First Time Wood Burner

[ravi]

I got 1 cord of red oak/mixed hardwoods delivered recently. I know the person who delivered and he says that he has been seasoning the wood since spring - approximately 7 months. can I burn this in my stove and insert?

 

[TheAardvark]

I would say the oak is not ready in less than a year. I recommend buying a moisture meter to check your wood.

 

[Woody Stover]

he says that he has been seasoning the wood since spring - approximately 7 months.

If the wood has been split and stacked in the wind for seven months, quick-drying species in the load like soft Maple, Black Cherry, Tulip, Sycamore might be reasonably dry. The heavy splits are still wet. Oak, I like to leave stacked for two years at least, and that's if it was standing dead for a while and had a head start on drying already, and if I split it medium-small. Sadly, most of us have been in your situation at one time or another. About the only way to get dry fuel now is to go into a woodlot with a saw and cut small, dead standing trees with all the bark fallen off already. Or buy a quality compressed-wood brick product.

 

[ravi]

I would say the oak is not ready in less than a year. I recommend buying a moisture meter to check your wood.

Thanks TheAardvark.

 

[ravi]

If the wood has been split and stacked in the wind for seven months, quick-drying species in the load like soft Maple, Black Cherry, Tulip, Sycamore might be reasonably dry. The heavy splits are still wet. Oak, I like to leave stacked for two years at least, and that's if it was standing dead for a while and had a head start on drying already, and if I split it medium-small. Sadly, most of us have been in your situation at one time or another. About the only way to get dry fuel now is to go into a woodlot with a saw and cut small, dead standing trees with all the bark fallen off already. Or buy a quality compressed-wood brick product.

Thanks Woody. Forgive my ignorance...When you say Quality compressed-wood brick product I assume you mean BioBricks right? Are these safe to burn in wood stoves/ inserts without voiding the warranty?

 

[Wood Duck]

I don't disagree with the previous replies that wood should be seasoned properly, and that oak takes a couple of years at least to season properly. However, if you were to burn this wood in your stove you would hardly be the first person to do so, and if it really is seasoned 7 months then your wood has seasoned longer than most firewood that will be burned this winter. Lots of people burn inadequately seasoned firewood and don't burn their houses down with a chimney fire. Unseasoned wood is a lot less fun to burn because it is harder to light, harder to keep burning, puts out less heat (because heat is used to evaporate the water in the wood) and it means you'll have to keep a careful eye on the flue.

but to answer your question, yes, you can burn it is your stove. You should check the flue frequently to make sure it isn't accumulating creosote, and you'll probably have to clean the flue more often than you would with better wood. However, as new burner it is a good thing to learn how to check and clean your own flue. Depending on how the flue is accessed it really isn't hard to check, and pretty easy to clean, too.

 

[kennyp2339]

Thanks Woody. Forgive my ignorance...When you say Quality compressed-wood brick product I assume you mean BioBricks right? Are these safe to burn in wood stoves/ inserts without voiding the warranty?

Yes you can burn them, only compressed wood bricks, do not burn anything that have wax binders in them like the duraflame logs you see at walmart or the food store.

 

[ravi]

Yes you can burn them, only compressed wood bricks, do not burn anything that have wax binders in them like the duraflame logs you see at walmart or the food store.

Thanks Woody - appreciate all your inputs. Hearth.com is an amazing site and the forums are so full of knowledge.

Thanks

 

[ravi]

I don't disagree with the previous replies that wood should be seasoned properly, and that oak takes a couple of years at least to season properly. However, if you were to burn this wood in your stove you would hardly be the first person to do so, and if it really is seasoned 7 months then your wood has seasoned longer than most firewood that will be burned this winter. Lots of people burn inadequately seasoned firewood and don't burn their houses down with a chimney fire. Unseasoned wood is a lot less fun to burn because it is harder to light, harder to keep burning, puts out less heat (because heat is used to evaporate the water in the wood) and it means you'll have to keep a careful eye on the flue.

but to answer your question, yes, you can burn it is your stove. You should check the flue frequently to make sure it isn't accumulating creosote, and you'll probably have to clean the flue more often than you would with better wood. However, as new burner it is a good thing to learn how to check and clean your own flue. Depending on how the flue is accessed it really isn't hard to check, and pretty easy to clean, too.

Thanks for a detailed reply Wood Duck.

