Going out to a plant nursery that advertises seasoned wood. It's going to be our first year burning and we don't have a stockpile of wood we've seasoned ourselves just yet. We're going to bring bring an ax so that we can test a fresh split with our moisture meter. I know that 20% or lower is ideal. Given that (a) it will likely be mixed hardwoods, (b) we still have about 3-4 months to let it dry out a little further, and (c) we live in a pretty humid area, what do you think is the highest acceptable moisture percentage for wood at this point?
Buying wood today...
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It really depends on the wood. I had to tap into some ash last winter in the end of Feb that i had just split in Oct/Nov and it was at 27%. It burned okay mixed with some 17-20% ash but on its own you could tell the difference in the stove temp. I'd say if you get some that are at 25% you'd be okay since we still have a couple months of 80+ temps as long as it is getting predominant sun most of the day but again, 25% ash is much different than say 27% oak.
Likely going to be on the high side moisture wise - few sell really true below or even at 20% moisture content wood. Plan on acquiring say a pallet load of compressed wood blocks to be mixed in with the traditional splits. This will give you something to get the stove going supply enough heat to dry out the splits and generally get you bye this year. Of course acquiring wood for 16-17 season should be done now. species that dry fairly fast would be Ash, big leaf maples, lessor Elms ( not red or rock) Box Elder to name a few of the less dense items- split to apx 3-4" cross section. Oak. Rock elm , Rock maple, Locust, Beech and similar are going to take on avg about 2 years to dry out- ( variable depending on your climate stacking area ectera) Be careful of suppliers a lot say season for x years or cutx amount of time ago- lay around in log form for a couple years desn't do much of anything to dry firewood down to the proper levels needed in todays stoves. The difference in performance from say above 20% moisture content to less than 20% is night and day. And you flue will thank you also.
I have a big garden center just a couple blocks from my shop- they bring in log loads to their back lot which customers can't see process and pile big mounds out front- They do a heck of a business- but it isn't anywhere near dry enough for current model stoves. I process some 15-20 cords per year sell very little maybe a cord or so per season - although now that I am 5 or more years ahead I can sell more- but then I get this "what if" feeling if I sell my dry stuff and something happens that I can't process, heck of a conundrum, frankly I could use some extra cash this year.
I have a big garden center just a couple blocks from my shop- they bring in log loads to their back lot which customers can't see process and pile big mounds out front- They do a heck of a business- but it isn't anywhere near dry enough for current model stoves. I process some 15-20 cords per year sell very little maybe a cord or so per season - although now that I am 5 or more years ahead I can sell more- but then I get this "what if" feeling if I sell my dry stuff and something happens that I can't process, heck of a conundrum, frankly I could use some extra cash this year.
Fred Wright
Minister of Fire
Agreed with Blades, finding fully seasoned firewood for sale is a rarity. But don't let a higher MC deter you from buying. If there's faster drying wood in there like soft maple, it could be ready for this winter. Just keep it top covered.
Pennsyltucky Chris
Minister of Fire
I'd have to say 20% or lower is ideal. If the splits test anywhere south of 25%, you might as well give it a try/buy. You have a few months to go. And if you have the space, single stack it. I have had excellent results with some of the slower drying woods this way.
Thanks for the great advice!
We unfortunately didn't end up buying today. At the first location, we went to test the wood ($300 with delivery for a cord) but the moisture meter battery randomly had gone out. Oops. However, the splits felt pretty heavy and were just piled up, so we almost didn't need to test it to guess that it wasn't in the right range. Next, picked up a new battery for the meter and went to a second place. $400 with delivery for a cord, which again was just laying out in big piles. Felt much drier than the first place, but tested on the high side for any pieces that we pulled out from under the top layer of the pile. Plus, we only tested the outside of the splits because we chickened out at the last minute on the idea of carrying a big ax around the plant nursery.
I definitely see what you mean about probably not being able to purchase truly seasoned wood. Not sure what to do now, as I don't think I can bring myself to pay these prices when the wood wasn't so great. The $400 stuff at Store #2 was better than the $300 stuff at Store #1... but, man, for $400 I kind of want it to be perfect. There's another company I've found that charges $225 and says that their wood has been cut for 6 months to a year. Maybe I'll give that a try and just resign myself to the assumption that it won't be all the way dry.
We have a pine tree and cherry tree that we're splitting and stacking now for the 2016-17 winter, courtesy of a landscaping company, so hopefully this will be the only year that buying wood is an issue. Thanks for the suggestion on compressed wood blocks - will look into those as a way to supplement not-quite-dry wood. The idea of single-stacking it is a good one, too.
We unfortunately didn't end up buying today. At the first location, we went to test the wood ($300 with delivery for a cord) but the moisture meter battery randomly had gone out. Oops. However, the splits felt pretty heavy and were just piled up, so we almost didn't need to test it to guess that it wasn't in the right range. Next, picked up a new battery for the meter and went to a second place. $400 with delivery for a cord, which again was just laying out in big piles. Felt much drier than the first place, but tested on the high side for any pieces that we pulled out from under the top layer of the pile. Plus, we only tested the outside of the splits because we chickened out at the last minute on the idea of carrying a big ax around the plant nursery.
