Cut-Split-Delivered "Seasoned" Wood

[kevinwburke]

S0 I am a bit of a novice here..a little unseasoned if you will........going to go back to a woodstove this winter and plan to be a little less ignorant this time (try at least). I can cut and season some of my own wood for next year but need to buy wood for this year. If you but wood from a local source...how "seasoned" is it, and is there any way to assess how good it is before they dump a few cords in the yard? Is there a BBB for firewood suppliers? I live in Central Ma and do not know of any reputable companies.

I assume the wood will be only partially seasoned and not really "ripe" till next year?


Thanks for any input...great forum here.

 

[smokingolf]

Kevin,

That was my problem the first year with my stove got the stove before I got wood. Someone from work gave me the name of a guy in town and got wood from him, it is just a side job for him as he has a lot of property in town with a lot of wood. I was told it was seasoned but had all kinds of trouble with the fire, keeping it going and the glass turning almost black. I thought it was a problem with the stove, but by the end of the year his wood got a little bit drier and the fires started getting better. So now after 4 years with the stove and being on this forum and reading everything in hear for hours a day sometimes I now have wood stacked and split sitting for over a year. I still buy atleast 1 cord a year from the guy (his wood is cut split and delivered for a very good price) I just know to wait to burn it. The lot I live on I have some woods behind and beside my house with huge maple trees that are at least 75' high with limbs that come down every now and then that are the size of medium trees and a few dead ash that are waiting for me to cut down. Long story short I scrounge from my property and buy a cord a year gets me through a season just fine.

For your situation what I've been doing if the wood I have isn't quite seasoned yet I have been adding some wood I get from work. I'll put 2 pcs of work wood and some not so seasoned wood to get going then as I need to add to the fire, I'll add splits with a piece from work and I will get a desent burn.

Read all you can on this site (it's addicting) and learn. And enjoy your stove. I've just come in from blowing leaves and am freezing so I'm going to go and lite a fire and enjoy mine.

Good luck,

Brian

 

[JoeyD]

Where you are located and what kind of wood you get are only a couple of the factors to consider. Your best bet is to go look at the guys site before you buy. If you can't do that you best be there when its delivered and don't give cash.

FWIW I'm still drying the seasoned oak I bought in June 2008. The stuff got me through my first year but it was a struggle. I did take the advice of the good people here and scrounged about 10 cords the past year. That should hold me untill the 2011-12 burning season.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Your only hope is to find someone who not only purports that their stuff is seasoned, but does not balk at you saying that you'll be checking 10 random splits off the truck before they dump it, If, on a freshly split by you surface, the moisture isn't around 20% or below - back they go. There's a place in Littleton that's very expensive ($375), but maybe start with them?

Avoid any stuff coming out of Worcester, but I'm sure you know that.

 

[kevinwburke]

Most places around here quote $250 per cord.....guess I will have to find a moisture meter and takee a ride. beats having poor wood. And no....no Beetlejuice for me.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Most places around here quote $250 per cord.....guess I will have to find a moisture meter and takee a ride. beats having poor wood. And no....no Beetlejuice for me.

Harborfreight, $20 inc shipping, but be prepared to wait a few weeks for delivery.

 

[iceman]

there is a guy in gardner dont know the name or how close to you but i have seen piles from march so that could be partially seasoned.... but check craigslist under firewood and look at pics then call

 

[cycloxer]

What town do you live in? I have a guy I buy wood from in the Harvard-Bolton-Sudbury area who will do $250 per cord for oak & maple. It is not aged, but it is top shelf wood. He will also do kiln dried for more money. I have another guy who does wood in the Carlisle area. They are both very honest sellers who will deliver you a full cord of quality wood. They tend to serve their local area, so if you are more than a town or so away, you are better off going w/ a local guy.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Most places around here quote $250 per cord.....guess I will have to find a moisture meter and takee a ride. beats having poor wood. And no....no Beetlejuice for me.

