I think Menards has 'em for a little under $3. 21 lbs. https://www.menards.com/main/heatin.../wood-fuel-blocks-6-count/p-1444444870049.htm
What part of OH are you from? If your close enough to me I have plenty of dry firewood and can get you some good stuff to try out on the new stove to see if the wood is the issue. I'm in North Canton I learned the hard way as well that a new stove really needs very dry wood. I burn in a cat stove and they are even more picky.
Part of the problem I was having at first with the T5 swags was definitely the wood not being dry enough. Had some help here and its been cruising great since.
Was used to throwing pretty much anything in the old Drolet we had and couldn't get it through my fat head that the T5 really really likes dry wood.
I know that when I first started using a newer stove it was a struggle for me also. Mostly the wood but there was a certain amount of operator error involved too. Old habits are hard to break.
I was always confident of the wood in my 30, but I doubted the draft, and did have some problems with the cap plugging. But I believe in my case, the problem was mostly operator error. I do not doubt that in many cases it is a combination of factors, including the dryness of the wood. But once you figure it out, it really works, and becomes the new norm, no more difficult than the old norm, just different.
Have you done that yet? You can't expect to get a true reading on a previously split piece of wet wood because the surface of the wood can dry below 20% in about 24 hours in the right conditions while the inside can remain wet for months or even years with some types of wood. If you really want to troubleshoot your problem this is the first thing to start with, you already have everything you need.
ew boy, how many times i've read a thread like this one. All I can say is, my wood is 3, 4, some of it 5 years sitting after it's been split, and I have a 6 inch pipe coming off my Jotul. Any deviation from that and my woodburning suffers....ie: Wood only sat one or two years after being split, OR, I have an 8 inch pipe. or worse, a large outdoor terra cotta liner.
Marshel54 we really feel for you and this problem. Sadly, many have faced the same problem as you but the good part is that the problem can be fixed. One thing for sure is that if you are near swags I would definitely take Sean up on his gracious offer. I would also invite and practically beg you to take the time to read the following article: Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage (If the link does not bring it up right, then go to "Resources" and look for the Primer either at the top of the page or in the list. Canadian border VT brought up a great point about the MM. Most definitely the very first thing is that the wood needs to be freshly split and then don't wait; take the reading right away from the center of the freshly split piece; it will naturally be a bit drier toward the end. Also to be more accurate they say the wood should be at 68 degrees or more; not out in the cold we have now. But, knowing what you need and perhaps what you already have is not going to solve the immediate problem. Getting known dry wood is great but you can also get the bricks as others have suggested. One other thing you can do is to use the wood you have now and mix in some pallet wood or the bricks or both. This way you can use what you have on hand and try to get better for next winter. Along with this, I would highly suggest you sort out all the oak and not try to burn that this winter. Oak is indeed one of the very best but it tends to hold its moisture a long, long time. And as of today, we still have not figured out totally just what is the best way to burn water. And dry wood is the key to hot stoves. Once you get the problem solved, put a lot of thought and work into getting the right wood for next winter and the next one and the next one. Personally if at all possible I would concentrate on getting soft maple, white ash and elm; perhaps some cherry too. These tend to be a quicker drying wood. Caution though on the elm; it can be terrible splitting and I do not recommend splitting freshly cut elm. We cut the elm and split it only after all or most of the bark has fallen from the trees as then it will split better and burn better too. Soft maple we have burned in as little as 6 months after being split and stacked. I would also highly recommend you top cover all your wood; don't let rain and snow ruin your work. Some will claim they don't do this but by experience we can say without hesitation that you get better wood. True, we do usually split our wood here in the spring and stack it immediately then leave it uncovered through the summer but top cover before winter. It just helps the drying process but it does no harm and in fact helps in some wetter areas to top cover immediately. Another thing I would suggest to you right away is to take another peek at the chimney. Does it need cleaning? For sure with less than ideal wood it will need cleaning more often so please keep this in mind. Good luck.
I had some cherry this year that was half dead when I cut it early spring. I split it right away and it was piled under my carport between the stacks I had. Lots of airflow in there, I was really surprised when I checked a few pieces in November. everything i checked a fresh split on was between 14-16%. My father in law is burning that stuff now in his fireplace.
If you got "economic bricks" you probably don't need to fart around with burning wood (unless its just for fun )
