North East Ohio Wet Summer

If he is telling the truth, then he sounds like a good source!

Welcome to the club Matt. It really is sad what people sell for seasoned wood but it happens so you have to work with the system. This usually means buying wood at least a year before you need to burn it.

As for wood stacks looking bad, that does not have to be. At least I do not think our wood stacks look so bad.

Nine cord of wood split and stacked.


Same wood stack from a different angle. This time it is covered but notice we do not use tarps! That is perhaps why your wife objects and you will also find that tarps are not a good way to cover the wood anyway. Something solid works much better. We use old galvanized roofing that we scrounged.


If you can find someone who has cut some white ash and has some to sell that would be your best bet for finishing out this heating season.

Backwoods Savage said:

As for wood stacks looking bad, that does not have to be. At least I do not think our wood stacks look so bad.

Nine cord of wood split and stacked.

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That looks like warmth and contentment



After coming in from cutting wood today, my wife and I were sitting in front of the woodstove. I told her "It's sad, we are only going to be able to enjoy this for another month or so :-( " Winter is going to be over too soon.

Ken

fireview2788 said:

I'm in SW Ohio and the wood I c/s/s last April is ready to burn. It was an Ash tree that was dead but water was squeezed out when we split it so it was wet. I've tossed a couple of pieces in the stove and it burned great but I'm saving it for next year because I'm ahead. Anyway, if they are blaming the wet summer then they are making a lame excuse because they likely had it cut but not split so they can CLAIM it's was seasoned.....NOT.

fv

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Because this is my 1st year, a lot of what I am burning is from April and May. All Silver Maple, Ash, Pine, and a Standing dead Elm. I have some Ash from last year (pre fab fireplace).

But if he sai it was sitting out a Full Year, then I call B/S. Mine isnt a year seasoned and its around 20% (depending on species, Silver Maple and Pine are lower).

A lot depends on species that was delivered. Thats why I stick to softer and faster seasoning woods (Thanks to Hearth) ;-P

My wood isn't perfect by no means, but I got a few years ahead this year. So every year from here out will get better.

Do you have a place to cut wood? Or better yet, a Truck? Scrounging your own wood is good exercise and ensures you get what you need......

Have you thought about mixing in Eco Bricks or EZ Bricks?

Well, good luck. Most Firewood sellers dont have the required space to keep 50-100 cord (15-35 customers).
Whatever happens, you have a Great Start for next year. . . It only gets better from here on out..... Get ahead and stay ahead.

Scotty Overkill said:

bainbridgematt said:

So this if my first year burning and I've had three different guys deliver wood to me. The first was great but he ran out for the season. The other two both swore that the wood had been seasoning for more than a year, but when I read the MC I got 35% or higher. Does anyone know if there is a problem this year in ohio with seasoned wood given that it was the wettest summer on record ever up here?

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the entire NE has been wet since Sept. It is really hard to say, being you bought the wood off of somebody who 'said' it was seasoned......was it split a year ago or a week ago? Some people think that if it was cut a year ago, it has been seasoning for a year....WRONG! It needs to be split, stacked, and top-covered for a year to be seasoned for a year. Some species (like oak) take much longer, up to three years in some cases. There are a lot of variables that you need to take into account before you can consider it seasoned.....

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Everyone has their own definition of "seasoned." So there's really none, especially not one that's legally binding. It's all "arm-waving." Some like oregano, others prefer basil.

There is objective measuring possible for "dry." In percentage, dry basis. The process, then, would be "air drying." This stuff is well-known by lumber processors. Tell vendor that you only pay premium price for MC (moisture content) less than 20%, and test the wood. Explain that, until proven otherwise, you're assuming that the MC is > 35%; YOU should understand that at best it's for next year. Not to worry, most vendors will short you, regardless. It's in the genes.

You really need to get your wood at least a year ahead of time if you have an EPA rated wood burner. Since you need to be so far ahead of the game, why not just cut and split your own. I live in Ohio also, the other side of the state though, but here in Ohio it's easy to find wood. If you start looking, it's everywhere, and if your like me, before long you will be picking and choosing who you will take wood from. Personally I enjoy doing it. I think it's good exercise, the feeling of accomplishment and knowing what I have to burn is also a comfort. As far as looking good, it's wood, I think it just takes learning to appreciate it. I posted my wood stack. I don't have much room so mine is stacked close together but it will season if left there long enough. You mentioned this past year and how wet it was and what effect that had on seasoning wood. I noticed that even the wood left over from the last winter is this year wet again. I figured it's mostly the outside of the wood so what I found to work well is to bring up a bunch at a time near the house and keep it from getting rained or snowed on again and it dries back up quite quickly. That's where the roof I built over my patio has had an unintended advantage. I can bring up as much wood now as I want. Well, as you can see from the picture, I'd better stop writing and go get some more wood hauled up here. :cheese:

Andy, your wood piles look smaller. Still look good.

bogydave said:

bainbridgematt said:

So this if my first year burning and I've had three different guys deliver wood to me. The first was great but he ran out for the season. The other two both swore that the wood had been seasoning for more than a year, but when I read the MC I got 35% or higher. Does anyone know if there is a problem this year in ohio with seasoned wood given that it was the wettest summer on record ever up here?

