Wood too dry?

I put in a load of wood tonight, packed it tight like usual...a nice big load with big splits...the splits came from a round that was really dry...one could say rotted dry...it was light as feather...the load will not take off...what is the deal? I thought dry was good? I figured this load might go up quicker, but not die out and not take off!?!?

I cut up some ash that had been partially punky, I cut the punk out and kept the solid part although I still got a few punky splits, most of them I threw in the stove on warm days to get rid of them, a couple got wet and dont seem to want to dry out, Im thinking your wood isnt too dry but like a sponge is wet at the cellular level and is probably no good. I ended up throwing out the rest of what I had that was punky, it aint worth it.

Pretty sure it is dry...light as a feather...fortunately I don't have too much of this crud.

Mines light as a feather too but wont burn, I even put it in front of the stove for an hour and it still no good, chucked it.

It sounds like the wood you are trying to burn is punky - rotted to the point that a lot of the wood fibers are partially decomposed. Punky wood doesn't burn like solid wood, and it can hold more water than you think it is holding. I have a bunch of punky oak that I am burning and it helps to reload the stove with plenty of hot coals to get the punky wood started faster.

Not too dry Don. That does not happen. What it is is what Wood Duck stated; it is punky and you won't get much heat from it. Also, wood is not a sponge to soak up moisture.....except if it is punky then it will soak up lots of it. Light as a feather? I would simply throw it out.

The last time I burnt some punky wood it took off and it looked like the fourth of july in the stove, gassed off in a hearbeat and the afterburners lit up like doobies at a dead concert.

Sounds to me like your wood is to rotted to burn in a stove.

Yep i would too.

Punky wood...makes sense...it is going to the burn pile

Good place for it Don.