Not without cleaning it every week I try not to let it get too bad, otherwise it becomes a serious chore. A little fine stove ash mixed with water, applied with a paper towel is just abrasive enough to get the film off.
I'm not sure! Our new stove is being installed tomorrow and this will be our first season. For this winter I have about 1 cord of mixed poplar, maple, spruce, lodgepole and elm. I'm guessing it may not be enough, even with us only burning in the evenings. I'm getting ahead of next year though, lots of spruce, poplar, ash and even a bit of birch already put up and drying.
Most of the wood I get is whatever a tree service brings. That said, probably half is silver maple. Oak is next. After that, it's hit or miss. I see a fair amount of walnut. A bit of mulberry and cottonwood as well. I usually have to find the cherry on my own as it isn't a common yard tree here. Occasionally some conifers (white pine, blue spruce) show up.
Oh, to have the variety some of you do. Except for this year (6 cord purchased) I burn a lot of red oak, hard/soft maples, white ash and ironwood. Occasionally there's some white or yellow birch and I'll drop a few poplar trees if need be. This fall a nice double-stemmed elm will go down since it's about dead anyway. That'll probably sit until the bark starts coming off as it's right on the fence along a dirt road.
That sounds like a good YouTube video! I've got Beech coming out of my ears. It's a btu winner around here.
Welcome to FHC foothillsfire! I'm also envious of all the great btu wood many of you have. The best wood I have access to is birch but they are few and far between so I cant count on it as a regular thing in my stacks. My best firewood options are larch as number 1 and doug fir as my second. Larch is just a hair less in btus than birch and doesn't suffer from the same rotting issue so a standing dead larch will be good for years.
Thanks Sean. Wish we could get more larch or fir in my area! I’ve been getting lucky with the local arborists though, lots of infills going in so old hardwoods getting cut down
