If it burns..........

[mainemac]

First off never have I looked forward to the winter and onset of cool temps........

I know we should age our wood for 1.5 years with moderate wind low humidity and bright sunshine of 85 degrees.
BUT....
I have 2 cords of spring/summer cut wood that I have mentally pegged off limits for this season
and 2 cords of 1.5 year old wood I bought off a convert to coal.

By accident/ on purpose 1 or two of the "green" wood got in there and burned up very well no
snap crackle pop no wet sounding drizzle with lots of smoke in the stove.
I had that last year when i got some wet wood from my brother and it was loud smoky and not real easy to fire up the stove


Thus is the proof in the pudding so to speak?
That is if it burns hot clean can I assume it aged well enough to use this winter? :wow:

Thanks in advance

Tom

 

[RedRanger]

Yes-specially if there is no snap,crackle or pop. You might want to invest in a moisture meter for around 20 bucks or so. resplit some pieces and check the center for moisture content (20%) is ideal.

 

[ScottF]

I think the proof is in the actual moisture content of the wood. It should be at least less than 25% moisture content. I prefer it to be 20% if at all possible. The only way I know to actually determine this is with a moisture meter. You should split the piece and measure it after the fresh split. You will get many opinions on this subject and can burn anything you like but it is best if you burn dry wood with a moisture content of 25% or less.

 

[firefighterjake]

First off never have I looked forward to the winter and onset of cool temps........

I know we should age our wood for 1.5 years with moderate wind low humidity and bright sunshine of 85 degrees.
BUT....
I have 2 cords of spring/summer cut wood that I have mentally pegged off limits for this season
and 2 cords of 1.5 year old wood I bought off a convert to coal.

By accident/ on purpose 1 or two of the "green" wood got in there and burned up very well no
snap crackle pop no wet sounding drizzle with lots of smoke in the stove.
I had that last year when i got some wet wood from my brother and it was loud smoky and not real easy to fire up the stove


Thus is the proof in the pudding so to speak?
That is if it burns hot clean can I assume it aged well enough to use this winter? :wow:

Thanks in advance

Tom

I would think that your answer would depend some on the date when this wood was cut (say early-March vs. late-August with 6 months of seasoning vs. 1 month) . . . and also the type of wood (i.e. ash is known for its lower moisture content and ability to burn adequately with a few months of seasoning vs. oak which seems to take at least a year or two to season).

I ended up cutting some ash in September . . . but will be using this wood in late-winter and only as an absolute last resort. Until then I'll happily be burning pallets, seasoned slabs, old firewood I had cut a couple years ago, some maple my brother cut back in late-Winter and some standing dead elm on my property. The "ash" is my Only-use-it-this-year-if-I-must-and-even-then-only-at-the-end-of-winter stash.

In the meantime I'm spending quality weekends this fall working on next year's wood supply so I don't risk the wrath of PETA . . . I mean PETP . . . People for the Ethical Treatment of Pallets.

 

[ScottF]

I’m spending quality weekends this fall working on next year’s wood supply so I don’t risk the wrath of PETA

I thought PETA was for " People who like Eat Tasty Animals" thats why I always called myself a member

 

[BurningIsLove]

Yeah, buddy of mine wore the PETA shirt (tasty animals version) to a BBQ, was dying

As far as splitting open a split to gauge it's moisture in the center, I have a silly question. I have a meter, and split a piece of red oak that has been seasoning in a rack since last year. Once split on the inside to insert the two probes, you are going perpendicular to the grain vs inserting the probes at the end of the split. For the life of me I could barely even make a dent in the wood going that direction. If I had pushed any harder, I would certainly have broken the probes off.

The only workaround that came to mind would be to drill two tiny holes w/ the smallest drill bit I own, and then insert the probes into those pre-drilled holes and measure. Is there an easier/better way?

 

[fossil]

An end grain reading is pretty much meaningless. Don't have to use your tiniest drill bit, just anything to get down maybe 1/4" or so into the side of a freshly split piece of wood, and set the probes firmly into the holes. Portable drill with about an 1/8" bit should do fine. Some folks just drive a little nail in a bit in two places to make indents deep enough for the meter probes to seat down into where the real information is. Rick

 

[RedRanger]

An end grain reading is pretty much meaningless. Don't have to use your tiniest drill bit, just anything to get down maybe 1/4" or so into the side of a freshly split piece of wood, and set the probes firmly into the holes. Portable drill with about an 1/8" bit should do fine. Some folks just drive a little nail in a bit in two places to make indents deep enough for the meter probes to seat down into where the real information is. Rick

I like the nail thing Rick.. Does that mean you are getting as senile as me in forgetting to keep the cordless drill charged when you know you`re gonna be needing it. %-P

 

[BurningIsLove]

I like the nail thing Rick.. Does that mean you are getting as senile as me in forgetting to keep the cordless drill charged when you know you`re gonna be needing it. %-P

Thanks, guys.

As far as the drill charging thing, welcome to the wonderful word of dual battery chargers. If ya have two, and always remember to put the dead one onto the charger when putting the fresh one into the drill, you always have one charged.

 

[fossil]

I have three chargers and about 12 batteries, because I keep forgetting where I put them. Rick

 

[BurningIsLove]

And you still have a drivers license, right? ;-)

 

[fossil]

Until they pry it from my cold, dead hands. That is, assuming that between now and 2015 when my current license expires I can dredge up a copy of my birth certificate, as it appears the state's now requiring some sort of proof of citizenship/identity just to renew drivers' licenses (yes, licenses they previously issued), which is causing quite a stir here locally. Rick

 

[savageactor7]

An end grain reading is pretty much meaningless. Rick

But Rick I've been doing that for years....

...looking at the ends of the splits and checking for those 1/32 weather checks like you see in old weathered farm tractors that have been sitting out in the sun for 20 years. Never heard of a moisture meter till I signed up here.

Perhaps mainemac is burning wood c&s;-ed this spring that was on top of his wood pile not actually green now but green in his past experience of wood burning? Maybe?

Weather checked ends of splits was something I've looked for like almost forever cause that is what I was told to look for by the guys that taught me.

 

[fossil]

Savage, I think if you see really well weather-checked ends like you're talking about, and you know something of the wood's history, you're probably looking at pretty well seasoned wood. I'm not talking about all the old visual cues we use, just about using a moisture meter. Heck, if I had a nice old split of end-checked oak, I'd prob'ly just chuck it in the stove. If I had a stack of wood I wasn't sure about, I wouldn't trust the moisture meter reading I got from the end grain, because it's gonna be drier there than the wood in the bulk of the split...that's why I say if you really want to know what's what with your wood's moisture content, you split and measure on the freshly cut face. I have wood I won't even bother sticking a meter in, because I know it's ready to burn. When I get hold of wood that I don't know its "heritage", I split it and test it with the meter...but not on the end grain. Rick

 

[savageactor7]

OK got it...thanks rick.

I know you have one of those 18 dollar HF meters but I wasn't really paying attention when you all were talking about them last year cause I thought I knew what I was doing...

...so please tell me again the model you have...thanks. Bob

 

[fossil]

Well, no, actually what I've got is one of these:

http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/extech/humidity/mo220.htm

but it doesn't really matter...I'm quite sure that you do know what you're doing. All I'm talking about is assessing the readiness to burn of wood I'm not sure about, and I find this to be a useful tool, if used properly. Rick

 

[savageactor7]

OK got it thanks again Rick.

Bob