I definitely see what you mean about probably not being able to purchase truly seasoned wood. Not sure what to do now, as I don't think I can bring myself to pay these prices when the wood wasn't so great. The $400 stuff at Store #2 was better than the $300 stuff at Store #1... but, man, for $400 I kind of want it to be perfect. There's another company I've found that charges $225 and says that their wood has been cut for 6 months to a year. Maybe I'll give that a try and just resign myself to the assumption that it won't be all the way dry.
We have a pine tree and cherry tree that we're splitting and stacking now for the 2016-17 winter, courtesy of a landscaping company, so hopefully this will be the only year that buying wood is an issue. Thanks for the suggestion on compressed wood blocks - will look into those as a way to supplement not-quite-dry wood. The idea of single-stacking it is a good one, too.
I wouldnt think twice about carrying an axe around and testing splits with a meter. Just be friendly. And just dont forget the axe somewhere. (Doh...)
Ive noticed a major difference between 20% and 17% on beech, which is very dense. I would never entertain the idea of burning 25%-27% moisture wood. You wont get any heat. Its an exercise in wastefulness.
Sometimes the honest dealers will offer you the least attractive offer, by honestly telling you when the wood was cut. And all wood sold commercially is probably cut within a year. All the wood sellers by me run out of wood by March, if you get that far and you run out its virtually impossible to find any wood, even green.
Buy the cheapest you can find and clock it yourself.
Ive noticed a major difference between 20% and 17% on beech, which is very dense. I would never entertain the idea of burning 25%-27% moisture wood. You wont get any heat. Its an exercise in wastefulness.
Sometimes the honest dealers will offer you the least attractive offer, by honestly telling you when the wood was cut. And all wood sold commercially is probably cut within a year. All the wood sellers by me run out of wood by March, if you get that far and you run out its virtually impossible to find any wood, even green.
Buy the cheapest you can find and clock it yourself.
Fred Wright
Minister of Fire
Well.... way I figure, you'll be paying for it whether you buy it this year or next. If you buy it this year it'll be ready to use by next year (hopefully).
Moisture content is a moot point since you won't be burning the wood this year anyway. Assume it's gonna be green or partially so and stack it for next year.
Moisture content is a moot point since you won't be burning the wood this year anyway. Assume it's gonna be green or partially so and stack it for next year.
claydogg84
Minister of Fire
Since your current stockpile is non-existent I'd advise that you're not in a position to be choosy. If it's too wet what are you going to do? Pass on it and hope the next guy isn't exaggerating too?
If you can ID wood, maybe you can pick out just soft Maple, Cherry or Tulip Poplar from the pile. The more dense woods just don't have the time to dry much. Soft Maple and the like will dry much faster in the few months that are left, if you stack single-row in a windy spot and split small. Maybe he would take a little less for a cord, since it is lower-BTU wood, but even if he didn't, at least you would have a fighting chance to get some wood semi-dry. And like blades said, try to find the wood that has been split the longest. Rounds don't dry much, even if bucked to length.
BoiledOver
Minister of Fire
If a tornado took all my wood away today? I would down a dozen aspen, split small and hope for the best. In addition, I would be preparing for the following 2 heating seasons right now harvesting hardwoods and soft.
If you can get your hands on some partially seasoned firewood and re-split right now this week, you will have a chance for some good burns this coming winter.
If you can get your hands on some partially seasoned firewood and re-split right now this week, you will have a chance for some good burns this coming winter.
ridemgis
Feeling the Heat
If I had to pay four hundred/cord I definitely choose the bricks (@$269 a pallet in these parts). Cheaper, cleaner, easier to store, and great heat with a long burn time.
So, randomly, I may have had a huge stroke of good luck last night. A family member asked what we'd done over the weekend. I said we spent part of it building yet another woodshed... and then he asked if we wanted the firewood at their house. They had to move a few years ago and have been renting it out, but the renters never used the wood and now they actually need to get rid of it to clean up the yard so that they can put the place up for sale next month. Should be a cord and a half that was stacked in 2012, probably hardwood of some kind. It's about two hours away, so all we'll need to do is drive down and then rent a u-haul for a hundred bucks to bring the wood to our place. I hope it's not rotted and I hope that it really is a full cord or more, but am extremely excited about this turn of events.
We've been fortunate when it comes to acquiring free green wood this year and splitting it ourselves, so hopefully we'll have a supply built up for future winters. Thanks for all of the ideas... this forum is incredible. The comments about the soft maple make me wonder if we could maybe even get the pine we have ready by winter if we split it small enough and stack it the right way.
We've been fortunate when it comes to acquiring free green wood this year and splitting it ourselves, so hopefully we'll have a supply built up for future winters. Thanks for all of the ideas... this forum is incredible. The comments about the soft maple make me wonder if we could maybe even get the pine we have ready by winter if we split it small enough and stack it the right way.
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