Wet Wooded/Blacklisted

Not sure if it’s already been mentioned in this thread, but something to look out for and something that I’ve been dealing with is the moisture that gets caught inside of the bark.

Practically every piece of wood off my stack that appears to be a normal looking split, has actually absorbed moisture all throughout a rainy 2018 and then froze. I had burned many of these without noticing and didn’t understand why it took so long for the new load to take off.

Normally, I bring the wood in to warm up for 10-12 hours before burning and with the moisture meter reading below 20%, I’d figure I was good to go. It wasn’t until popping a piece of bark off that I realized how absolutely soaked the wood actually was.

My new routine is de-barking every split and drying it out in front of the stove. You would think that bark that is still tightly attached to the wood would repel the moisture, but in my experience, it’s actually proven to be more like a sponge. The biggest culprit has been black birch where peeling the paper bark off is just half the battle.

BlazeKingSaddles said:

Not sure if it’s already been mentioned in this thread, but something to look out for and something that I’ve been dealing with is the moisture that gets caught inside of the bark.

Practically every piece of wood off my stack that appears to be a normal looking split, has actually absorbed moisture all throughout a rainy 2018 and then froze. I had burned many of these without noticing and didn’t understand why it took so long for the new load to take off.

Normally, I bring the wood in to warm up for 10-12 hours before burning and with the moisture meter reading below 20%, I’d figure I was good to go. It wasn’t until popping a piece of bark off that I realized how absolutely soaked the wood actually was.

My new routine is de-barking every split and drying it out in front of the stove. You would think that bark that is still tightly attached to the wood would repel the moisture, but in my experience, it’s actually proven to be more like a sponge. The biggest culprit has been black birch where peeling the paper bark off is just half the battle.

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For properly seasoned wood , the surface moisture trapped under bark doesn’t really change the total moisture content

I got through a winter with green wood by splitting it small and baking it on a hearth grate sitting on top of the stove

BlazeKingSaddles said:

Normally, I bring the wood in to warm up for 10-12 hours before burning and with the moisture meter reading below 20%, I’d figure I was good to go. It wasn’t until popping a piece of bark off that I realized how absolutely soaked the wood actually was.
My new routine is de-barking every split and drying it out in front of the stove. You would think that bark that is still tightly attached to the wood would repel the moisture, but in my experience, it’s actually proven to be more like a sponge. The biggest culprit has been black birch where peeling the paper bark off is just half the battle.

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I had that problem with some wood I brought in from a stack where the top cover had blown off and it got rained on. There wasn't much bark or sapwood on this particular stuff (Red Oak,) but water was still able to soak in some on a couple of splits that weren't 100% solid wood. I crashed the cat a couple of times, dialing the air back to my normal cruise setting which wasn't enough to keep the wetter wood burning. Then I opened the door on a new load after about 15 minutes, and saw some moisture on the ends of a couple splits, and I figured out what was happening. I also noticed that these wetter splits were a little heavier than the others. I give these a few more days inside near the stove and let them dry out more than usual, and I've had no problems since.
A lot of the Red Oak I get is dead or fallen, and the sapwood on Red Oak punks out fast. It's a problem for holding moisture. Sometimes if it's crumbly enough, I have chipped off the bark/sapwood with a hatchet. It's a pain though, and takes forever.

rowerwet said:

I got through a winter with green wood by splitting it small and baking it on a hearth grate sitting on top of the stove

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But don't try this at home, unless you are sitting right there. My BIL smoked out his house when he "over-toasted" some wood. Luckily his wife had walked into the stove room and seen smoke.

ShawnLiNY said:

For properly seasoned wood , the surface moisture trapped under bark doesn’t really change the total moisture content

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Correct, but the surface moisture effects stove efficiency, can damage the catalyst and can create a perfect environment for creosote formation inside of your stack.

I been bringing in at least 4 days worth to dry in the wood rack, then the next load sits in front of the stove for a couple of hours, lights right up.

frederico265 said:

We moved into our house over the summer. I made arrangements to get wood from a friend of a friend. That fell through and I was left scrambling. I got a cord from one guy that appeared seasoned but was rain wet. That wood wasn’t awful but very wet. I got wet wooded by another guy and just turned 2 guys away for wet wood. I don’t know if I should keep looking and risk getting blacklisted if I turn guys away or just start working on next years supply.


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When I first started burning, I couldn't find what I would call quality firewood. Sellers called it "seasoned" and "a cord", but it was neither. After that, I bought cheaper freshly split (green) wood and seasoned it myself. Best wood ever.

I gave up on stacking outside. I use the back part of my garage, buy the wood early spring, and stack it inside until it’s needed in the late fall. The same wood stored outside will hiss and smoulder, but kept in the garage it lights quick and burns hot. No advantage to storing it outside the way the weather has been last few years.

I bring my winters wood into my basement in the fall. But it doesn't come in wet or dirty, comes in dry & clean.

kennyp2339 said:

I read on another forum that tsc is having a clearance sale on there compressed wood blocks, don't know if its just a local store or company wide, you may want to give them a call...$1.00 a package is a steal.

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That's exactly what I did. Rural King had the "Biobricks" on sale for 2.18 a six- pack. Bought what ended up being pretty much all they had at the time. Talked to several people standing around that day at RK that said they "loved" burning the Biobricks.

I've been there. Had a guy so pissed at me for sticking a meter to some of his splits. After seeing the 30-50% moisture reading told him no thanks.
As far as "blacklisted" by people trying to sale "seasoned" wet wood. Don't sweat it. Man, 99 percent of those guys and gals that have "dry seasoned" wood for sale don't know or CARE what dry wood is. There are plenty of folks out there that will buy and burn that wet wood and sit there smiling with not care in the world. May as well face it, nobody has dry wood for sale.

Seeing lots of Long Islanders here. Monkey business regarding what exactly constitutes a 'cord' and 'seasoned' is rampant, and prices high for what you do get. I have one local supplier that has excellent, small split, low moisture hardwood but it is very expensive, double $ per volume compared to the 'cut last year but stored outside rainsoaked' junk drops elsewhere.
There's one local Envibloc dealer, but he runs out quickly. I keep a half a ton in reserve just in case of power/gas/mechanical failure.