Wanted to try kiln dried but...

So I was going to purchase a cord of kiln dried hardwood to test out and compare to my stash for this year. I have a mix of hardwoods ranging from Oak and maple to a little bit of ash and cherry. All was purchased winter of last year as "seasoned". I soon found out as a newbie that this was anything but the case... The wood had a moisture content of approx 40%+.... So, I stacked it and left it be.... This year that same wood has an average moisture content of about 18%... Not too bad for one year.... i did stack in tall single rows in the wind. I'd like to believe that this helped speed up the seasoning. Anyway, to get on the my original thought here, I called up a local gentleman advertising kiln dried firewood for $400/cord. So I went to take a looksee..... What I found when i took my moisture meter and Fiskars with me was a moisture conted of 26% on a fresh split... Needless to say I didn't buy it. I sure would like to see how difficult it would be to build a firewood kiln.... Anyway, that's my rant.

i have a vigas 80 with 2000 gallon storage insulated in a 22 x 14 foam insulated building. Temp inside this boiler room runs 130 -140. I put in a pallet of wood two weeks before i want to burn it. just keep moving pallet closer to boiler. The boiler sucks in the combustion air from a window behind the pallet. So air has to go through the pallets of wood before it gets to the boiler. By the time it gets to boiler it is dry. Did not think it would work this good drying wood, but it is awesome. I have put new splits in pallet in room with no checks on ends. After two weeks they have checks 1/4" wide on ends and wood is dry. I was thinking of a dehumidifier as you can really feel the moisture in the air the first couple days you put the wood in and don't want that messing with the drywall. Thinking that might help dry it faster. Broke my moisture meter so can't give you readings right now by days. I have checked it before and after two weeks it was at 15% so i use that as a rule of thumb. Foamit Up

Needed dry wood after buying 'seasoned' last year and went with a cord of kiln dried for the season. Might not be able to get delivery to your area though. Looks like the prices are quite a bit higher than last year as well. quantity was spot on and the moisture content was 16%. Glad I don't have to pay for it this year though. Here's the link:

http://www.tinderpro.com/about-our-firewood

Nice
What did the "local gentleman" say when you split & measured 26% on his " " Dry" " wood ?
Bet he wasn't ready for a knowledgeable wood burner to actually test it

That is some expensive wood. And a crappy moisture content for being "kiln dried"! My wood averages around 17-21% or so depending on species after it has been stacked outside for one year. This is my first year buying some Oak. I got a mix of 10 face cord and about 2 face cord of that was Red Oak. Some heavy stuff. Wet now of course. But dense stuff. Much heavier than the Ash that came with the same load and cut at the same time. I will be leaving the Oak there for at least 18 months, but hopefully a full two years. Why were you thinking of spending that kind of money when you have wood for this year at 18%? That would almost be like Scotty going on vacation right now with his buddies and telling the wife he would be back at Thanksgiving.

Haha must of been an awkward moment ! I probably couldn't help myself if i was there and said " can't wait to see how low this goes after you put it into the kiln"....

He wasn't there when I looks at it... gave me his address and told me to stop by. I tested it and wasn't too surprised... it was outside in a big pile covered with tarps. While I was looking at it, a neighbor came out to see what I was doing. (Good neighbor!) Anyway, he ended up telling me that pile had been there since last year... started making sense after that. The gentleman called me back a few days later to see how I liked the wood and I told him my findings. He was surprised that's for sure... anyway. I don't think he has a clue about what " dry " wood is anyway... no big deal... I have plenty for the season.. just need to get at it for next year.

$400/cord. He may have a good clue about what dry wood is. Just going to make himself some money off of someone who does not know the difference. Ya never know.

Hmmm, we could make a "kiln" with a wood stove and some vents, one high and one low on the opposite end. Then we'd have our big screen in there and a nice chair, get it rippen'....... And ask ourselves "How much wood would it take to dry our wood?" Sorry just had to get that out

TS

Hi TTigano - Not sure about your particular case, but in general you should be careful about taking a 'spot' reading with a moisture meter! Particularly with kiln-dried firewood, you may well get a reading of 26% in the centre core of a fresh split face, but as this central area only makes up a small proportion of the total log volume, if the outside has a low reading say <5%, the overall moisture content will be far less. The only sure fire way of knowing the actual moisture is to do an 'oven-dry' test. Rgds Guy

Are you kidding me....575 for a cord of kiln dried