I want to start by saying I have learned a lot since joining this forum. I have learned that dry wood means cut split and stacked a whole year ahead of time. However I didnt know all that when I started on this years wood.
For this years wood I started last winter with a few truckloads and then again in the spring. Its about 80% cherry, maybe a little maple and a few peices of something my brother in law was cutting up. The cherries were blow downs, but not necessarily dead. They were all cut into 20" chunks. I split it all and stacked in early august, a little over a month ago. Ironically it was only a few days after stacking did I 'see the light' here lol. I was curious about the moisture content so I ordered one of the cheapie H.F. meters. Just went back and grabbed two of my average sized split and knocked em in half and checked the reading... both reading 30% in the center and one was 25% about 1/4 way from each end the other was a little closer to 20% 1/4 way from each end, I'll call it average in upper 20's MC. I split one of my biggest splits and it was at 34% in center and 28% 1/4 way from each end.
I have about 2.5 cords of the above wood, not quite enough so in addition I also have one small stack of wood (maybe about a face cord) that I got from my BIL last year split, its all pretty dry around 15%. And before I had been getting my own wood I was buying from my neighbor down the road who was selling level bed fulls (stacked) for $60 for an 8' bed. I still needed a little more and saw he had some left still split and stacked from last year and the pile was solid grey (out in the sun) so I bought one truckload again of that. Only problem with his is it is left in the open uncovered (rain). His was reading upper teens and a few bigger pieces in the low to mid 20's in the center. He has 1-2 more truckloads.
So what would you do? If I say my neighbors wood is good, between that and my BIL wood I have maybe 2/3 to 3/4 cord and could potentially get another truckload or too. My stuff is averaging upper 20's MC. Will mine dry enough? Its stacked on the porch so out of the rain, and the wind hits it head on, but the house is behind it so that cuts down on the circulation. Should I burn the good wood the first couple months and mine will be ready say by christmas? How much does wood dry in the winter? Or should I burn my upper 20's MC in the shoulder season and start mixing in the drier stuff once the cold season gets into full blast? Thanks for any advice!
For this years wood I started last winter with a few truckloads and then again in the spring. Its about 80% cherry, maybe a little maple and a few peices of something my brother in law was cutting up. The cherries were blow downs, but not necessarily dead. They were all cut into 20" chunks. I split it all and stacked in early august, a little over a month ago. Ironically it was only a few days after stacking did I 'see the light' here lol. I was curious about the moisture content so I ordered one of the cheapie H.F. meters. Just went back and grabbed two of my average sized split and knocked em in half and checked the reading... both reading 30% in the center and one was 25% about 1/4 way from each end the other was a little closer to 20% 1/4 way from each end, I'll call it average in upper 20's MC. I split one of my biggest splits and it was at 34% in center and 28% 1/4 way from each end.
I have about 2.5 cords of the above wood, not quite enough so in addition I also have one small stack of wood (maybe about a face cord) that I got from my BIL last year split, its all pretty dry around 15%. And before I had been getting my own wood I was buying from my neighbor down the road who was selling level bed fulls (stacked) for $60 for an 8' bed. I still needed a little more and saw he had some left still split and stacked from last year and the pile was solid grey (out in the sun) so I bought one truckload again of that. Only problem with his is it is left in the open uncovered (rain). His was reading upper teens and a few bigger pieces in the low to mid 20's in the center. He has 1-2 more truckloads.
So what would you do? If I say my neighbors wood is good, between that and my BIL wood I have maybe 2/3 to 3/4 cord and could potentially get another truckload or too. My stuff is averaging upper 20's MC. Will mine dry enough? Its stacked on the porch so out of the rain, and the wind hits it head on, but the house is behind it so that cuts down on the circulation. Should I burn the good wood the first couple months and mine will be ready say by christmas? How much does wood dry in the winter? Or should I burn my upper 20's MC in the shoulder season and start mixing in the drier stuff once the cold season gets into full blast? Thanks for any advice!