New stove, what would you choose?

[rmihalek]

I'll prolly get bashed for this but I have a harman tl300 for 5 yrs just had to replace combustion chamber but wouldn't change it for the world heats my 2600sq ft home like a champ no complaints here

Hi Jay , I'm also running a Harman TL300 and, oddly, I am also on my second firebox. This is a $3000 stove and I figured it would last more than a couple years. I got a "free" replacement stove that I had to pay $400 to get installed. Don't bother trying to email or text Harman directly because they don't respond to modern methods of communication. That being said, I like the stove, the massive ash bucket, the top loading option, the massive ash bucket...

It cranks out the heat, but when the temps drop below 10F (-12C) the Harman can't keep up. The oil furnace will then help heat my 2200 sq ft abode.

 

[Picaso]

Ya mine never gets to 7% outside, maybe 10-12% at the absolute hottest time of the year. Wood is porous and will absorb and release moisture of surrounding air.
I have to bring mine inside near the stove for a day or two to get it to 8%.

How big are the pieces you normally burn? when im forced to dry out pieces by the fire that haven't seasoned enough (usually oak) and even burning a hot fire with the pieces standing neaby for a while it doesnt dry them out all that much (just the outermost part.. the middles still sizzle and bubble). Im talking about the pieces starting at 17-20% MC in the wood pile outside. I have been debarking and that seems like it's helping, but increasing the workload per piece quite a bit. Any tips?

 

[Marine5068]

Just need to let them season longer outside and then keep them covered from rain for the last couple to three months before bringing in for burning.
I sometimes get some that are stubborn and wont let go of their moisture too. Removing bark does help a lot, but like you said, it's time consuming. I burn pieces up to 20" long, Larger splits generally take longer to season and dry. I try to at least quarter the larger rounds into splits.
I've hear that some guys on here use pieces of metal roofing to cover their stacks that are out in the open and that seems to help a lot. Tarps are not a good option unless they are just on tops of stacks.
Best would be a wood shed in the sun and wind and then let them season for as long as it takes to get cracked and checked ends and then check moisture. Not all wood gives up moisture at the same rate.

 

[NSMaple1]

Just need to let them season longer outside and then keep them covered from rain for the last couple to three months before bringing in for burning.
I sometimes get some that are stubborn and wont let go of their moisture too. Removing bark does help a lot, but like you said, it's time consuming. I burn pieces up to 20" long, Larger splits generally take longer to season and dry. I try to at least quarter the larger rounds into splits.
I've hear that some guys on here use pieces of metal roofing to cover their stacks that are out in the open and that seems to help a lot. Tarps are not a good option unless they are just on tops of stacks.
Best would be a wood shed in the sun and wind and then let them season for as long as it takes to get cracked and checked ends and then check moisture. Not all wood gives up moisture at the same rate.

I've had great luck with tarps. Better than the roll of asphalt rolled roofing I tried (it cracked over time). And any sheet goods, I would have to go through some kind of other big performances to try to get it to stay there - it gets very windy here at times and I'm on an open hill top. So - I just stack my stacks. Double wide. (On pallets, up on top of concrete blocks). Then put a tarp on top the same width as the top of the stack. Then I put another layer of wood on top. Easy & everything stays put. No extra materials needed, cheap & easy. I cover as soon as it is stacked, and it stays covered until it goes inside. The extra layer of wood also blocks the sun from hitting and deteriorating the tarp so it lasts a long time. I have been working at getting ahead with and improving this simple setup, since I pretty well ran out of wood 5 years ago. I now have darn close to 3 years stacked in the yard, plus this winters wood in the basement. I am now consistently at or below 15% m.c., where I never thought I would be able to get to - before, I thought 20-25% was golden. And there is a big difference even between 15 & 20. Now I am looking forward to the end of this heating season to see how much less wood I have hopefully burned.

 

[Jeff Lary]

I am doing the same thing works just fine 5x7 tarps free at Harbor Freight.