Am I being taken for a ride?

[dirty_ernie]

Ad in paper, $175/cord for 3+ or less than 3 is $190.

I call the guy & he tells me that the moisture content right now is 65%. He suggests waiting until MC is about 55% to get optimal burn. He says 35% or lower MC is too dry and the stove will consume the wood at too fast a rate.

I'm sorry, I don't have the species fo the wood in case that matters.

We just moved into our new place & I was calling around for anything close to ready to burn for this season, maybe beginning in October.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

The price is good (assuming hardwood), the advice on moisture is crap. That wood will probably need to sit until next year to burn well.

 

[fossil]

According to that guy, all my wood is way too dry to burn. I guess I should start hosing it down or something. Install a sprinkler system in my woodshed to keep my wood from becoming too dry, perhaps. %-P Rick

 

[Todd]

Optimum mc is 15-25%, more than that the wood will not give out as much BTU's. Wet wood loses BTU's as the fire tries to evaporate the water which sends steam up your chimney and condenses into creosote. I doubt you could even get 55% wood to burn.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

65%? Is he retrieving wood from a lake bottom?

I would guess he is making those numbers up, and he doesn't even own a moisture meter.

 

[smokinj]

65%? Is he retrieving wood from a lake bottom?

I would guess he is making those numbers up, and he doesn't even own a moisture meter.

Thats what i thought as well just somthing to say to a customer so he looks smart!didnt work because he is a hearth.com member

 

[glacialhills]

Uhhhhhh 65% moisture right now....hmmmm do you understand that he is saying that his wood is more than half water? even when it is growing no tree have that high of moisture content let alone after its cut. (unless he soaks his wood in a lake a few years before he sells it.)

 

[Patapsco Mike]

Order the wood to be delivered, but tell the guy if the wood is less than 35% moisture you want 25% off (since you will have to go through the trouble of running your sprinkler over it for a month or so). When he shows up, hit a few pieces with your moisture meter and bingo, it's on sale!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Lumber producers often use a different scale for %mc. They divide the weight of the water by the weight of the dry wood (completely kiln dried). In this way it's common for some green woods to have over 100% MC.

Pulp/paper producers and most other industries use a different calc: (weight of water/weight of green wood)x100.

If your supplier is using the first calculation, then the wood is probably (100*0.65/1.65)= 39% mc.

 

[dirty_ernie]

Thanks for the replies. Here's what I'm told. He has the trees all cut up into manageable logs and left to dry for 'about a year'. He then gets the order and cuts & splits according to requested log length and makes the delivery.

Like I say, we just moved in & I'm still learning. My Kennebec was just delivered last week & I was hoping to get some decent fel for burning later this year.

 

[polaris]

What Adios said.

 

[savageactor7]

I'm thinking 175 a cord is awful high here in NY...hell we're up to our armpits in woods. Not far from me they were selling seasoned wood for 65 if you got 10 cords or more.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

maybe get a meter and go see him , you could see what his wood's moisture content is. i agree with the panel , wood at 65% would still be alive and growing in a swamp.

 

[fossil]

With a water content of 65%, it could be a mammal. Rick

 

[jeff6443]

Live tre es here in good old mizpah 40 % live

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks for the replies. Here's what I'm told. He has the trees all cut up into manageable logs and left to dry for 'about a year'. He then gets the order and cuts & splits according to requested log length and makes the delivery.

Like I say, we just moved in & I'm still learning. My Kennebec was just delivered last week & I was hoping to get some decent fel for burning later this year.

This somewhat depends upon what type of wood it is. Still, if it was cut into logs, it still does not season well until it is cut into burnable lengths. But, depending upon the wood, it might still be okay to burn this winter. Find out what it is first, but don't ask about moisture content from this turkey.

 

[yukiginger]

I'm thinking 175 a cord is awful high here in NY...hell we're up to our armpits in woods. Not far from me they were selling seasoned wood for 65 if you got 10 cords or more.

That's probably face cords, which makes it comparable to the OP's offered deal.

MarkG

 

[woodjack]

I think that guy started a new specie - sponge wood.