Using OWB to dry firewood

[JJ]

I have run out of seasoned firewood; leaving only trees cut on my lot, and split this fall.

I get fustrated with the green wood in my e-classic 2300; going out and taking long time to reach temp so I stop burning.

The stove will only allow a lower temp of 150F, but I find water temp stays at 155-160F so blower stays off, water pump keeps running, and heat exchange works both ways (my oil burner is keeping water hot).

I thought about the stove sitting there idleing at 160F, and have started loading the stove to top with my green wood to dry it out (like kiln dry).   I just checked on it after 10 hours, and see the water coming out of the logs, so plan on swaping the load tomorrow morning. 

I wonder if I should turn up the temp on the e-classic to get blower running; which I think will speed the drying up..

This will get my free heat dry; and not waste my time, fighting the green wood; And I will be ready for next below 0 snap.

About deciding to use oil instead of buying wood, looking around for some time I find local best price for seasoned @ $285-325/cord
I burn 1000 gal of oil last winter.

From my wood usage so far, I estimate that I need 8+ cord to heat from Oct - April.
For next year I plan on getting 10 hardwood cord put up.

Thinking about the value; @ $300 a cord, it will be $3000 a year -vs- $2000 to heat a year with oil (if $2/gal).
I hope to buy tree length for about $100 a cord, then will still make sense to heat with wood, even if oil stays around $2/gal.   With wood priced near or above $200 a cord (current local price for green), makes no sense to make the effort to burn wood while oil is this cheap.

      JJ

[Ironmower]

JJ I can't anwser your question. But WOW is the demand for firewood that high or no place for you too cut? I live a sheltered life I guess. Here in my part of WV, I sell split seasoned firewood for $100.00 a cord you haul or $120.00 delivered locally . I see why you would burn oil.    good luck!   Ironmower

[cb6048]

I'm in the same predicament as you only with a different stove(6048) I do the exact same thing I load the bottom with a layer of dry then load the rest to the top with green. It has worked great, drys right out gets right up to temp. Again different stove not sure how those e-classics work , but my dealer told me no green wood in them that was one of the reasons I went w/6048

[trebor64]

CB6048- I do the same with my e-classic and it works great!!..... but then again, the drying do/may impact on my wood consumption as I burn to 2 full load a day these days.

[cb6048]

Trebor64-I can run 28-30 hours on full load like that, I acually only fill roughly 2.5ft. front part of the stove. But I think the 6048 firebox is much bigger that the e-classic

[leeallen]

CB6048-
That's impressive - my Eclassic eats the wood. I fill it completely morning and night - when the temps are down around zero or less, I can get approx. 12-14 hours out of it.I wanted to go with t he 6048 but here in MAINE - the regulations would not allow it.

[trebor64]

It's more related to the firebox size than performance. The 6048's firebox is 60ft³ and the e-classic's is 25ft³. So the 6048 is 2.5x bigger than the e-classic and thus its full load will logically last longer. 12hours x 2.5 = 30hours. So performance wise seems the same. I must admit that loading only once a day must be great though.

[cb6048]

Trebor64
That sounds good on paper but you are not accurate. Yes the firebox is that big but (if you reread my post)I am only filling one stack 2-2.5ft. long in the front portion of the firebox up 6-8inch. from the top. And getting the results I'm talking about.

I did however do an experiment when I first installed the stove. I packed the whole stove tight front to back with outside temps ranging from 28- 30 at night to 40,s during the day I was able to get three full days and had to add wood on the beginning of the forth. Witnessed by one of my buddies who heats with a indoor wood stove. We were both amazed.

This is my first year with the owb and I am extremely happy with the 6048's simple design. I believe it to be very close to the e-classic in efficiency when setup properly.(I lowered temps and installed the optional blower) It burns stumps,wet wood ,junk wood,seasoned wood, whatever.

It is very convenient to be able to stuff once a day and if I know it will be longer I simply put more than the front 2-2.5ft and get more time.

My house is 2500sqft w/radiant heat 14ft cathedrals w/a lot of glass. built 10 years ago.

I'll sorry I will now get off my soap box ! I can't help it I love this stove, best money I have ever spent............well next to my keurig coffee maker!

[JJ]

Hi All,
My choice of stove was limited by my state goverment (must meet 2010 emission standard).
I live in one of the most forested states in the nation, and wood prices are higher than taxes.

No dissrespect intendended (I enjoy soft T-paper), but wood prices (even fire wood) are fixed by large insdustry.

Not wining; but have to live local.

