go out and look at the flue .There will be almost no smoke coming out the stack .

A brush pile is the same way .Once it gets lit you get a lot of white smoke ,then you might get some black .Once it gets to roaring like Mt Etna  and flames are 40 feet high there is almost no smoke .After it gets down to a pile of charcoal and it starts to burn out you might get some white smoke .Stir the ashes ,it fires back up and the smoke goes away .

sam-tip

My Gasser did not like burning 9 - 15 % small pieces of soft wood.  I was happy when that pile was gone and back to burning white oak.  I should have tried mixing the two.

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Al_Smith

Well it's kind of hard to beat white oak no matter what it gets burned in .

SwampDonkey

Like you say Al, a good burn has hardly a whiff. Now when reloading with fresh wood, yes smoke. But my furnace burns good, as soon as I put a new load in and get to the basement door I can here the old girl chugging right along. It can burn for hours  on coals and the forced air fan blowing for the ducts, go outside and look, no smoke to be seen.  8)

Only takes me 3 days to stack 9 cord of wood between the house basement and the barn/shop. Why wouldn't I want to have nice dry wood under cover and about 1/2 or less what it would take for them outdoor contraptions. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

It's not a bad idea .When I was but a wee lad my dad filled the old farm house basement we lived in at that time with slab wood from the drops of a sawmill .All cut on a mounted buzz saw on the front of an F-20 Farmall .That goes back a day or so ,more like 60 years ago .

It was also in days of BS --before Swamp --- ;D

SwampDonkey

That ain't nut'n the neighbor hauled 'green' sawdust for years and put'r right into the basement floor. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

Now I know you folks in the frozen tundra have different ways of doing things .Just explain to me why in the world would a person dump sawdust on a basement floor ?

All that would do is make a giant kitty litter box --stink oh my oh my .Wet sawdust and cat pee it couldn't get any worse if he raised hogs in the basement .Now don't be telling me he kept  hens in the cellar . :D

muddstopper

When it comes to firewood, I think some folks think to much and cut to little. My wood mc is going to be what ever the humidity makes it, I can read all about dry wood or wet wood, but it is what its going to be, and I had better not run out.

SwampDonkey

Al, sawdust burner, thus the sawdust. ;D They also were known to store a couple hundred barrels of taters in there at one time as well. The basement went out under a large woodshed and on out to a loading shed with a door out from the basement into the loading area. ;D Most of these old farm houses had a woodshed for at least 20 cords of wood. Dad used to cut grandmother's shed full, ours, plus two tater sheds needed firewood. ;D We had 400 acres of woods, so no shortage of firewood.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

By the sound of things you must have had plenty of potatoes as well .

Now just how does one burn sawdust ? I know ,a bucket full at a time .

Logging logginglogging

Ill take it as dry as I can possibly get it in my E-2300...
The dryer...the hotter, the cleaner burning and the easier cleaning.

CTYank

Quote from: martyinmi on March 10, 2013, 07:36:56 AM
Quote from: CTYank on March 10, 2013, 01:20:40 AM

Never, ever met wood that's too dry. Never. Old Wives', or scammer's tale. BS.

Have you ever ran a down draft gasification unit? Or spoke to an engineer who designed them? ???

I didn't think so.

There is a reason that the ideal moisture content of well seasoned wood is considered 20%. :o

Continue your studies compadre. You'll catch on soon enough. ;)

My, aren't we being a bit condescending. I don't run a downdraft gasifier, and don't care to. WHO considers "ideal moisture content" to be 20%, and is that dry- or wet-basis?

It's understandable that in your words, you "don't think." Try doing some, or just relax.
'72 blue Homelite 150
Echo 315, SRM-200DA
Poulan 2400, PP5020, PP4218
RedMax GZ4000, "Mac" 35 cc, Dolmar PS-6100
Husqy 576XP-AT
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Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

Al_Smith

Now let me get this straight,do you folks use a moisture meter on your firewood or something ?Can't say I've ever heard of anybody doing that .

Marty lives in a swamp which is why he's on his 20 percent moisture kick which quite frankly is about what green ash is before it even dries out . Of course it's all dead now so that isn't a factor .

