soaked firewood

Scored a pallet(100 packages, appr. 1.5ton) of envi8 bio-blocks last week for $200.
http://www.barefootpellet.com/enviblocks/index.html

Fell behind last year, I have my 2015+ supply of 7 cords palletized and covered, 2016 (2 cords of oak split ans covered) and still have about 3 cords left for this winter/spring, but I needed some additional insurance so I jumped on that pallet of blocks....even though I hate spending money for fuel.... warranted the jump...good deal anyway.
They work great, especially mixed in with splits.

Locally there is no firewood left for sale, only fresh split green....everyone has been cleaned out...my brother in law came scavenging last weekend....got some wretched wet hemlock and punky oak from me)...he burns it in his OWB....12+ cords a year.

Getting colder by the hour here, looking at -5 and -30wc.tonight and the next couple of days.

Scott

I'd like to try a few of those Envi Blocks. They say they burn longer?

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:

Damp wood sucks...

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Been there. took just a couple of days to dry. But had to re-handle wood to many times. That sucks too.

hermancm said:

I'd like to try a few of those Envi Blocks. They say they burn longer?

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They claim:
Technical InformationBTU PER POUND - 8000+/-
MOISTURE - Less Than 6%
ASH - Less than .5%

at their #s,
1 block(85 cubic inches) @ 3.5"lbs, 28,000 btus...+/-, with very low M.C.
condensed BTUs in smaller volume....so longer hotter burns ...and could easily overfire, especially if the demand is not there.
I like to mix them in with splits on the coldest nights, when I can dump into the storage after the house has been fed.

Scott

about 5 yrs ago, a company called bio block in berlin ct sold me about 2 ton of the reject oddball sized ones, that 650degf was the hottest i have ever had the flue temp at with the garn. After that as you say they are great insurance for some known dry to mix in. between burns in the garn, i clean out the ash in the firebox and load next days wood, giving me about 18+hrs of drying time before the next burn, anything helps when you are behind with this kind of winter. Sometimes I think rather than fighting wet wood, its better to go fossil for a few weeks and dry some wood out in the meantime.

TCaldwell, I agree on just using fossil fuel for a short time. Looking back, it really wasn't worth the aggravation. Between increased cleanings, extra handling, etc. I am spoiled in the handling department, as i stack my wood on pallets and move with a FEL. Overall, it was just me being stubborn. I smartened up and put extra pallets in my truck garage this yr before the snow hit.

bmblank said:

*GASP* You mean you've been cutting your own firewood?!?!

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At $280 - $325 Holy Schnikes, I'd in the firewood business too..........and cutting.

TS

TCaldwell said:

Sometimes I think rather than fighting wet wood, its better to go fossil for a few weeks and dry some wood out in the meantime.

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I agree, plug in the electric heaters! Having a sick boiler with creosote fouled fire tubes..............

TS

If you have access to a woodlot, dead but standing small diameter trees on which the bark has fallen off will be pretty dry. I am also running low on firewood so over the weekend I harvested 7 or 8 trees of this category from my woods and split them up. They are dry enough for burning now.

chuck172 said:

I may be running short of firewood this winter. I have next years wood heaped up, uncovered and soaked.
It's seasoned, but wet. Is it possible to bring it in and dry it out load by load or maybe mix it with the remaining dry wood?

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Chuck, You say "heaped", not stacked. If that is what you meant, maybe it would be worth stacking some of it now. You say it has been seasoned awhile. I bet if you stacked it and covered only the top and with a few dry sunny days it would dry quite a bit. Wet wood dries a lot faster than green wood if it is split.

TCaldwell said:

about 5 yrs ago, a company called bio block in berlin ct sold me about 2 ton of the reject oddball sized ones, that 650degf was the hottest i have ever had the flue temp at with the garn. After that as you say they are great insurance for some known dry to mix in. between burns in the garn, i clean out the ash in the firebox and load next days wood, giving me about 18+hrs of drying time before the next burn, anything helps when you are behind with this kind of winter. Sometimes I think rather than fighting wet wood, its better to go fossil for a few weeks and dry some wood out in the meantime.

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With a GARN, or I guess any rig with forced draft and storage, you could also run the blower with tomorrow's wood in the firebox. Since the combustion air will be preheated with a GARN, it would be like a hot air kiln between burns. Worth it? Dunno.

skfire said:

They claim:
Technical InformationBTU PER POUND - 8000+/-
MOISTURE - Less Than 6%
ASH - Less than .5%

at their #s,
1 block(85 cubic inches) @ 3.5"lbs, 28,000 btus...+/-, with very low M.C.
condensed BTUs in smaller volume....so longer hotter burns ...and could easily overfire, especially if the demand is not there.
I like to mix them in with splits on the coldest nights, when I can dump into the storage after the house has been fed.

Scott

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I asked them by email if there were any dealers in my area and they say no. None in this area.

chuck172 said:

I may be running short of firewood this winter. I have next years wood heaped up, uncovered and soaked.
It's seasoned, but wet. Is it possible to bring it in and dry it out load by load or maybe mix it with the remaining dry wood?

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Just stop by, I'll give you a few loads of nice and dry splits and then in the summer you can bring what you used back from your then dry pile. See! No problem!

So sorry for making light of your wet wood stock....
I am a little surprised that some are running short in January though. I guess your winters are shorter than ours. Last year we had over 20" of snow on May 2nd and it wasn't until mid May when spring finally arrived. If we fall short of wood here it would be more like in late March or so.