We ran out of wood a few years ago. Ended up with only green wood the next winter, I found an old cedar fence on Craigslist, cut into small pieces we burned a layer of cedar between each layer of wood. I also put a hearth grate on top of the stove and baked each load for two hours or so before burning it. We really liked the smell of baked maple firewood, and each log was super dry and burned fine. I found extra creosote in the chimney when I swept it, but our flue is 10x10, so it never got near blocking it up any
I was concerned about the wood catching fire on top of the stove, but my infrared thermometer found that the wood on top never hit more than 200 degrees F, well below the 700 or so needed for ignition. Even chips and strings of wood only charred on the top of the stove, they never burst into flame. We also found the drying wood added plenty of moisture to the house
