Ok time for a little science lesson. Lets talk about what happens when u burn wood (or similar fuel).
Fire is a chemical reaction. The components are the fuel, (wood = carbon compounds and volatile substances), Oxygen and Heat. The heat is necessary to start the chain reaction, then the fire provides its own heat and is self sustaining until the fuel runs out.
Water is not part of the reaction. It is a hindrance. Before wet wood can burn, the fire must first dry out the wood enough, to raise the temperature enough, for the wood to burn. In other words, alot of the heat is lost driving the water out of the wet wood. That’s heat you will never benefit from, never warm your house. Its wasted energy, it only vaporizes the water, doesn’t raise the heat level. So DRY your wood and KEEP IT DRY! (more here, and here)
Now the first thing that happens when wood starts to burn is called out-gassing. The heat of the fire drives the volatile substances out of the wood. These compounds are combustible and they ignite and are the source of most (or all?) of the flames you see if you watch the fire. Here’s where the non-airtight stove is a good thing. The fire can get the oxygen it needs.
Location, Location, Location. We’re not talking Real Estate here, like a corner lot for your business. We’re talking about stove location. If you are serious about heating your home with a woodstove, the stove belongs in the basement. Couple of reasons – first of all, heat rises, so it is automatically delivered to your home which is above. But also very important – when the stove gets all the oxygen it needs, as the wood is out-gassing, that sucker gets VERY VERY HOT. Notice in the previous post where my stove is, it sits on the basement floor (concrete) next to the furnace (metal). Non combustible items. While you can make a safe place for your stove up in the living area, here are a few more reasons to put it in the basement: Bark, Sawdust, Ashes. The vicinity of your stove is difficult to keep clean. If it’s in your living room that means daily clean up. Basement? once a month or so, no sweat. Also don’t forget possible damage to your floors by hot coals.
So next time we talk about good wood heat, i will show you another trick i use to get that VERY VERY HOT stove to give up the heat to my home.