firewood

For firewood, split one open then test the split side.
Under 20%

You said you bought 'logs', but I'm assuming you bought splits.

Gabe

Like many wood sellers, and burners, he is probably in the dark as far as true moisture content. I wouldn't say he is lying, as what he says is probably true. It probably burns for him and a lot of his customers in smoke dragons.

I would say it was fine to reject it, as it wasn't as promised. Just be prepared to find that situation more the norm.

Was this in log form? Wood doesn't really start to dry until it is split. If you're trying to buy dry wood to burn this winter, good luck. Truly dry wood is hard to buy.

Heck, try to negotiate a deal. 30% wood will be good next year.

leoibb said:

I have not bought logs ever Ive always sourced my own, i am running low so thought i would give buying some a go. i contacted a supplier and he stated they are 15% moisture so i said OK. however when they arrived they was wet through moisture was above 30% he stated they are fine and has no problem with them , i told him no thanks take them away. its got me wandering what is an acceptable level of moisture in logs?? i only asking because he was adamant that no one sends them back because they was fine, i felt i was being lied to so i rejected them,

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jeff_t said:

Like many wood sellers, and burners, he is probably in the dark as far as true moisture content. I wouldn't say he is lying, as what he says is probably true. It probably burns for him and a lot of his customers in smoke dragons..

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Actually I would say he WAS lying. He stated 15%, but when checked it was above 30%. If that isn't a lie then what is it?

Ideally firewood should be less than 20% MC, but if some of it reads in the low 20s it would probably still be OK. Anything over 25% is going to have issues. Over 30% forget about it, not worth trying to burn unless you have no alternative, meaning your power is out and the family is freezing.

Edit: BTW Leoibb, he should have apologized to you for lying to you and wasting your time.

Carbon_Liberator said:

Actually I would say he WAS lying. He stated 15%, but when checked it was above 30%. If that isn't a lie then what is it?

Ideally firewood should be less than 20% MC, but if some of it reads in the low 20s it would probably still be OK. Anything over 25% is going to have issues. Over 30% forget about it, not worth trying to burn unless you have no alternative, meaning your power is out and the family is freezing.

Edit: BTW Leoibb, he should have apologized to you for lying to you and wasting your time.

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+1

That said
Gonna be tough to buy wood now (or any time) less than 20%.
Just the nature of the beast, wood sellers typically don't CSS wood & store it in seasoning rows for 1 to 2 years then sell it.

That's why it's important to get ahead a year or 2 to always have good dry wood to burn

Good luck

Carbon_Liberator said:

Actually I would say he WAS lying. He stated 15%, but when checked it was above 30%. If that isn't a lie then what is it?

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That would depend on if he knows enough to check the inside of a fresh split.

You're right, there are a lot of people out there who don't know what seasoned wood is. And once they find out just how much better seasoned wood burns and how much more heat it puts out, they kick themeselves for not finding out sooner. Under 20% is ideal for burning, of course the lower, the better. Wood that is left to season 2 to 3 years after being split and stacked is the best way to burn. I always season three years (especially the oak), the last year of seasoning I top cover the wood I plan on using in that upcoming season (top cover ONLY not the sides). Good luck finding some wood, you're doing it the right way by checking it BEFORE you pay for it. Maybe get some of that less-than-seasoned wood for down the road, if you can haggle the price a bit.

Most definitely. I've talked to wood sellers and none of them I've talked to know squat about burning wood. Just cut it, split it and burn it is all they know. If they come upon some woods that has been logged and the tops have laid there for over a year or sometimes they really hit the jackpot and it has laid there 3 years, they think they have won the lottery! They can really spread it on thick with their customers then. And I have yet to talk to a wood seller that is not totally convinced his wood is ready to burn right then, even if they cut it that same day.

Even laying in log form for three years it will still likely be high in moisture content in the middle. And I concur witha previous post about will not properly dry until split.

As far as this year you could split small, couple inches around and keep it inside that would help, then scrounge up a bunch of pallets and bust them down, mix the two together to get by. Don,t go too heavy on the pallet wood though ,max at 2-1 by volume.

Try and get a wood guy who delivers to resturants. They seem to know a little about what dry wood advantages are.
The resturants have to have dry wood for their ovens. I had a few cords delivered that way and it was not bad... not burnable
right away but better than most.

Paulywalnut said:

Try and get a wood guy who delivers to resturants. They seem to know a little about what dry wood advantages are.
The resturants have to have dry wood for their ovens. I had a few cords delivered that way and it was not bad... not burnable
right away but better than most.

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right. i got lucky one year when i had to buy a cord and found a guy who supplied wood to a chain of wood fired pizza joints. it was all red oak, split kinda small but fine for me and quite dry. he said he splits in years in advance and keeps it in a warehouse. not sure how i even found him.

Heck, I had no idea about moisture content, etc. until I bought this furnace and a friend recommended this website. The furnace manual mentions "seasoned" logs and stresses it a lot too. So did the salesman. Had a very hard time convincing my dad that he had to have his wood seasoned for a year or more, and telling him oak took 2 years was like Columbus telling everbody that the world is round. Don't think he believes me on that fully yet, but he was saying last night "this is oak, we need to season it for 2 years at least". On top of that, he is getting some stacks together to rival mine. Guess things are different now that he is burning in an insert instead of just chucking them in a fireplace to have the heat vanish up the chimney.

Also had hardly a clue about wood species and btu content. Thing is, I learn a lot from the internet and chatboards, and I think my parents realized that a little while ago.