I just bought a cord of wood, but it's damp and hisses when I burn it. What can I do?

TMonter said:

How much hardwood do you burn in a typical season Roo?

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3.75 - 4.25 cords. Oak , Elm , Hedge , Hickory , Locust , Mulberry , Hackberry .

Roospike said:

What!? , Your telling me that not all firewood dealers store wood like this ? ;-)

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Talk about wood envy

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Roospike said:

What!? , Your telling me that not all firewood dealers store wood like this ? ;-)

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.. . too much shrinkwrap to get thru though, I'd go postal if someone delivered a load that way

I'll take a couple snapshots of my remaining wood pile tonight. All I have left at this point in the season is Red Fir but I do have quite a bit left. I'm thinking this year I may have 1-1.5 Cord Left.

I have noticed a sudden drop in the price of "dry/seasoned" wood here in the NW. The guys that sell the stuff are quickly coming to the point where the green wood is worth very little less than seasoned wood since warm weather is fast approaching and whatever the customer buys will be the same dryness come fall.

I have been cutting green trees blown down in this winter's storms for next year's burning. About one cord per weekend is the right amount of work without getting worn out. So far I've just been bringing home western red cedar and red alder. It's green, clean, and split the way I want it and will be dried to perfection by fall.

My little HF moisture meter tells me the cedar is at 34% moisture and the wood I'm burning reads out at 20% on average. I really hope I can get this green wood down into the mid teens by fall since the 20-22% stuff isn't much fun to burn as it takes more fiddling. If I needed to buy more dry wood for this year you can bet I would be poking it with the meter. It's like driving without a speedometer to burn wood without a moisture meter after you've gotten used to it.

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Newtown, that seems a lil steep for mixed wood. I used to deliver firewood in that area around Richboro. Of course that was back in the mid to late 80's. It was 125 a cord then for mostly oak with some maple mixed in. Another indicator of drier wood is the color. The wood darkens as it dries. It should be almost brown or grayish looking.
If you have a hard time finding a decent delaer, I can call a landscaper friend of mine that lives in Southampton, he may have, or know a decent person that has decent wood. Down that area theres not many areas to harvest your own. You might be able to get some from the state parks, Tyler, Core Creek et. You'd have to call the park commision and ask. They might not do it down there.


Is Goodnoes still open? Remember going there for icecream all the time.

Surprised that an ole' tip that had been posted on this board b4 was not mentioned. If ya have an old microwave sitting in the basement or taking up room in a attic, as long as it still works, zap the wood. It really does work. scout through your pile, pull off the ones that have the dark brown ends with checks those should be ready to burn. For the stuff that looks like it is gonna hiss toss some splits in the microwave for about 20 minutes, then check. If they need more time in the nuker, buzz them a little more. Who woulda thought that the ole' nuker was just good for leftovers and popcorn

p.s. off topic but is Newton/Yardley still an insane real estate market



Yes even worse nowadays.
Bucks County in general is insane pricewise.
Alot of White collars from NYC & North Jersey moving there, along with the whole eastern side of PA. Driving everything up.

sstanis said:

Surprised that an ole' tip that had been posted on this board b4 was not mentioned. If ya have an old microwave sitting in the basement or taking up room in a attic, as long as it still works, zap the wood. It really does work. scout through your pile, pull off the ones that have the dark brown ends with checks those should be ready to burn. For the stuff that looks like it is gonna hiss toss some splits in the microwave for about 20 minutes, then check. If they need more time in the nuker, buzz them a little more. Who woulda thought that the ole' nuker was just good for leftovers and popcorn

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The electric bill to dry out enough wood to get a stove hot would far exceed any benefit from burning said wood.

Also, who has splits small enough to put in a microwave?????

Not really, a decent microwave, is 1600watts/hour. or 1.6kwh or in my area it costs 16 cents to operate the nuker for an hour during the day or 10 cents an hour past 11pm. Plus, microwaves are more efficient than elctrical resistance b/c they use vibration of the substance's internal molecules to create heat. hence the substance cooks from the inside out rather than from the outside in. with a 1.3 cubic foot inside of the nuker ya can get a decent number of splits. Just saying it is an option, considering wood that is hissing and bubbling from the sides really isn't putting out that much heat in the stove

sorry, my microwave is 2.1 cubic ft

Electrical (resistive) heat is 100% efficient; there's no where else for the energy to go (OK, a little might radiate out a window), and there's no external heat source like in a heat pump. The microwave will also in this scenario turn into a 100% efficient heater, for the same reason. Here much of the heat energy will go into vaporizing the water. But all the heat it puts out again comes from the wall socket.

