So I talk to a guy on craigslist from central Mass that has a pretty good price on firewood. He says it's been seasoning for a couple years, and is mostly oak, so it sounds great, right? He drops it off, and it's raining at the time, so I didn't look too carefully except to make sure it was the right amount, and it was. I go out to stack it yesterday, and notice that it looks really fresh. Not grayed, no checks in the end of the boards... so I whip out my moisture meter and split a piece.... off the charts (my moisture meter goes to 45%). Split a couple more to make sure I'm not crazy... same thing.
So I call the guy up and ask what the deal is... turns out, the wood has been *cut down* for 2 years, but stored log-length and was only split 3-4 months ago.
I was flabbergasted. I tried to tell the guy that wood seasons incredibly slowly at log length, and that what he sold me is basically green wood. There's no way I burn something at 45% moisture rating this year. I'm not sure I could even get it to light.
He said everyone does it that way, and that if I just stack it, it'll be fine in a couple months... which is obviously BS. He offered to have the boss call me back, so I said ok. We'll see what comes of it. Probably nothing. $600 worth of wood I can't burn this year. Fantastic.
If you're looking for firewood in Mass, avoid the guy with the phone number ending in 0596.
-Nate
So I call the guy up and ask what the deal is... turns out, the wood has been *cut down* for 2 years, but stored log-length and was only split 3-4 months ago.
I was flabbergasted. I tried to tell the guy that wood seasons incredibly slowly at log length, and that what he sold me is basically green wood. There's no way I burn something at 45% moisture rating this year. I'm not sure I could even get it to light.
He said everyone does it that way, and that if I just stack it, it'll be fine in a couple months... which is obviously BS. He offered to have the boss call me back, so I said ok. We'll see what comes of it. Probably nothing. $600 worth of wood I can't burn this year. Fantastic.
If you're looking for firewood in Mass, avoid the guy with the phone number ending in 0596.
-Nate