Newbie question regarding semi seasoned...

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FlyEaglesFly

New Member
Jan 2, 2014
1
Maine
Hi all,

My wife and I had a brand new Jotul installed in September and we love it. I can't imagine not having a wood stove now, and all that comes with it :)

We purchased a cord of seasoned wood and have almost gone through it all, only a weeks worth left. There was no seasoned wood around to purchase, so we go some semi seasoned that's been sitting at the bottom of a woodpile for any where between 6-9 months.

Being new to all of this, I didn't know how to burn wood at first and that's one reason why we went through it so quickly. This semi seasoned does seem mostly dry, but here in maine we have had lots of snow already, so the outside of the wood is a little damp. Burning some now I can hear some of the wood hiss, but as it gets down it seems to be more dry. It's all stacked ink our basement very close to our furnace (which gives off its own heat), which we use over night. I have a box fan blowing on it all right now.

Any tips on how to dry faster? I understand that time is the best method. Any advice ONI this situation is most appreciated. Thank you!
 
Having it inside with some heat and that fan (how big?) blowing across it is all very good planning. Leave that fan blowing 24/7 will make a noticeable difference in a week or so. The only other thing I would try is to place a dehumidifier near the wood to suck up as much moisture as possible. Also, start now mixing the iffy wood with the good and go and get yourself some type of bio bricks to mix in with the iffy wood.
 
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mainewoodburning said:
I don't know where you are in Maine but half of what I purchased this fall as Seasoned was really Semi seasoned.
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I'm thinking of ordering some wood in the spring for next year, but am always thinking about how much the wood is really seasoned. I think a lot of guys call it "seasoned" even if it was cut in the same year. I've got some other wood on our property stacked this Fall and I'll probably use that instead.
 
Hardrockmaple said:
Having it inside with some heat and that fan (how big?) blowing across it is all very good planning. Leave that fan blowing 24/7 will make a noticeable difference in a week or so. The only other thing I would try is to place a dehumidifier near the wood to suck up as much moisture as possible. Also, start now mixing the iffy wood with the good and go and get yourself some type of bio bricks to mix in with the iffy wood.
Click to expand...
Running fans and a dehumidifier might create high electric bills. Add that to the cost of the wood and it might be cheaper to just run the furnace and use the wood next season when it has had time to dry. Also, be careful about storing large quantities of damp wood in your home. You might be introducing all types of wood boring little critters.
 
Welcome to the forum FlyEaglesFly.


Not much to help but as someone else has stated, a fan blowing on the wood and a dehumidifier can help a lot.

On that hissing, I doubt that is from any snow or rain as that is only external moisture and dries very fast. The internal moisture is the problem.


This can really turn out to be a blessing to you if you learn from it. If you go over to The Wood Shed, you'll find we recommend people get on a 3 year plan with their wood. That is, get 3 years ahead. It may take some time to get there but the benefits of doing it are fantastic.
 
You may want to supplement with BIO-BRIK or something similar. It may be the same price at cord wood right now and at least you will know it is dry.
 
Split smaller . . . dehumidifier . . . keep doing what you are doing . . . get some pallets -- great for mixing in to help bring the stove up to temp and to "drive" out the excess moisture when dealing with semi-seasoned wood.

Welcome to the forum.

What model Jotul? And would love to know where you are located . . . and don't worry . . . I promise to not come visit.
 
I'm dealing with some semi seasoned wood as well. I cut up pallets to get the fire hot and drive off the moisture. It's been burning well. I add more pallet wood on every fill.
 
With semi-seasoned wood the key is to get a good hot fire, which you can do with very small wood, pieces from pallets, etc. Don't load the stove full, just enough to get it hot. Surface moisture will sizzle and burn off after a few minutes and is nothing to worry about.
 
I have had it with wood dealers and switching to coal. It is just about impossible to buy seasoned wood. Their definition of seasoned is cut up into 10 ft lengths last fall the finish cut and split to order. The zoning won't let me store enough in a place that is useful to season it so I quit.
 
I feel your pain, I do not have a large property to store 15 cords of wood either, I store 3 cords of maple/gum on my city property due to being able to use them after a year of seasoning, I use about 2-2.5 cords a year so I am able to switch them out and keep the process going every year. You also might want to look into processed wood bricks as they take up less room but your BTU costs will go up.
 
mellow said:
I feel your pain, I do not have a large property to store 15 cords of wood either, I store 3 cords of maple/gum on my city property due to being able to use them after a year of seasoning, I use about 2-2.5 cords a year so I am able to switch them out and keep the process going every year. You also might want to look into processed wood bricks as they take up less room but your BTU costs will go up.
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I burn quite a few of them on really cold days and pack in 6 of them in a 1.3 cu. ft. firebox so the stove will get up to 650-7-- for a couple of hours. Then you have this crappy glowing fuzz that takes forever to burn down.

I think a couple of tons of PA's finest will easily solve my problems.
 
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