I need a strategy for burning this season

[Ansky]

It looks like I'm going to head into the season without enough properly seasoned wood. I work from home, so I burn 24/7. I think I'll need about 5 cords to make it through the season. Here's what I have...

- 2 cords in my wood shed outside - fully seasoned (12-18%) moisture content.
- 1 cord in my garage that I just bought. I put it in there because I bought "fully seasoned" wood. It looks seasoned, gray in color, but it's not. - 24% MC (I'm not happy about that one).
-1 cord that I bought last spring stacked under a tarp in my yard. 19% MC
- 1 cord that I just scrounged last week from a free wood ad on Craigslist. It's old, a bit punky, and was sitting outside uncoverd for a couple years. MC is about 21%.
- 2+ cords that i just got free from the utility company who is clearing trees above the lines. These trees were alive last month and I'm still in the process of splitting and stacking. This will be for next year...hopefully. MC 25%.

Should I save my good stuff for the coldest months? Should I mix the good with the bad? I'm not sure what strategy to use. That's where you guys come in.

Thanks.

 

[suprz]

I am no expert by any means, but i would save the best for the coldest months, and overnight burns, and mix some of the questionable stuff for during the day when you are there to tend the fire if needed. And Biobricks are your friend! I used about 50 bricks last year which cost a little over $23.00 (9.00 for 20 bricks) they burn for a long time, and burn hot and clean. I mixed them in with some questionable wood i had laying around.

 

[Grisu]

At first I wanted to say it is not looking that bad. You have 4 cords with 21 % or less and the other ones are just a bit more. I am sure many people here have been burned worse and survived a winter. However, you say you have freshly cut wood with 25 % MC; that does not sound right. Sure your moisture meter is ok?

Otherwise, I would suggest to take the dry wood for the start-ups. Reason being that once the flue is warm you are less likely to accumulate creosote from the not so good wood. Mix in some biobricks or lumber scraps, pallets etc. with the wetter stuff and clean your chimney regularly. My guess is you will be ok then.

 

[Ansky]

However, you say you have freshly cut wood with 25 % MC; that does not sound right. Sure your moisture meter is ok?

It doesn't sound right? Why? What MC should freshly cut wood have? I just bought my meter. I have no reason to believe it's not accurate.

 

[Grisu]

Ash is one of the "driest" woods freshly cut that you can find and that reads usually in the mid to upper 30ies. Unless the trees the power company took down were all standing dead, I would be worried about the 25 % figure. Where did you measure? Did you resplit a few pieces and tried the center of the freshly exposed surface?

 

[btuser]

I bought a moisture meter, tried it twice and couldn't tell you where it went.

Burn the driest wood first, and then burn accordingly, otherwise you're just boiling extra water.

 

[Ansky]

Ash is one of the "driest" woods freshly cut that you can find and that reads usually in the mid to upper 30ies. Unless the trees the power company took down were all standing dead, I would be worried about the 25 % figure. Where did you measure? Did you resplit a few pieces and tried the center of the freshly exposed surface?

Interesting. Most of the wood they cut is beech...according to the pros on this site. I just tested a couple pieces. It could have been upper 20s percent, but it definitely wasn't in the 30s. I'll test some other pieces tomorrow.

And yes, that's how I measured...just as you stated.

 

[Wood Duck]

I think you have 5 cords of wood that are good or at least OK. I am not counting the power company wood in your five cords. I'd save the most dense wood for overnight burns, and use the lower BTU wood for daytime, shoulder season, etc. I'd probably start by burning the punky stuff, save the seasoned wood that is currently at 24% for last, and burn the rest in between.

 

[BrotherBart]

First question is are those MM reading in the center of a freshly split, well, split?

 

[Ansky]

First question is are those MM reading in the center of a freshly split, well, split?

Yes.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Ansky relax, I think you have a few options here, you have 3 full cords ready to go, and 2 on the verge, you could always mix in some stuff that is at 25% while the fire is burning hot, the only down point that I read from your post is that the high MC content wood is in your garage, you need to get that out in the sun and wind in a single stack ASAP .
Otherwise I personally think that you will be ok....

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah use the driest stuff first and work through it. Fact is if the stuff in the garage is 24% or less in the center of splits it will burn fine too. While many will come out of the woodwork disagreeing with me, 20 to 24% is great overnight wood because on a hot coal bed it burns fine and clean. And not like gasoline like bone dry wood.

Many people here that complain about EPA non-cat stoves over firing and scaring the hell out of them do it with a firebox full of wood less than 20%. They ain't designed for that. Pretty much everything but the latest stuff and that Rocky is gonna make ya happy.