That aside, it's probably no worse than a "warm-mist" humidifier, and you get either the humidity or the dry wood for "free". Beats burning wet wood.

Hogwildz said:

p.s. off topic but is Newton/Yardley still an insane real estate market



Yes even worse nowadays.
Bucks County in general is insane pricewise.
Alot of White collars from NYC & North Jersey moving there, along with the whole eastern side of PA. Driving everything up.

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Next you know it'll approach NJ insanity, I used to listen to NJ 101.5 in the morning, couldn't believe the taxes people were paying across the river (I'm former Philly)

sstanis said:

Surprised that an ole' tip that had been posted on this board b4 was not mentioned. If ya have an old microwave sitting in the basement or taking up room in a attic, as long as it still works, zap the wood. It really does work. scout through your pile, pull off the ones that have the dark brown ends with checks those should be ready to burn. For the stuff that looks like it is gonna hiss toss some splits in the microwave for about 20 minutes, then check. If they need more time in the nuker, buzz them a little more. Who woulda thought that the ole' nuker was just good for leftovers and popcorn

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I gotta try that (when my wife is out shopping), did you do a moisture test before/after to prove it . ..

I've had that problem too. I split the wood smaller, that way it dries quicker.

Two can play that game, Roo.

Actually Disco, heating water by microwave uses 30% less energy for a given volume than electrical resistance, just by the way it "cooks" That aside. Newton can either call around and purchase better seasoned wood from someone else, split smaller pieces or find a way to be able to utiliize the wood he has. I've just found it is easier, less time consuming, less of a mess to nuke some pieces. It is not the only way I do it. I also have a wood storage ring that sits by my stove, that within a few days, will make the wood burnable. Have cooked splits on top of the stove. I guess to each his own. I gotta admit I am jealous that alot of the people on this board have the land area to be able to season wood for 2 yrs, and still have 8 cords still seasoning. Me b/c of landscape aesthetics, plantings, and living in an area where the neighbors would cringe if they saw a couple of cords stacked and tarped unfornately can only fit 2 cords into my barn.

Later that same summer.....

Eric Johnson said:

Two can play that game, Roo.

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I give , i surrender ! EJ is my idol . :coolsmirk:

sstanis said:

Actually Disco, heating water by microwave uses 30% less energy for a given volume than electrical resistance, just by the way it "cooks"

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Where does that 30% figure come from? There must some hidden assumption in this, because it takes one calorie to raise one cc of water one degree C, and I'm not aware that the manner of heating matters any. If I could heat water in a microwave using only 0.7 calorie per cc per degree C, I could make a perpetual motion machine by pulling a full calorie back out to power the microwave. Therefore, that figure must assume some losses for resistive heating, like radiation from an electric stove, which a) wouldn't happen with a submersed heating element and b) isn't the comparison I was making anyway. My "closed system" for thermodynamic purposes was the whole house, not the log or the water in the log.

And I still like the idea for a combined humidifier/wood dryer. Could have custom buttons to match the claimed state of wood purchased from disreputable dealers: "seasoned", "well seasoned", "ready to burn", all of which would be the same as the "green" button! Although using your numbers it would cost $115 a month to run 24/7.

I had the same problem -- ran out of wood I'd dried myself and had to use some "seasoned" by a wood dealer. It does ignite readily but also has the hissing problem. I find I have to give it more air for a while after reloading than normal in order to get it hot enough for clean burning (where clean is defined by visible secondary combustion in the firebox and non-visible emissions from the chimney). This wood looks kind of seasoned (it's a bit gray) but is not as dry as I would like. But by burning hot with lots of air for a while when I reload I think I can boil off the water and then proceed as if it were dry after that. It's better than burning oil!

NewtownPA said:

Hi, I have another question. I am relatively new to the whole wood stove thing, but I just recently bought a cord of wood. When I burn it I hear hissing sounds and see bubbles of moisture at the ends of the wood. This wood was sold to me as "seasoned hardwood".

Is there anything I can do about all that wood that's so damp internally?

Do most of you order your wood in the spring and keep it covered all summer and fall in order to keep it dry for the following winter?

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Leave it outside, either cover or uncovered for 9-12 months....for most wood types, that will dry it out and it shouldn't hiss anymore....

My wood dream setup about a mile from me note the 4 way wood processor splitter onc cord cut split and loaded in 20 minutes