Now I suppose if a person wanted to emit huge clouds of steam they could hose down the wood with water in an attempt to get more moisture in it but I seriously doubt if anybody really will .It would burn longer though so that could be fodder for the next great debate .

Oh goody,the oil wars ,the gas wars, the punctuation wars and now the soggy firewood wars . Isn't this great sport . 8)

SwampDonkey

I'm not interested in wet firewood.  :-X
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

Well I should certainly hope not Swampish .Niether am  I .A miracle we both agree on something . :D

SwampDonkey

We usually come to a consensus after about 10-15  posts. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

Well Mr brushsaw guru of the frozen tundra do you have a moisture meter ? I don't myself .I just wonder how in the world I've gotten along  all these years without one .

Just a simple man with simple ways I guess .If it burns it must be okay .If not it's too wet .

Oh alas there  must be some hi tech rocket science involved in this wood burning business .How in the world has in been done since the beginning of time without all this gadgetry ? :D

doctorb

"Every man looks at his woodpile with a kind of affection."  Henry David Thoreau

AL-  I have a moisture meter and I use it, maybe 4-6 times/year, so I must be some kind of wood burning nerd.  Some of my buddies around here also give me grief for testing my wood.  They laugh at me and I laugh at myself.  It has been interesting and instructional to track which species dry fastest, and under which conditions.  Yes I have a gasifier stove, and the recommendations are for wood with a MC < 20%.  I don't know how the holy grail of firewood moisture became 20% or less, but that's what they suggest.  The point is, for those of use that don't just cut and burn, it takes a little time and planning to have the wood ready for the next season and the next, if you want maximum heat from your fuel with a minimum of effort.

Those of us that test our wood don't do it to see when the "soup is done".  We do it because we are compulsive about wood burning.  If you burn early in the fall or later in the spring, when temps are higher and the demand for heat is less, higher moisture content wood tends to kill the fire, requiring restarts.  To me, it's ironic that my OWB might do pretty well in the dead of winter, albeit that it would burn more would if the fuel is wet, because the cycle times for the stove are relatively short.  With lower heat demands, dry wood permits longer idle times between cycles without the fire going out.  It's those times, more than the very cold times, that require the dry wood and it's why I use the moisture meter.  You are right, I could leave any pile of oak stacked up for two years, never measure the MC, and throw it in this May.  It would do just fine.  I just like to know.....
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Al_Smith

Well that's cool too . I guess after being around it almost all of my life I just don't take things too seriously .

On a note of seriousness though I honestly believe the OWB crowd like to load them up to the hilt and walk away from them .We of conventional wood burners don't do that during times when lesser heat is needed which is why we don't have the creosote problem and burn everything to powder .

Now of course some will and naturally have  the problems I just outlined from loading them heavy and burning them choked down .

Corley5

  The wood that created the most croesote in outdoor boilers on this property was a mix of sugar maple and elm that Grandpa put in the barn thirty years ago plus before we burned it to get rid of it.  The insides of the stoves had creosote stalactites and it would pool on the unburned wood.  Never seen seen anything like it before or since.  I figured that the cycles were too short to burn all the creosote off before the stove shut down again.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

SwampDonkey

Al, no I don't use a meter and never seen one used on a fire wood pile. I don't own a meter. For me it would only be a novelty purchase because I have nothing that I want to sell as far as wood goes unless it's to a commercial mill that have ways of reading and removing moisture themselves. ;) If I ever was that curious, I would just get some samples and weigh them and cook the water out of them in the oven. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

martyinmi

Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 17, 2013, 02:49:40 AMIf I ever was that curious, I would just get some samples and weigh them and cook the water out of them in the oven. ;D
Using sawdust from the suspect wood is probably the easiest and fastest way to do it in an oven.
100 gram sample.
300 degrees American(that would be Fahrenheit :D)
Check weight every 10 minutes until it quits losing weight.
No God, No Peace
Know God, Know Peace!

