Caw
Minister of Fire
Idk. I'm the same way and have pretty much only high quality tools, often multiples of things, but this just seems like a lot of work and money to measure firewood occasionally. To each their own though. Good luck!
Moisture Meter(s)
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A moisture meter is just an ohm meter with an algorithm to compute the moisture content based on resistance. As you can see from the table, the resistance of wood is dependent on the species and gets more variable at lower moisture.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
indeed...I've certainly got this chart saved and have studied it before
I'm up for trying my DMM
finding room temp right now, tho...not so easy
omissions:
no Beech on this list
hazel, holly
only American Elm...
anyhow...
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ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
Caw
Minister of Fire
Yeah I mean I have a $600 chain saw but I don't take it out to cut a 1" branch when a $20 pruner will do the job. You know?Totally, duplicates for sure in my workshop
You are certainly inspiring me to get a General
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
Just a question...If you have wood and it's cold out and you check it with your moisture meter and it's not up to your standards what are you going to do? I can tell you that if I have wood and it's cold I'm going to burn it, I'd burn the moisture meter if it meant being warm.
I guess if you're buying wood each year to burn that year and you want to check the advertisers claim of seasoned it might be useful. If i have wood I've had split and stacked for a few years and it is burning season I'm burning it.
I guess if you're buying wood each year to burn that year and you want to check the advertisers claim of seasoned it might be useful. If i have wood I've had split and stacked for a few years and it is burning season I'm burning it.
Caw
Minister of Fire
For me personally I have so much wood out back that if a certain stack wasn't up to snuff I'd just go check another stack and find something better. If it was all I had Id absolutely be burning it. You'll waste BTUs heating up all the water but won't ruin your stove or chimney burning mediocre wood as long as you add more air and keep it hot. It'll just not burn as long or he as good but it'll still keep you warm.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
the reason is manufacturer guidelines
my EcoDesign 2022 stove has very specific instructions on how to run it
one of the criteria is to burn wood fuel with a moisture content equal to or less than 20%
try and run it with higher moisture content and expect to struggle getting much heat, nevermind the mess
plus it will run dirty and you might end up digging the coals out and starting over very often
I don't have a moisture meter, at all...and I'm a carpenter/ guitarist who could really benefit from better understanding the MC of many things in my life...especially firewood and running this Panadero which is a full time job, really
and further, no...if the wood ain't ready, I won't burn...I'd use electricity and gas
but that isn't my case...I have wood from my property and purchased firewood...I use the two together to ensure a reasonable functionality of the rating of my (terribly underpowered) stove
like now and in years past; I put the wet stuff aside to continue curing and only burn stuff I surmise will burn well
further, I don't burn pine or any conifer...at least not any noticeable amount of it...I know many people do...out of old timey habit, I won't...I have a stack of leylandii that is plenty dry enough to go in the fireplace...that won't be occurring, neither this year or in the future unless we see some real Mad Max crisis
or maybe what has happened in Northern France these past few weeks where flooding has forced electrical outages and the residents affected are doing whatever it takes to stay alive in some form of comfort
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
I too have a fair bit on my property and many options
started burning some coveted apple yesterday...it's probably 8 years cured...and gives a sure accelerant to slow burning pieces should they find their way in the stove
I've been thinkin to myself, what will I do when I run out of this awesome beetle kill elm? Well, I have other wood hitting the ground daily...and hazel does work pretty well for the same reason
Caw
Minister of Fire
There's nothing wrong with pine if it's dry. It actually has some nice benefits and is a great shoulder season wood. Another option for sub optimal firewood is buying bio bricks (synthetic sawdust logs) to supplement. Add 1-2 of those and a few less than ideal splits and you'll be fine. It'll still be cheaper than using the boiler.
The job of the moisture meter is to help you plan, check wood your scrounged or bought, monitor your drying methods, confirm that wet wood burns like crap and motivate one to stack more/ better wood for the future needs.
Everyone on here states to measure you wood at Room Temp. That is not always feasible. My Stihl Moisture meter says its operating range is 32 - 99 degrees F. One would think that you could build into the unit and adjustment value based on Temperature. Generally I add 1 % of moisture for each 20 degrees below 70. As far as stacks go, I have some wood in a stack that 90% is great (14 - 18%) and 10% is not (27 - 40%). The not so great is some punky Ash from Dead Standing that got wet from a leak in the top cover. That stuff is like a sponge. Burns great when it is dry. Basically if it seems heavy it gets put aside. That stack is over 100 ft from the house, I'm not about to drag a load of it to Warm up just to haul some of it back. I will take my chance on testing with a meter when the temp is 40 degrees and adding a percent or two to the reading.
I had a bunch of similar soaked punky splits this year too. Takes about 1 or 2 days to dry it out right next to the stove. Then burned very well.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
for firewood, yes....hmmm, I guess you covered more than just firewood tho
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BC_Josh
Member
I just bought a Blaze King brand moisture meter. Simple to use, no hard or soft wood options, just a high and low setting instead. I figure if they make good stoves, I hope they made (or subcontracted out) some decent moisture meters. It's a great tool. So nice to confirm that my wood is fully seasoned and know that I'm not burning wet.
