Confused: 2 year old 15% moisture wood hissing and steaming

[Sprinter]

Ashful (or anyone): You may want to ask bholler how he gets his oak done in one year. Must be doing something right.

I don't have any of the "three year" species, but I do well with allowing more space between splits or whatever I can to improve air flow. Single rows probably help too if one has the room. A beezy location, dry, warm climate, etc, all contribute. Sometimes I stack criss-cross on the theory that it allows better air flow, but I'm not certain about that and it does take extra space.

 

[Ashful]

Ashful (or anyone): You may want to ask bholler how he gets his oak done in one year. Must be doing something right.

I don't have any of the "three year" species, but I do well with allowing more space between splits or whatever I can to improve air flow. Single rows probably help too if one has the room. A beezy location, dry, warm climate, etc, all contribute. Sometimes I stack criss-cross on the theory that it allows better air flow, but I'm not certain about that and it does take extra space.

Lots of factors, here, not the least of which is personal expectation. I'd never know that three year wood was better, if I was burning it all before its second year.

The only folks I know getting good dry wood in a year are those with kilns, a'la Poindexter.

 

[Sprinter]

The only folks I know getting good dry wood in a year are those with kilns, a'la Poindexter.

Yeah, that's one good way. Lots of good looking DIY solar kiln plans available. I actually made a temporary one my first year that I think helped quite a bit.

One other thing I've done that helps is just splitting down smaller than usual. More surface area exposed and less depth to dry.

 

[bholler]

Lots of factors, here, not the least of which is personal expectation. I'd never know that three year wood was better, if I was burning it all before its second year.

The only folks I know getting good dry wood in a year are those with kilns, a'la Poindexter.

The moisture meter does not lie. And no i am not using a cheapy unreliable one. I am using my $250 one from when i was a cabinet maker. And yes i calibrate it yearly. I split small stack single rows and top cover as soon as it is split. As i have said before yes it does better with 2 years which gets me to 15 or 16 on most peices. But at my last house i just didnt have the room for 2 years much less 3 years of wood. I do now and i have 2 triaxle loads one half cut and split already sitting out there to get ahead. I am by no means saying that being 3 years ahead is a bad thing it just isnt possible for some people given the space they have. And it can be done in less time.

 

[Sprinter]

The moisture meter does not lie. And no i am not using a cheapy unreliable one. I am using my $250 one from when i was a cabinet maker.

Sounds like an RF pinless type? Do those work okay on rough surfaces like firewood? I've never used one, but I always thought the surface had to be quite flat and smooth as I've seen in some articles. Just wondering.

 

[bholler]

Sounds like an RF pinless type? Do those work okay on rough surfaces like firewood? I've never used one, but I always thought the surface had to be quite flat and smooth as I've seen in some articles. Just wondering.

No it has pins. It also adjusts for species and temp. I dont remember the brand i will check tomorrow. We carry it in the van to test customers wood and the van is not at my house.

 

[Sprinter]

No it has pins. It also adjusts for species and temp.

Oh, okay. Got confused by the price and former use. Must be a very nice one.

 

[bholler]

Oh, okay. Got confused by the price and former use. Must be a very nice one.

It is atleast 15 years old a similar one now would be much less.

 

[bholler]

And no apparently the rf ones dont work on firewood they dont even work well on rough cut. I used mine to test shipments as they came in to make sure they were useable. You can loose allot of money if it is not right.

 

[Sprinter]

I dont remember the brand i will check tomorrow.

Thanks. That would be nice if you could recommend a premium one. Some members here are rightly concerned about reliability and accuracy. I think one that compensated for temps and species would be especially useful.

I found a cheap one that works really well for me, but I don't use it all that much anymore since I'm on a three year plan now anyway. Still, they come in handy when your wood is iffy or if you are just sampling a stack., but especially for those just getting started or don't have room for several cords. They are the most vulnerable to damp wood problems and the ones I'm most concerned about here.

 

[bholler]

Thanks. That would be nice if you could recommend a premium one. Some members here are rightly concerned about reliability and accuracy. I think one that compensated for temps and species would be especially useful.

I found a cheap one that works really well for me, but I don't use it all that much anymore since I'm on a three year plan now anyway. Still, they come in handy when your wood is iffy or if you are just sampling a stack., but especially for those just getting started or don't have room for several cords. They are the most vulnerable to damp wood problems and the ones I'm most concerned about here.

I honestly dont use it on my wood anymore i can tell without it by weight sound etc. And if i put a peoce that is to wet in the stove it is pretty obvious.

 

[bholler]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEGDXNO/?tag=hearthamazon-20

It is a general here is one that looks comperable. Mine does have remote probes mounted on a slide hammer so you can sample nice and deep even in hard woods.

 

[Sprinter]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEGDXNO/?tag=hearthamazon-20

It is a general here is one that looks comperable. Mine does have remote probes mounted on a slide hammer so you can sample nice and deep even in hard woods.

Thanks. That one looks very nice. It may be a hard sell for a lot of folks here though. Some don't even want to spend 15 or 20 for one. But I'll mention it when asked for recommendations.

