I am starting to add from the tree to the splitter to the OWB in with my more seasoned wood. I put the green stuff atop the dry. I have wondered how much the flame and heat inside the boiler box will dry out by the time it works down to be burned. Outside the known variables of type wood, moisture from being onthe ground, etc. you think it has any appreciable drying affect (effect?) ?
Well I can guarantee your creosote production will double and that you will burn more wood to achieve the same level of heat prior to this practice.
I think that chris is right.. the burn box will be cooled by the evaporating water from the green wood which will reduce your overall heat production and burn efficiency. Yes, putting the green wood on top will dry it but it will happen with a cost...
The answer to the question is absolutely. You're putting wood in a dry hot box with a vent for moisture/heat. That pretty well defines a kiln. The problem is kilns require huge energy input to add heat & lower the moisture content of the wood. The question then becomes, how much energy has to be input to achieve the desired result, ie. how much do you burn to dry your wood. The above answers are correct in every way. Wet/Green wood must be dried in order to burn, creosote is an absolute guarantee when burning green wood. All that being said, you do what you have to, to stay warm.
Not low on dry wood, but with this type boiler i can throw in about any condition wood. Mainly burning some green wood to ensure the wood split a year ago, will last this season so i am not burning green recently cut stuff exclusively, late season. I have two round house stacks completed that i want to save for next year. Plan to hit it hard this winter and have my three year plan going by Spring. The system is certainly working better, with little ash build up than previous seasons.
I would try it, I've had to make the good stuff last a bit longer in the past To run out completely of dry stuff and use just wet would be more of a hassle than mixing in a little amount
You're basically using the boiler as a wood fired kiln. You aren't saving any meaningful amount of wood by doing this, but it may in fact burn better.
Having a similar non EPA boiler, I think I would do the same thing in that situation. I've put some less than ready wood on top of a load to see what happened. No issue other than a creosote smell that I don't like. A little sacrifice this year for future payback makes sense to me. You will be much happier with performance, ash clean out, & wood usage when you're burning good seasoned wood. Most of what I'm burning is 2yr Silver Maple due to warm temps. I have some small split 3-4 Oak that will go in when it gets cold, but I'm really looking ahead to next Winter when I'll have large split Red Oak that's 3yr seasoned. I went to the boiler from an old monster smoke dragon furnace. I have used less in the boiler with steady temps in the building than I did with the old furnace. No complaints here!
Of course it will dry out in the box. But it will also cost you more wood to do that, make more creosote, and decrease available BTUs for your heating loads.
I have never understood the claims that you can burn green wood in an outside boiler. Yes, you can burn green wood. You can also stick a rattlesnake in your sleeping bag. Putting the burner outside in no way changes the laws of thermodynamics or the physics of combustion. I suppose there is a difference: when you have a chimney fire from the creosote, it is less likely to burn your house down. It doesn't change how annoying the smoke is to the neighbors. I don't begrudge anyone doing what he has to do to stay warm. I don't have any problem with curiosity or experimenting to see what can be done. There is no progress without trying new things. I do have a problem with the manufacturers spewing this nonsense regarding OWBs. They damm well know that dry wood burns better and cleaner.
I'd like to also add that I think Sourwood's plan of using the unseasoned wood he has to extend his dry wood supply is the way to go. It is a lot easier to get the wet wood burning if you have a hot firebox and a good fire going. Using up all the dry wood now would make for a miserable spring trying to get a fire going with nothing but unseasoned wood.
I have done this when desperate. Generally a ratio of 75% seasoned wood to 25% "not seasoned" wood. Not seasoned being defined as cut, split and stacked about 4-6 months ago. That area in between green and dry where the MC is around 30-35%. I find that I am generating a lot more creosote, but as long as I put the green stuff on the top of the stack, it's pretty much charcoal by the time it reaches the gasification nozzle in the bottom of the OWB. This winter I have burned a fair amount of the "not seasoned" wood due to poor planning and an attempt to heat an additional 800 sf of partially-insulated garage, which is eating the wood at a blistering pace.