"Fir sure!" 🌲🌲🌲
"Fir sure!" 🌲🌲🌲
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
I've been saying this for 20+ years
a Fiat would be a Ferrari to my Panadero in comparison to just about any wood burner
A moisture meter is a needed tool but how does everyone keep from bending/breaking the tips off ?
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
I really don't see a need for any home burner to spend more than US$50 on a moisture meter in Jan 2024.
Typically these units are calibrated for Doug Fir at +70d Fahrenheit. Thank you @gthomas785 for the lovely table. There are also correction tables so you can get from Doug Fir at +70dF to (whatever) red oak at +50dF (for instance).
One problem is temperature. If your wood is outdoors at -20dF (common problem in the lower 48 this week), all the moisture in the wood is going to be ice- and therefore non conductive. You can bring a stick in from -20dF, split it open, read zero % MC. Let it thaw for a couple days and you might find 25-30-35% MC in the same stick now that the ice has thawn back into water that will conduct electricity.
I am comfortable taking readings at +50dF cord wood temp, knowing I need to add 'about' 1% to whatever MC the meter shows to be pretty close to actual.
The other problem is species and I too had this problem, in spades, as a first year burner. I would go to the prescribed area in the state forest and drive around on the 'roads' until I found 'a tree' close enough to the road to suit me. Back the truck up a safe distance, drop the tree, buck into rounds, load up, I was a total slut when it came to wood species.
I have not dropped a single alder/ cottonwood/ gopher wood tree since that first season. When you have a bunch of dry alder in your stacks the routine is to throw a stick in the stove and then go for another, therefore gopher wood. I don't have time for that. I need BTUs in my stove, not steps on the app in my smartphone.
I actually prefer soft woods like white and black spruce for really cold weather because of short coaling stage, and use whatever hardwood (birch) I have in the shoulders for the long coaling stage with lower BTU output. Besides the 'total' BTU content of your fuel, the other question is 'how fast' can you get all those BTUs out of the stove into your house. How many BTUs per hour can you get out of that fuel?
For a new burner I think the best advice is to scrounge everything you can get, get it split, get it stacked, get it top covered. If it is Spruce-Pine-Fir it will be ready with one full summer of seasoning most likely. If it is not SPF, likely two full summers of seasoning before it is ready to burn. So stack your SPF over here, and your not-SPF over there. Keep stacking. Fresh green cordwood, split, stacked off the ground and top covered is as good as money in the bank.
I think my first MM lasted about six months. My second one lasted about 18 months. My third MM is still going strong at +/- 8 years old. This process does get easier with experience.
Typically these units are calibrated for Doug Fir at +70d Fahrenheit. Thank you @gthomas785 for the lovely table. There are also correction tables so you can get from Doug Fir at +70dF to (whatever) red oak at +50dF (for instance).
One problem is temperature. If your wood is outdoors at -20dF (common problem in the lower 48 this week), all the moisture in the wood is going to be ice- and therefore non conductive. You can bring a stick in from -20dF, split it open, read zero % MC. Let it thaw for a couple days and you might find 25-30-35% MC in the same stick now that the ice has thawn back into water that will conduct electricity.
I am comfortable taking readings at +50dF cord wood temp, knowing I need to add 'about' 1% to whatever MC the meter shows to be pretty close to actual.
The other problem is species and I too had this problem, in spades, as a first year burner. I would go to the prescribed area in the state forest and drive around on the 'roads' until I found 'a tree' close enough to the road to suit me. Back the truck up a safe distance, drop the tree, buck into rounds, load up, I was a total slut when it came to wood species.
I have not dropped a single alder/ cottonwood/ gopher wood tree since that first season. When you have a bunch of dry alder in your stacks the routine is to throw a stick in the stove and then go for another, therefore gopher wood. I don't have time for that. I need BTUs in my stove, not steps on the app in my smartphone.
I actually prefer soft woods like white and black spruce for really cold weather because of short coaling stage, and use whatever hardwood (birch) I have in the shoulders for the long coaling stage with lower BTU output. Besides the 'total' BTU content of your fuel, the other question is 'how fast' can you get all those BTUs out of the stove into your house. How many BTUs per hour can you get out of that fuel?
For a new burner I think the best advice is to scrounge everything you can get, get it split, get it stacked, get it top covered. If it is Spruce-Pine-Fir it will be ready with one full summer of seasoning most likely. If it is not SPF, likely two full summers of seasoning before it is ready to burn. So stack your SPF over here, and your not-SPF over there. Keep stacking. Fresh green cordwood, split, stacked off the ground and top covered is as good as money in the bank.
I think my first MM lasted about six months. My second one lasted about 18 months. My third MM is still going strong at +/- 8 years old. This process does get easier with experience.
ctreitzell
Feeling the Heat
BC_Josh
Member
I would like to know too..... Besides, making sure it's a nice clear section of wood (no knots) first of all, then make sure not to bend it when you insert it or pull it out I have no other guesses....
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