You absolutely have to have dry wood! You have to split a piece and check it with a meter. If over 20% you’re not going to get a good burn unless you open the door. All epa drives are like this. I dried wood takes all you’re heat to get rid of the moisture. Now, this is a great stove for the money. Hard to find anything close to this at the price. It throws a ton of heat. I have to crack windows in my 1300 ft home. Even heats the basement if I turn the central air blower on. Leave the door open a crack to get a hot fire going. Shut down will fill air on. Then slowly cut the air back to your setting little by little. Make sure you’re keeping the secondary reburn going. Excellent stove. Blew me away compare to older style drives. Way more heat. Very pleased