Will my ash and black birch be ready?

[Razo]

This is my first year burning in a woodstove (open hearth last year) and also the first year that I have a moisture meter at my disposal (love this thing). I was checking the moisture content in my white ash and black birch and here are the results

white ash - 23% MC after being stacked since March 2014
black birch - 22% MC after being stacked since January 2014

I have them in full sun and wind at the moment and will be leaving them there for the time being. My plan was to start the year in mid to late October (weather permitting) with the white ash. I was planning on moving it up against my brick house next to my garage where it will be under a roof. It will still get the evening sun and some wind.

So my question is, do you think I will be ok burning this wood? I don't know if it will get down to 20% in that short amount of time (not likly) but I have even read that firewood below 25% is still ok, just not as ideal or efficient as wood left to dry to 20% and below. It is my first year and I am trying to get ahead, I really don't want to have to buy wood this year. If I didn't need it, I would gladly let it sit until next year but I could really really use it this winter.

 

[Shawn Curry]

Low 20's is good, sub 20's is excellent. It will continue to dry out with the weather as the temps cool down. Get it top covered before the wetter weather comes in the fall, and you'll be golden.

Those are both some of my favorite woods to burn. Black birch smells great, especially when splitting it.

 

[Razo]

Alright that makes me feel a little better. This will be my first time burning white ash, I had a very small amount of black birch for my open hearth last year and loved it. And yes, that wintergreen birch smell is a hard one to beat.

 

[check212]

Not to hijack this thread, but what about red/white oak at 23% right now in South Carolina covered by detached car port? I bought some from a guy in April who said it was seasoned. I split one and tested it, and it was at 20%. I checked a few more yesterday and they were at 23%.

 

[Shawn Curry]

Green wood is usually 30's or above. Low 20's is good. Sub 20's is ideal. To get any lower than that takes a kiln.

 

[northpa]

This is my first year burning in a woodstove (open hearth last year) and also the first year that I have a moisture meter at my disposal (love this thing). I was checking the moisture content in my white ash and black birch and here are the results

white ash - 23% MC after being stacked since March 2013
black birch - 22% MC after being stacked since January 2013

I have them in full sun and wind at the moment and will be leaving them there for the time being. My plan was to start the year in mid to late October (weather permitting) with the white ash. I was planning on moving it up against my brick house next to my garage where it will be under a roof. It will still get the evening sun and some wind.

So my question is, do you think I will be ok burning this wood? I don't know if it will get down to 20% in that short amount of time (not likly) but I have even read that firewood below 25% is still ok, just not as ideal or efficient as wood left to dry to 20% and below. It is my first year and I am trying to get ahead, I really don't want to have to buy wood this year. If I didn't need it, I would gladly let it sit until next year but I could really really use it this winter.

should have been in that range a year ago. you store it in a barn or garage?

 

[Razo]

Ha! I meant 2014! Don't know why I typed that, my mistake, I edited my post

 

[Lakeside]

I think you will be fine. I have used Black birch quite a bit with good results. Flame on !

 

[Beer Belly]

Are you measuring on a fresh split ??

 

[Razo]

I thought it would be drier by now as well, but I took a split off the top of my stack, split that in half and tested with the moisture meter on the newly exposed wood. Fluctuated between 22 and 23, granted I did split on the large side and have since corrected that practice. I realize a lot of the splits in the picture could be served well by being halved again.

Here is a picture after I finished stacking back in late march

 

[BruceNorEast]

Like you, I am going from an open hearth/fireplace to my first wood stove, so my opinion on this probably isn't worth much.

But I've seen that range being quoted as decent for burning. Watched a video recently of a commercial firewood kiln drying operation, with the spokesman saying that their wood comes out of the kiln between 20% and 30% and saying that's ideal. Not sure I'd agree with the high side.

If you can burn a few now, give it a try. If it really hisses or the ends drip, then you may have cause for concern.

Some here recommend mixing bio-blocks, etc., with wood that's not ideal.

I think you'll be fine.
Bruce.

 

[Razo]

Thanks for the input Bruce.

 

[Applesister]

We all know the wood will benefit from 2 year seasoning. But I have always given seasoned wood a year. I split smaller than the splits in your photo, however.
I have probably been burning all these years with those numbers and I look for signs in the stove that the wood is giving off water. It might be better for you to test the wood as you burn a new batch. Like on the weekends or during the day when you can watch it.
Trust the numbers to a point and then rely on your own judgment.

 

[Razo]

Good idea,

I'm acutally going to burn the stove out in the driveway this weekend, its not installed yet. The stove was sitting in the previous owners house as a decoration and they painted it with black rustoleum spray paint. I want to burn the stove outside the house to see if the spray paint will burn off. I don't want to take the time to strip it off or hit it with a wire cup brush on the angle grinder. I figure I'll stoke a good fire for a few hours and see what I get. I was nervous to just install it in case the paint gives off fumes.

 

[Applesister]

I've got some black birch in my stacks too that I split larger when I processed those trees. I'm curious. Everything I process is stacked by my burning start date of Oct 12th. So the season year is October to October. If you cut /process at a different time the wood will obviously have a less or more drying period.

 

[Applesister]

It will definitely give off very bad fumes. Good idea on the outside burn. That is NOT a stove paint. Unless you use engine block paint. I would not paint it. Just be careful you don't over fire the stove.

 

[Razo]

I'll be careful, I'm going to slip a 24" section of pipe over the rear flue connector and then start my fire. I want to get a good roaring blaze then turn the inlets down gradually until I have a nice fire and then let it exhaust all of its fuel. I figure if its burning a good 2-3 hours that should be good enough to affect the paint.