SwampDonkey

Daniel Fahrenheit was just about as American as Louis Pasteur. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

martyinmi

Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 17, 2013, 08:37:58 AM
Daniel Fahrenheit was just about as American as Louis Pasteur. :D
Took that bait...hook, line, sinker, AND bobber! :D ;)
No God, No Peace
Know God, Know Peace!

doctorb

Quote from: martyinmi on March 17, 2013, 07:30:12 AM
Quote from: SwampDonkey on March 17, 2013, 02:49:40 AMIf I ever was that curious, I would just get some samples and weigh them and cook the water out of them in the oven. ;D
Using sawdust from the suspect wood is probably the easiest and fastest way to do it in an oven.
100 gram sample.
300 degrees American(that would be Fahrenheit :D)
Check weight every 10 minutes until it quits losing weight.

Or until they caught fire....... :D
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

SwampDonkey

Not hot enough at 300 F for fire, needs to be quite a bit hotter. ;) But then again, it'll burn in a wood burning kitchen stove. But in the firebox. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

Say what you have a wood burning kitchen stove among other things too ?

Well you'd have a nice toasty kitchen if nothing else ----in the middle of July . ;D

thecfarm

Al,you mean like this?



 

We used this to heat the house for about 7 years,than we got an OWB. The OWB Wars.  :D I won't tell you I burn dead cedar,fir,white pine and really any dead wood I can find on my land. I try not to cut anything now that will make me money in later years. I even had some guy that brought me a bunch of pine to burn. I have even burned green wood in it,both hardwood and softwood. I don't have any problems keeping a fire going with the type of wood that I burn.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

SwampDonkey

Al, you cornbread, saw nut, :D no I don't have no wood burning kitchen stove. But I can hook one up if the need arises. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

I've only ever seen one that was hooked up and it was purchased in the early 80's from Lehmans in Kindron Ohio. Danged thing cost over 3500 bucks even back then .

Nostalgic type thing but they do work .

Now far as creosote or not burning up the ashes or burning green wood remember these nor the Round Oak types stoves were air tight .If you could get it afire it would all burn up .

Air tights no doubt are more efficient but they have their ways which most forget .Ya gotts ta open them up every so often so they can burn out all that stuff .

SwampDonkey

Yeah, they are pricey. An Enterprise Monarch is at least that. Enterprise is the brand they build here in Sackville, NB and was in most every old farm house I was ever in as a young lad in these parts. You walk into a local stove store now, and all you see is gas and pellet stoves. Many had a warming closet up top and a hot water tank on the side.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WmFritz

56 posts later and I'm still in awe how Al worked flactuation into this topic. ;D
~Bill

2012 Homebuilt Bandmill
1959 Detroit built Ferguson TO35

Al_Smith

 :D  Oh that's not a problem . What was not covered was the fluctuation of flacuation .Causes of which could vary proportionally depending on the cycles of the moon perhaps or the portions of saurkraut in ratio to the beer and pickled eggs .

That conundrum might be further investigated at a later date .

superbikemike

Donkey, I thought the Enterprise plant was closed? Do you have contact info for them? I have a Fawcet forced air wood furnace made by enterprise and may need to replace soon. I searched the internet but can't find anything.

petefrom bearswamp

Wood is never too dry.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

maple flats

I burn wood in my maple syrup evaporator. In it I have high pressure air under and over the fire. It all burns extremely well, but it does not give the same heat. I add a full armload of wood, 21" long +/- 6" split wrist size every 9 minutes by a timer. When I burn wood that is well seasoned (moisture ?) it boils far harder than if I get some with obvious moisture in or even on it. There is also a big difference with wood density. The sugar maple as fuel wood boils far faster than pine or hemlock. However, I burn it all. On days when I have the most sap to process I burn the better wood and drier wood. On days when there is less sap I burn the other more. Looking at the smoke stack outside except for the first 10-15 minutes you never see any smoke with wet or dry wood. Before I added the high pressure over fire air a slight smoke was detectable at each fueling but only for a minute or so. I think the boil rate in the evaporator pans demonstrates the moisture issue. While I never know the moisture % the obvious higher moisture boils slower that that which is detected as dry. Too dry, I've never had any yet. As such my wood use is far different than most who heat their home with wood, myself included, but in the evaporator I am removing 80-85 gal/minute of water thru evaporation. That takes lots of BTU's.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

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