These days are touch and go.

         JJ

[redgator]

At the moment I'm trying to decide which model to buy, lets say between the e-classic and either a 6048 or a 5036.  If you didn't have the state emission regs, and just looked at how much wood you go through and how often you have to fill it, do you think that you'd stay away from the e-classic?  I can cut all the wood I need, but I would expect some of it to be green.  Thanks.

[thecfarm]

I guess I was lucky,I put mine in '07 and was under the radar.I have a Heatmor and have no problems burning wood it in.Right now I have been all winter burning green white pine in it.Yes,it has taken at least twice as much wood,but it's all scrub,junk stuff and I want to get rid of it.I know it's putting more emissions in the air than others,but I don't have to hold it's hand when I fill it up and I don't have to clean anything on it.Just auger out the ashes.The only thing that needs some attention is where the blowers are.The one in the back is the worse.Once every 6 months or so does it.

[cb6048]

Redgator
I'm sure from my post you know which way I'd go. But its not only me ,my dealer who has been the biggest in this area for along time says the same thing"if you have no regs in your area get the 6048" Now this guy had a lot full of e-classics. I walked in there cash in hand I would of bought either one, I just wanted his honest opinion of fifteen years dealing with these stoves.......he smiled and pointed to the 6048 and said you burn anything in that,  its simple, bullet proof, tried, and true. At the time the e-classic was $1800 more. He said "I know you will be happy with the 6048". He was right....I love it

I am not downing the e-classic there is an obvious need in some areas for this type of stove and CB jumped on it, but its a somewhat complicated stove and with that comes all the bugs to work out. Its going to have growing pains. The 6048 has been there main design along time.....perfected.

And for sure the e-classic should burn less wood than the 6048 but I question just how much less? I personally don't think there's a big difference. Smoke wise I'm sure it smokes less. But that's not an issue for me.

Good luck on your decision.

[JJ]

Last week with temp around 10F, and forcast below 0, I relight the e-classic with wood I dry out when stove was idle.

Wow, what a diffrence dried wood makes.
I loaded it up with red large oak I cut up, which was on ground for about 10 years as log.
All bark was gone, and appeared to be dry when I cut it; but when I tried to burn it in the e-classic, It put my stove out (pretty waterlogged).

After 2 days in stove @155F; the oak wood is all weather cracked and bone dry.  I did need to have blower in stove running on low, with bypass door open while drying, to get rid of the steam.

Anyway I load stove up, and running for 12h with outside temp -6, and my supprise is stove still 1/3 full of wood when I reload.  Ususally stove would be nearly out, with only buired coals remaining.
After several 12h loads, same thing (1/4 - 1/3 stove wood remaining).  Also keeping temp much better, with only few times on high burn, which is usually after loading.

Seems to me I burned a lot of wood before, drying it out, as I was mixing in some green.

Now outside temp is 45F; so I let stove go out to dry out rest of my oak.

             JJ
(if you seen this already it's cause I replied to another post, thinking it was this one)

[John Mc]

JJ -

Interesting to hear some real-world results on burning green vs dry wood. Your experience matches what I've read: that burning green wood wastes as much as 40% of the BTUs as compared to burning dry (depending on species and just how green it was).

[Randy88]

I know this might be opposite of what your finding but I have a wood doctor owb and have had it for 4 years and we burn a lot of wood to heat a hotel of a house thats 100 years old.   I burn strictly hard wood and prefer to burn green wood because it seems to last longer than seasoned, I figured it was because when it wasn't blowing it quit burning so to speak whereas the dry keeps burning to a certain extent.   

I love it and have fed about any hardwood and lumber scraps into I can find and keep it burning year round so during the summer we heat the hot water with it.   Now this surprised me something terrible, during the summer when its warm out we still use about 1/3 the wood we do in the winter to heat the entire house and hot water which made no sence to me I figured it would drop off to about nothing and fill it once a week or less but I was wrong.   Some guys told me buring the houshold garbage would be enough to heat the water in the summer, we either use a lot of hot water or those guys didn't use any, not sure which. 


I've talked to several people before and after I bought the wood doctor and they all told me the same, burn it green and use less of it.   My wood is cut from live trees in the summer and early fall and hauled in here in log form but remember we burn year round so some is literally taken off the stump and put in the furnace while others has had a chance to dry for six months plus before being cut and split.   We do leave a lot of ash and coals in the stove and only clean it about 2 or three times a year, maybe that has something to do with it, don't know but its just what we have observed on our end anyhow