I now have 3 cords stacked (okay, mostly stacked). The first cord was a local tree service type who said it was seasoned, and then when he arrived he said it was seasoned and freshly split. Which I believe, because the ends look weathered. So.. not really seasoned. It's all pretty similar stuff, light brown inside, lumber color.
The second two cords were from a more professional wood guy, whose website talks about the importance of seasoning, and how he sells "last year's wood". Sounds great. Split lengths are much more consistent than the first guy, and there's a mix of wood types. Some birch, some stuff that has no bark (uniformly light brown, very smooth where the bark was with an even curve to it.. it's also less dense than the oak, maybe because it's seasoned, but it doesn't have a white/grey look to it..).. Anyway, suddenly I can tell what real seasoned wood is -- about 10-20% of this load is grey, cracked on the ends, and noticeably lighter than the other stuff. I'm thinking that most of this was split in the spring, and the good stuff was mixed in from the previous spring.
Time for a moisture meter, I guess.
If I'm desperate to burn in my new insert, is there a guideline as to how green I can go without damaging something (too much creosote and smoke, or whatever)? Any chance in hell that wood split in May is going to be burnable? I have oil heat, so it's not like I'm going to freeze, but I wanted to establish a routine for the family...
Thanks for any advice.
The second two cords were from a more professional wood guy, whose website talks about the importance of seasoning, and how he sells "last year's wood". Sounds great. Split lengths are much more consistent than the first guy, and there's a mix of wood types. Some birch, some stuff that has no bark (uniformly light brown, very smooth where the bark was with an even curve to it.. it's also less dense than the oak, maybe because it's seasoned, but it doesn't have a white/grey look to it..).. Anyway, suddenly I can tell what real seasoned wood is -- about 10-20% of this load is grey, cracked on the ends, and noticeably lighter than the other stuff. I'm thinking that most of this was split in the spring, and the good stuff was mixed in from the previous spring.
Time for a moisture meter, I guess.
If I'm desperate to burn in my new insert, is there a guideline as to how green I can go without damaging something (too much creosote and smoke, or whatever)? Any chance in hell that wood split in May is going to be burnable? I have oil heat, so it's not like I'm going to freeze, but I wanted to establish a routine for the family...
Thanks for any advice.