 

[Dmitry]

Save yourself from aggravation and get Bio bricks. I was in your situation last year and tried to burn somewhat seasoned wood. I got mediocre results and black glass all the time. Bio bricks is perfectly safe , just don't stuff your stove with them all the way like you do with firewood. In my case one pack was just right. By the end of the season you gonna know how to burn, how your stove behaves and what to expect when burning fire wood. So many people here burn not seasoned wood and torture the rest of us with posts like :" My stove is defective", "what is wrong with my set up " etc. Your oak is gonna increase it's value every month it's drying.

 

[ravi]

Save yourself from aggravation and get Bio bricks. I was in your situation last year and tried to burn somewhat seasoned wood. I got mediocre results and black glass all the time. Bio bricks is perfectly safe , just don't stuff your stove with them all the way like you do with firewood. In my case one pack was just right. By the end of the season you gonna know how to burn, how your stove behaves and what to expect when burning fire wood. So many people here burn not seasoned wood and torture the rest of us with posts like :" My stove is defective", "what is wrong with my set up " etc. Your oak is gonna increase it's value every month it's drying.

THanks Dmitry.

 

[Dmitry]

You can add your stove and insert info in your signature. Sometimes it's good to know when giving advice.

 

[ravi]

You can add your stove and insert info in your signature. Sometimes it's good to know when giving advice.

Hi Dmitry - I don't have pictures as yet. I will be getting an Avalon Spokane 1250i insert installed in my basement fireplace and will also have an Enerzone 1.3 wood stove installed in my sun room. I will post pictures as soon as installation is complete.

 

[Jay106n]

Most of us has been in your situation at one time. I bought a house last winter and ordered wood in February and started to burn it right away. It was semi-dry but mostly wet oak. It burned and provided heat, but clogged up my chimney with creosote. So yes you can burn it, but it wont burn well, and you will need to keep an eye on your chimney flu. It also isn't optimal to provide the best btu value. If you plan to be burning wood, start hoarding wood now for future winters.

 

[Fred Wright]

Agreed... the oak will burn but poorly and you won't get much heat from it. That's a waste of good hardwood. Better to leave it stacked for a couple years.

Our first year heating with wood was similar. Had a couple cords delivered, the seller said it was seasoned and ready to burn right away. It wasn't. We fought with that stuff all winter. It just would not burn worth a hoot. Invested in a saw and started working up red maple. That was good for the following winter.

 

[ravi]

Thanks everyone for the advice and guidance.

 

[ravi]

So I finally got my moisture meter and checked the moisture levels randomly in the wood pile. I got readings between 14 and 19%. I then spit a few of the bigger pieces and checked the fresh wood surfaces and got readings between 18 and 24%. So I guess its not an ideal situation but I am assuming that I can burn the wood right?

 

[BamaScroungr]

If you're under 20% you're good. You may need to meter every piece, or just stick to the smaller splits. If you split all of your big pieces smaller, they may be ready to burn a few months from now.

 

[jtaves85mcss]

Not ideal, but burnable if you have to. Stack it and top cover. Bring some of it in and put a fan to it for a couple of weeks if you can, split the bigger pieces again but dont beat yourself to death.

 

[mass_burner]

Do yourself a favor and separate that red oak from your other species. Also, moisture meter is fine, but I find weight is a better tell. As you handle the splits, you will be able to tell by picking up a split if it's seasoned.

Burning wet wood is a PITA, a waste as well.

 

[xman23]

Your going to burn it this year, because it's all you have. It maybe hard to get started, but when you do, run the stove hot. Not hot like the limit of the stove, actually because the wood is wet you may have problems getting it hot. But don't smolder the splits, they will go out. When you have 2 or 3 year old dry wood you will know the difference.

 

[mass_burner]

The OP lives in MA, do you have oil primary heat? If so, you picked a good time to get stuck with no seasoned wood. Burn oil if you can this year if cheaper than bio bricks.

 

[ravi]

Thanks Everyone.

 

[AmbDrvr253]

If you have access to wood pallets it will help with the mediocore wood. I made it through my first year that way.

 

[Woody Stover]

Bring some of it in and put a fan to it for a couple of weeks if you can, split the bigger pieces again but dont beat yourself to death.

I was surprised how well this worked. I brought like half a cord in the house, stacked it in a rack and blew a fan on it for a couple weeks. Splits were pretty small, White Ash. Went from 25% to about 20 in that time.