It was just your mention of hissing and steam. I cut my own wood and occasionally have issues similar to yours if forced to burn insufficiently-seasoned timber at the end of a hard winter...
No, it doesn't have to be.....that's the bird guard bit, obviously.
However, the cowl chosen must be suitable for coal or other solid fuel burning appliances.
I can't say if that one is, of course....my own cowls do seem to have a larger grille area though.
John
Not really. If it's properly seasoned then damp from rain is fairly trivial. Which is not to say it isn't worth drying it out next the stove if it has been rained on.
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