2016-17 Blaze King Performance Thread (Everything BK) Part 2

[Ignerence]

30.1 does not. 30 did. Running product change.

Sounds good, Thank you sir. .

Just checked two of my large stacks of wood (3+ cords). Everything is under 15% mc . Should be a good start to my first burning winter!

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

15% moisture is my goal but that is hard to achieve in this climate without waiting 2-3 years depending upon the species. After one summer being split/stacked/top-covered, most wood will burn adequately but the effect is soooo much better if the wood is truly dry all the way to the center of every split. Wood that is truly dry is a joy to light off and helps one lose their aversion to cold starts which seems pretty common here. I love going from zero to blazing in 5 minutes flat! Try that with mediocre wood...

 

[begreen]

15% moisture is my goal but that is hard to achieve in this climate without waiting 2-3 years depending upon the species.

I've done this the past two years in 6 months with doug fir in a well ventilated shed. Surprised the heck out of me. It was good to burn in October and by December I stopped using kindling for restarts. Madrona, cherry and locust on the other hand get 2 yrs.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I've done this the past two years in 6 months with doug fir in a well ventilated shed. Surprised the heck out of me. It was good to burn in October and by December I stopped using kindling for restarts. Madrona, cherry and locust on the other hand get 2 yrs.

True, but the climate in South Puget Sound is very different from the climate where my wood is in Glacier, WA, tucked into the North Cascades. Also, my lot is only 1/4 acre and is heavily wooded with tall evergreens only cleared enough to place a house and driveway. My best woodpile gets about 2-3 hours of direct/filtered sunlight during the summer and precious little in the winter while the other 2/3 of my wood rarely gets any direct sunlight. I've metered the freshly split surface of c/s/s wood after a year to find it is 16% moisture near the cut ends while still around 28% in the middle.

Wood like this will light relatively easy but, as soon as the fire gets going, the cooling effect from the buried moisture prevents the blaze from torching properly and prevents shutting the air supply down which of course limits not only the heat output but the length of burn. Which is why I give my wood 2-3 years depending upon the species. I figure I've already done the hard work so I should maximize the value buy giving it an extra year to become prime.

 

[webfish]

Starting new thread for season. Find it here.https://hearth.com/talk/threads/2017-18-blaze-king-performance-thread-everything-bk.162287/