Flame away folks.

 

[rdust]

25% on a fresh split with a meter you're good to go, you'll have no issues.......if you want to find out what it really is cut some "cookies" out of the centers of some random splits, weigh them, oven dry them(or microwave) and weigh them again.

 

[rdust]

Yeah use the driest stuff first and work through it. Fact is if the stuff in the garage is 24% or less in the center of splits it will burn fine too. While many will come out of the woodwork disagreeing with me, 20 to 24% is great overnight wood because on a hot coal bed it burns fine and clean. And not like gasoline like bone dry wood.

Many people here that complain about EPA non-cat stoves over firing and scaring the hell out of them do it with a firebox full of wood less than 20%. They ain't designed for that. Pretty much everything but the latest stuff and that Rocky is gonna make ya happy.

Flame away folks.

Couldn't agree with you more, less than 25% on a meter and things will burn just fine. When people use a meter they're usually taking the highest reading,(center usually) it's the moisture content of the full split that matters not the highest reading. If you average the moisture content in the split you can still be in a good place even if the center is a little high.

 

[BrotherBart]

The stoves are emissions tested with wood from 19 to 24% dry basis, what a MM measures, and they pass the emissions test.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Couldn't agree with you more, less than 25% on a meter and things will burn just fine. When people use a meter they're usually taking the highest reading,(center usually) it's the moisture content of the full split that matters not the highest reading. If you average the moisture content in the split you can still be in a good place even if the center is a little high.

Great point, something that always makes sense to me in past debates about this.... But let me ask this.... Why does or how much MC content makes a split sizzle sound? Thanks...

 

[Ansky]

Thanks guys. I'm feeling better about it. I appreciate all the responses and feedback.

 

[rdust]

Great point, something that always makes sense to me in past debates about this.... But let me ask this.... Why does or how much MC content makes a split sizzle sound? Thanks...

I think it depends on the wood type, even at 20% that water has to come out. Think of the wood fiber like straws, maybe some fibers have a tendency to sizzle more than others? I've had oak in the teens sizzle for a minute or two while ash in the upper 20's(first year burning) not make a sound or have any dampness come out of the ends.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Great thanks, I was burning wood at 19% the other day, 10-15 minutes after startup, it was sizzling, I was wondering what the hell? Do you know what I mean......?

 

[BrotherBart]

I see people talk about sizzling splits here all the time and had never seen it happen since back in the cut in the summer and burn that winter days. Last year I had some white oak that had been top covered for three years and in the black roofed shed for a year do it to me.

Who knows. Stuff happens.

 

[Sprinter]

If those values are real, you're in good shape. Under cover, the wetter stuff will continue to dry through the season and up to 25% is fine. Sure, the ideal is more like 20, and the efficiency will suffer a little, but it's not a creosote problem.

I also question that fresh wood, though. Most green wood will be upwards of 40% depending on species. And 12% sounds unlikely, but possible. All that makes me wonder about the meter's accuracy.

 

[Sprinter]

Great point, something that always makes sense to me in past debates about this.... But let me ask this.... Why does or how much MC content makes a split sizzle sound? Thanks...

The only wood I ever saw sizzle last season was if it was around 30, but not always even with that. Later in the season I was running out of good wood and started to put a split or two of wood upwards of 30% on an already established fire. That sacrificed a little efficiency, but my chimney cleaning yielded no creosote, so that may be an alternate strategy.

 

[PapaDave]

I agree that you should be ok with the first 5 you have.
A little sizzle is good fo' shizzle. Whatever that means.
I've had Oak sizzle that I thought for sure should have been dry. After a few minutes, it burned fine and no more sizzle.
Burn what ya got.
A report on how things are going would be interesting.

 

[Jags]

Yeah use the driest stuff first and work through it. Fact is if the stuff in the garage is 24% or less in the center of splits it will burn fine too.

Thank you for posting this.
Folks get pretty uptight about a point or two of moisture. Chances are - you won't notice much difference from 21% to 24%.
I will say that 24% is my personal upper limit, but it will burn just fine by the time you get to it. I have always said that somewhere around 20% should be your goal, but anything UNDER 25% will work.

I am going to slip this into the woodshed for a better fit.

 

[Ansky]

UPDATE...

So I just went out and tested the freshly cut stuff again. I was getting the same numbers, around 25% until I put more pressure on the meter and stuck the probes in a little deeper. The MC went up. On the fresh Oak, I'm now getting 31% and on the fresh Beech, I'm now getting 28-29%. I guess now I need to check all my other wood supply again with this new method of adding more pressure to the unit. I hope those numbers don't go up too.