BTW, my first one failed at the bulkhead because it was just too weak for my exuberance one time. One specially designed for that kind of deeper penetration would be nice, showing a durable build quality if nothing else.

 

[bholler]

Here is one you can add the slide hammer attachment to like mine

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000224D3/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[Sprinter]

Here is one you can add the slide hammer attachment to like mine

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000224D3/?tag=hearthamazon-20

Thanks, but in light of most member's budgets, I think this would be a good place to stop. Still there are some really nice ones there if one is interested in the top shelf stuff. Thanks for pointing them out. You can spend your money in much worse places, that's for sure, like a couple of women in my far single past whom I can barely remember now LOL (Not including my wife of 30+ years, of course...)

 

[bholler]

Thanks, but in light of most member's budgets, I think this would be a good place to stop. Still there are some really nice ones there if one is interested in the top shelf stuff. Thanks for pointing them out. You can spend your money in much worse places, that's for sure, like a couple of women in my far single past whom I can barely remember now LOL (Not including my wife of 30+ years, of course...)

Yeah i would never consider buying anything like it for firewood. But i have it so i will use it

 

[Sprinter]

Yeah i would never consider buying anything like it for firewood. But i have it so i will use it

Still, that provision for temperature and species compensation could prevent a lot of questions. A lot of folks are using it on frozen wood for example, which does throw things off. I'm sure there are charts that show it that available on line. I just never looked for one. Species does matter too but to a lesser extent I think.

Just for those reading this if there are any left lol, meters are pretty universally calibrated based on Douglas Fir. Other species will read differently. Conductivity varies.

Thanks for the input.

 

[coutufr]

I am still there Sprinter this is good information I will go to sleep less stupid tonight [emoji42]

 

[Sprinter]

I am still there Sprinter this is good information I will go to sleep less stupid tonight [emoji42]

Oh, good , I thought we were going to put some people to sleep there. May your sleep be a productive but restful one...

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I may have missed it earlier in the post. Are you saying confirmed 15% wood is still wet? It's very possible the majority of your wood is at 15% but you have a few oddball wet pieces. For example, I am burning 4 year old red oak right now. Most of it is almost so dry I can light the splits directly from a few pieces of crumpled newspaper. But I've also had a few pieces (likely from the bottom of the pile) that sizzled out a little moisture when first put in the stove.

 

[Sprinter]

I may have missed it earlier in the post. Are you saying confirmed 15% wood is still wet? It's very possible the majority of your wood is at 15% but you have a few oddball wet pieces. For example, I am burning 4 year old red oak right now. Most of it is almost so dry I can light the splits directly from a few pieces of crumpled newspaper. But I've also had a few pieces (likely from the bottom of the pile) that sizzled out a little moisture when first put in the stove.

That absolutely happens. That's one reason I still use my meter, when something doesn't seem as dry as it should. If it isn't, I put it over on next years side. Experience counts, technology helps develop experience. If in doubt, use it next year would be my suggestion.

 

[Ashful]

My wood is all 3+ years CSSd, and while I haven’t bothered putting batteries in the MM and probing it in a few years, I have plenty of evidence showing it’s dry. However, I still get the odd wet one, almost always a knotty or gnarly piece, as that interlocked grain sometimes just wont let up the moisture. When it’s a single sizzler in ten otherwise dry splits, it seems to do no harm.

 

[Sprinter]

My wood is all 3+ years CSSd, and while I haven’t bothered putting batteries in the MM and probing it in a few years, I have plenty of evidence showing it’s dry. However, I still get the odd wet one, almost always a knotty or gnarly piece, as that interlocked grain sometimes just wont let up the moisture. When it’s a single sizzler in ten otherwise dry splits, it seems to do no harm.

Yeah, I've done it that way too. As long as you have a good, mature hot fire going and with nice hot coals, putting an odd damp piece on the top doesn't seem to hurt anything except shave some efficiency off. Just don't overdo it or the fire can cool too much. You do have to watch it if the damp split is at all large.

I had a lot of unintended experience with this my first year when my wood was all over place in MC. I got through it many times that way, but I had enough decent wood for the basis.

 

[Ashful]

On the rare occasion I get a wet one (maybe only one or three splits per cord, since I normally only drag home straight logs), it usually is a monster split. It’s big and wet, cuz it was too gnarly to split small. Still, no issue. Bake it out ten minutes in bypass, then engage cat, and you’re off to the races. Never an issue.

 

[jscs.moore]

I honestly dont use it on my wood anymore i can tell without it by weight sound etc. And if i put a peoce that is to wet in the stove it is pretty obvious.

I bought a 4 pinned moisture reader a few years back for about $29 bucks on-line. I forget the brand name but it seems like you really have to press the pins in hard to get an accurate reading? For example, if my wife tries sticking the pins into a split it might read 5%...I will take the same split and push the pins in hard as I can and I get a reading of 18 or 19%?? Is this normal and should I have to use all my strength to get all the pins deep enough in to get an accurate reading?