Came across an interesting article about the "best" New England fuel wood (although may apply to some of you folks elsewhere, as well). What do you guys think? http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/10things-interact-2/woodchart
Noticed the tag… dried 8 months, or longer. Good grief. Also noticed the standard highest quality Maine hardwoods… maple, ash and oak were not at the top of the list. Prolly cause they don't burn so good … drying for 8 months… Gets more and more clear… firewood newbees just gotta get to the FHC to get good quality advice from good experienced wood burners…
Is a high quality air tight stove only 60% efficient? Blaze King and there was another brand (can't think of the name) claim 82%. I wouldn't imagine others to be a whole lot less either? I've always seen that a std "smoke dragon" was 50-60%. I'm not trying to pick apart the article, rather trying to understand their info.
Such efficiency numbers are pretty loosey-goosey when it comes to wood stoves of any type. So much depends on wood MC, operator skill, etc.
Good article; thanks for the link. I plan to print it to show the DW (darling wife) when I gotta head off to work and the stove needs a reload.
Default EPA efficiencies are 63% for secondary burn stoves and 72% for cat stoves. Which means they estimate the average cat stove to be 15% more efficient than the average secondary burn stove. And, at 60%, Yankee Magazine is in the ballpark for secondary burn stoves, which I believe most people have, still. The good news is that for those of us burning an 82% efficient stove, we're saving a heap on energy bills.
Not sure what's funny? It's in their product info. I heat a 1400+ sq ft house in Alaska on about 3 cords a winter.... Something several have told me is "impossible". My house isn't super insulated and it's kept at 70-75*.
Laughing because the other day you said that Woodstock (a company you had never heard of ) claimed the same efficiency, then promptly forgot the company's name again. You must have a mental block when it comes to Woodstock.
Thanks for the post. I've seen similar references before. I used an old "air tight" insert for ten years or more. I have 90 + Bryant L.P. furnace I installed when I moved here. I've always had a pickup truck, alway will. An 800 dollar saw and I've known for 18 years I'm saving money burning wood. I know there will doubters to my next statement,,I installed an OWB in '07 and it's paid for it's self last year..my logic may be skewered, but my wood burning is keeping my money in my pocket. "Arctic Vortex" LOL!! Every room in my house was 70 degrees,,I haven't sit on a cold crapper since I installed my OWB in '07 and ya' can't put a price on that!!
Ah. Just couldn't remember the name and my phone wouldn't let me search my old posts. Nothing against Woodstock, just I had a case if CRS.
I found it easy to remember your brand because of the irony of it; They are called Blaze King but everyone smolders the loads for days on end in a black box.
I get Yankee and enjoy the magazine very much. I remember the article and after going back and seeing parts of it again there are a few discrepancies. Drying time of 8 mos seemed to be off for some of the species in the different groups. I also think some of the wood species could be in different categories.
Seems as though it's a mix of old and new info. 8 month dry time would be old info. for a hoarder. It's funny though...most installation manuals from stove makers suggest about one year for drying wood. Some less. However, for the BK Sirocco 30, the manual states...... "FUEL Blaze King recommends using dry seasoned wood, split and stacked and protected from rain for at least 24 months with a moisture content of 13% or lower. It takes a great deal of energy to evaporate the moisture contained in green wood and that energy will not be heating your house. Green or wet wood will greatly increase creosote & combustor problems." The 2 year suggestion is good, but I'm not sure how many of us can get some firewood to that MC in 2 years. I do have some Oak that I've checked that was about 14% on an old MM. That stuff was about 3 years old.
Yep, the cats just love that dry wood! The Keystone seems a little less picky than the Buck, maybe because the entire stove can get hotter, quicker due to less mass to heat. The cats won't light off as quick, and the glass on either stove will haze a bit, even with 17, 18% wood.
Good 2007 article, but a bit hard to read . my guess using 10 + year old specs. Efficiency ratings always nice to throw around. Good dry wood is key, but dry to some is different than dry to others. That is an efficiency factor that's hard to define on a chart. Worry about your wood being as dry as you can get it, more than the stove's efficiency & you'll be a happy wood burner I think dry is 15% or less
