Bad wood - Kiln dried

[Viktonka]

Well I got duped today. I have been buying kiln dried oak from a dealer in my area and the wood is generally around 11-13%. I did come across a newer business, at least new to me, that sells kiln dried wood. I decided to give him a try since he was slightly cheaper and I purchased two cords of oak. Over the phone he told me I could light it with match when i asked about the moisture content. He was very generous with the amount of wood he delivered. Looks like I have closer to three cords. But..at the time I couldn't find my moisture meter and took his word for it but once I found it, the wood on a fresh split is close to 40%. I currently have a couple cords of wood I am seasoning that will be ready next year and maybe a cord and a half of pine and maple that is very dry so I should be good for this winter. I am a little pissed and will give him a call in the morning. Any suggestions on how to approach this? I could have paid half the price for the same wood (wet) from someone else. I'm just really irritated. I should have stuck with my original supplier.

I am only buying kiln dried wood right now because I just bought the house and working on a wood shed and a supply. I appreciate the help.

 

[begreen]

Some sellers just quickly kiln dry the wood to kill any bugs. That's not the same as drying until it's dry inside. Always check a few pieces for moisture content before accepting a load. If you don't have a moisture meter you can tell 40% moisture wood pretty quickly, it's heavy! When you bang two splits together they go thud instead of the musical note you hear when banging together dry wood. If you split it apart, 40% moisture wood will often be glistening wet inside and if you put the fresh face of the wood against your cheek it will feel cool and damp.

 

[Viktonka]

Yes, I know that now. I split it and it was cool. The logs were heavier than normal. What a bummer.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, some kiln dried wood is just bug free. But this one promised it would light with a match. That is just a plain lie here. He did not keep his side of the (verbal, unfortunately) contract, so you should ask him to come and pick it up again and refund you...

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Well I got duped today. I have been buying kiln dried oak from a dealer in my area and the wood is generally around 11-13%. I did come across a newer business, at least new to me, that sells kiln dried wood. I decided to give him a try since he was slightly cheaper and I purchased two cords of oak. Over the phone he told me I could light it with match when i asked about the moisture content. He was very generous with the amount of wood he delivered. Looks like I have closer to three cords. But..at the time I couldn't find my moisture meter and took his word for it but once I found it, the wood on a fresh split is close to 40%. I currently have a couple cords of wood I am seasoning that will be ready next year and maybe a cord and a half of pine and maple that is very dry so I should be good for this winter. I am a little pissed and will give him a call in the morning. Any suggestions on how to approach this? I could have paid half the price for the same wood (wet) from someone else. I'm just really irritated. I should have stuck with my original supplier.

I am only buying kiln dried wood right now because I just bought the house and working on a wood shed and a supply. I appreciate the help.

Your signature says usa.. so I dont know where your located.. You could put some of this wood on racks really quickly and do a 1.5 cord kiln.. its the beginning of August so you'll be able to get those numbers down alot by the time burning season comes.. but you gotta do it now

 

[Rickb]

I have never actually bought wood and expected it to be under 25+%

 

[DonTee]

That sucks. I’d call him tomorrow for sure. He probably thought you wouldn’t check it, or you wouldn’t notice until it’s time to start burning wood.

Before buying wood I think it’s important to get an actual MC number from the guy though. Like his wood is supposed to be 15-17% MC. Something you can hold him to. Because while the “light with a match” thing makes me think it’s dry also, it leaves it open for interpretation.

 

[brenndatomu]

"Light it with a match"...hmm...never seen too much match light oak...dry or not (unless we are talking splinters)

 

[peakbagger]

I would approach the call that there seems to have been a mix up with the wood, he represented that the wood being delivered was kiln dried and could be lit with a match, the wood delivered is green as confirmed by a moisture meter. Feel free to speculate to him that maybe this was wood ready to move into the kiln and got mixed up with the wood coming out of the kiln. You then ask him what he would suggest he does to correct the issue.

 

[DonTee]

^ I like that. Less confrontational that way. Give him a chance to make it right first

 

[johneh]

Buying dry wood is a mugs game. What ever the seller says is worth a grain of salt .
Any wood I sell has a written doc which spells out Type of wood , amount of wood
and M/C . I sell out every year and 90% are repeat customers . I also sell my
firewood at or below the going rate here .
In this game it is buyer beware
Sorry you got taken but unless the seller is a good man you have no recourse
other than not to buy from him again

 

[CincyBurner]

I'm not impressed with term kiln-dried firewood. It's begs the question, how much was it kilned ?

Primary importantance is not that turkey was baked (1 hr. ?, 6 hours ?), but baked to a proper 'doneness'.​

The magic is not that it's been kiln-dried, but that it's been dried down to an acceptable MC for sale (e.g, 20% MC), whether active (kiln-dried), or passive, solar in stacks/ piles it has reached a target MC.
Wanting desireable MC at a great price from kiln-drying is to have unrealistic expectation. Buyers shouldn't be greedy.
Kiln-drying down to MC for 'dry' firewood is energy intensive. Someone needs to pay for the added fuel/ energy costs, OR choose the alternative of increased seasoning time (passive/ solar).
It's a matter of truth in advertising. Customers should rather be demanding that firewood be sold at

1. Guaranteed MC (<20%, 20-30%, 40%+ (green))
2. OR sold 'As-Is'

. . . and check off the box prior to purchasing. That would protect both parties in sale.

 

[peakbagger]

WIth the current and expected heating oil pricing this winter, anyone with firewood for sale is going to sell every stick of it. The only kiln dried operation near me is a place that makes bundles of firewood for campgrounds. They sell "seconds" which consist of shorts and odd pieces like crotches. They are darn close to match light. Last thing I sa was $85 for a quarter cord "big bag"on a pallet.