Woooo! I just about fell off my chair reading that.
Most newbies in this forum wouldn't think that far ahead, the usual course of events is to take delivery of alleged "seasoned" wood, pay for it, and then gripe about how wet the wood is, in a 3 page thread, here in this forum.
Good on you Kevin, maybe you'll start a new forum fad.
Just remember to take a splitting maul with you and split the pieces open that you are checking and check them on the inside, otherwise you get false (dryer) readings on the outside.
Thing is, I have a sneaking suspicion that you may not find any truly seasoned wood (<25%) at any of those wood sellers, but it's worth a try. Let us know how it goes.

 

[cycloxer]

I agree. I would be very surpised if you can find 1 yr old split wood for 250 per cord. The guy may call it seasoned. Just ask him when it was cut and split and then you can do the math and figure out what it it worth. Around here, seasoned goes for another 100 per cord +/- (ie, it is not worth it).

 

[kevinwburke]

Thanks for all the feedback...I sent a few emails out over the weekend...standard response is the wood has been seasoned "One year". I'll get a moisture meter and check a few suppliers and let you know what I find.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Thanks for all the feedback...I sent a few emails out over the weekend...standard response is the wood has been seasoned "One year". I'll get a moisture meter and check a few suppliers and let you know what I find.

standard response is the wood has been seasoned "One year" in log form

 

[firefighterjake]

Most places around here quote $250 per cord.....guess I will have to find a moisture meter and takee a ride. beats having poor wood. And no....no Beetlejuice for me.

Woooo! I just about fell off my chair reading that.
Most newbies in this forum wouldn't think that far ahead, the usual course of events is to take delivery of alleged "seasoned" wood, pay for it, and then gripe about how wet the wood is, in a 3 page thread, here in this forum.
Good on you Kevin, maybe you'll start a new forum fad.
Just remember to take a splitting maul with you and split the pieces open that you are checking and check them on the inside, otherwise you get false (dryer) readings on the outside.
Thing is, I have a sneaking suspicion that you may not find any truly seasoned wood (<25%) at any of those wood sellers, but it's worth a try. Let us know how it goes.

Words . . . words . . . words . . . words . . . words.

Sorry, I was distracted by your avatar . . . I tell you . . . you and Kenny posting these pics . . . very distracting . . . makes it hard to focus on my wood . . . uh, firewood.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Words . . . words . . . words . . . words . . . words.

Sorry, I was distracted by your avatar . . . I tell you . . . you and Kenny posting these pics . . . very distracting . . . makes it hard to focus on my wood . . . uh, firewood.

LOL
Come now Jake, you must be use to seeing that. Everybody in this forum brags about how they get their houses so warm that their wife's strip down to nothing.
My avatar is just a visual representation of my wife warming her tush by my fire.

 

[firefighterjake]

Words . . . words . . . words . . . words . . . words.

Sorry, I was distracted by your avatar . . . I tell you . . . you and Kenny posting these pics . . . very distracting . . . makes it hard to focus on my wood . . . uh, firewood.

LOL
Come now Jake, you must be use to seeing that. Everybody in this forum brags about how they get their houses so warm that their wife's strip down to nothing.
My avatar is just a visual representation of my wife warming her tush by my fire.

So you're the caveman?

And yes . . . pretty normal for my wife to just be wearing an over-sized T shirt around the house.

 

[PapaDave]

Words . . . words . . . words . . . words . . . words.

Sorry, I was distracted by your avatar . . . I tell you . . . you and Kenny posting these pics . . . very distracting . . . makes it hard to focus on my wood . . . uh, firewood.

LOL
Come now Jake, you must be use to seeing that. Everybody in this forum brags about how they get their houses so warm that their wife's strip down to nothing.
My avatar is just a visual representation of my wife warming her tush by my fire.

So you're the caveman?

And yes . . . pretty normal for my wife to just be wearing an over-sized T shirt around the house.

All these metaphors for ............well, you know.
Stop it, I come here for the knowledge and stuff.
Too distracting.
Oh, and the avatar pic is WAY too small.

Dave