[Stoves] Water Content of Fuels

[Crispin]

Dear Stovers

Robbie T offers a good observation:

>Maybe the beneficial effect of moisture content is in aiding heat
>distribution throughout the fuel mass? Water vapour can
>absorb huge quantities of energy, and travel very quickly....

Perhaps the better lighting of everything is assisted by the steam initially 
produced rapidly heating the surrounding fuel, while, as Andrew says, 
cooling off the initial smokey burn of very dry wood.

If it turns out that 12% moisture wood burns cleaner that 0%, a complex 
combination of cooling (moderating), heat distribution (steam is better than 
hot air for doing this), catalysing the breakdown of combustion products, 
heat transfer improvement (moist hot gas).....

This is getting interesting.  It could be that we should be encouraging 
people to dry their fuel to a _certain_ level of moisture rather than the 
lowest possible.  It is not about maximum heat, it is about maximum 
performance!

Regards
Crispin 



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