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Welcome to the "never ending discussion about buying seasoned wood".
"If a tree (dead or alive) fell in the woods & a wood seller was near, is the wood they got from it seasoned & ready to sell tomorrow ?" :roll:
Wood sellers: 99.9% say "Yes" hh:
New wood burners say "If the seller says it seasoned, then it must be" :-S
:zip: 99% of Experienced wood burners say: "how long has it been Cut Split & stacked"? (CSS), "what type of wood is it"? "was it stacked, off the ground, in a single row, in the sun & wind for at least one year"? "Has that oak been 2 years CSS in single row in the sun & wind"? "Can I try a test burn in my stove to see how well it burns before I buy"?

Some say, "Seasoned eh?, Moisture meter reads 30% in the middle of a fresh split piece, I'm buying it for next year now so it will be seasoned & dry for next burn season. How about a price break"?

Some buy in the spring & properly season it themselves for the coming burn season. Sometimes can get a price break.

Some CSS their own, know which stacks will be ready for the coming season. Are 2, 3 or more years ahead & always on the look out for more to get CSS so it will be ready. (we are addicted)

So you opened the same can we all opened when we first started burning.
Here, we've learned allot.
Getting 1 or 2 years ahead (or more) & knowing how long the wood has been CSS, & the seasoning method, & type of wood is the key to burning dry wood.
Finding a wood seller that sells wood ready to burn is tough, when you do, always give them a good $$ tip. They are rare & should be treated well.

The guys who cut & sell fire wood, work hard for their money, it's hard work. Them having the room, time & take extra steps to properly season wood, is a bit much to ask in the wood selling business. Best to get your wood at least a year ahead of when you want to burn it, stack it off the ground with space between rows so it can dry & be ready to burn next season. It has to be "Split" & "Stacked" off the ground to season well.

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Bogydave,
Just read your thoughts on seasoned wood. Well put and so easy to understand!
Tim

So how are you finding all these places to get wood? I've got a few friends that have some trees they need to take down, but that is about all I got going for me at the moment. I'm all for cutting and splitting my own. My wife agrees I can use the exercise.[/quote]

Sorry for the delay in responding, it's been crazy here making all these Paczkis. Do the bakeries sell them in North East Ohio? So, you want to know how to find wood? I'll give you some ideas of mine but really all it's about is thinking. First talk around and see who's having a tree dropped. See if they need to get rid of the wood. If not, talk to the tree service and offer to take some wood should they have a job with more than they need themselves. Most tree services today don't cut, split and sell firewood any more. It just costs them too much money to process and store. They can make a lot more money cutting down trees. That's where you come in. Find a way to help them move along faster without getting in their way. If you can you will be helping them make more money and that's what it's all about anyway. Gain some trust of a couple of these guys, show that he can depend on you and you'll be surprised how much wood will come your way. I know a few trimmers and I can get so much more wood than I'll ever use that I now try to pick and choose but it's not as easy as that sounds. I always keep my eyes open. A large hall and theater near me had a Hickory go down in there yard. A friend of mine who knows I'm always looking called me and told me about it. While I was at work the next day I sent my dad over to talk to them. At first they weren't interested because they were going to have it removed so my dad told them to call and see what it would cost to just take the branches if we remove the big stuff. They said ok. By the time my dad drove the 2 minute drive home they called back and said the tree was ours. :cheese: We got over there in a couple days and cleared it out, made sure we didn't make a huge mess for them to deal with and didn't damage anything. All they needed was to bring in a tree service with a chipper. The tree service could send lower paid people for that so everybody wins and I got a couple cord of Hickory. I found another tree service one time and talked with the owner. He watched everywhere he spent money. Most services will chip all logs up to 20" but for him, that just wears out the equipment and dulls the teeth costing him money. So, if I will bring a trailer there he will fill it when they return at the end of the day or the next, when ever, and then I can go get a full trailer load. He also for $50 will bring an entire load on one of those crane trucks and unload them right in my yard. That saves him from handling it at the yard. The $50 bucks is for the time of the driver, like a tip. Last year I got over cord of Oak that way. I just didn't like all the saw dust in my yard. So I found a woods near me and there are a lot of dead Ash in there. I tracked down the owners and talked with them. They had me sign a waiver in case I got hurt and told me to have at it. This way they didn't have to hire in someone to remove all the trees. That one I was over whelmed with. I called in some friends, the one took down over 40 trees himself. The owners where thrilled. Now I go over and cut a tree down there, split it there in the woods and just come home with a trailer full of fresh split wood. That is the most perfect way I've found yet. No mess. ;-) Anyway, as you can see, it's just talking around and finding a way to become the answer to someones problem. Has the EAB got to your part of Ohio yet? If it hasn't watch out. There will be wood every where! Back a couple years ago I could stop my car anywhere and get out and look and see at least two years worth of dead trees within my eye sight. When that gets there you will have no problem finding wood. Good Luck!