How can I tell if the wood I'm burning is OK?

[TomR]

I'm new at this and it's my first season with a wood burning stove insert. I'm in the process of collecting my own wood which I will season for 1-2 years but in the mean time I have had to order wood from a local business. I was told the wood was split in April/May. I know this doesn't meet the 1 year minimum requirement so my question is should I/can I still burn it? I got the fire going with some store bought (Expensive Kiln Dried Wood) and now I'm tossing in the stuff I had delivered. It isn't smoking or popping and it is burning. However, tt doesn't seem to burn 'as hot' as the stuff I bought from the store though. I'm looking for an alternate supplier to get me another cord just to compare but if this is what I have to work with what should I do? I was thinking about buying some bio bricks to toss in there too to get the temp up. Is there anything I should be concerned about doing this. Note - It does all appear to be hardwood.

 

[Gasifier]

I’m new at this and it’s my first season with a wood burning stove insert. I’m in the process of collecting my own wood which I will season for 1-2 years but in the mean time I have had to order wood from a local business. I was told the wood was split in April/May. I know this doesn’t meet the 1 year minimum requirement so my question is should I/can I still burn it? I got the fire going with some store bought (Expensive Kiln Dried Wood) and now I’m tossing in the stuff I had delivered. It isn’t smoking or popping and it is burning. However, tt doesn’t seem to burn ‘as hot’ as the stuff I bought from the store though. I’m looking for an alternate supplier to get me another cord just to compare but if this is what I have to work with what should I do? I was thinking about buying some bio bricks to toss in there too to get the temp up. Is there anything I should be concerned about doing this. Note - It does all appear to be hardwood.

What type of wood did you buy? What do you mean when you say it does not appear to be hardwood? The wood you bought from the local business? If it has been split since April/May it should be okay. Depending on the type of wood it is. There is a big difference between species on the drying time. Do you have access to any lumber scraps? I works well if you can mix some dryer wood in with your wood that is not as dry as you would want it to be, that was cut last spring. A mix of about 25% kiln dried with about 75% higher moisture content wood will help your fire burn better. The stuff you bought from the store is super dry. Happy burning man!

 

[TomR]

Thanks for the reply. Ok that makes me feel a little better. What I was trying to say is that it does all appear to be hard wood. I don't know what species though, I'm not experienced to tell and I suspect it's a mix because he's a tree guy that also sells wood. I'll try mixing in some of the dry stuff to see if I can get it going hotter.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Many folks get some free pallets to mix in with the wood. It will help but is a pain cutting them up and it is messy. Some bio bricks certainly can help.

It is not good enough to know that the wood is hardwood. If the tree has needles like pine, it is a softwood. If the tree has leaf that drops, it is a hardwood. Therefore, one could say that willow is a hardwood and be correct even though we think of it as a softwood. If you don't know the different types of woods, that is okay. Just start learning 2 or 3 types every year and you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll be able to identify different wood. Then you also need to know how long the different woods take to dry. Generally, the softer the wood, the faster the drying. The harder the wood, like oaks, the longer it needs to dry. For example, we burn a lot of soft maple and that can dry in 6 months. The ash can dry in a year but is better at 2 years. Oak, we give 3 years to dry.

 

[TomR]

Thanks for those suggestions Backwoods - I'm really enjoying learning process and the hard work that goes into collecting and splitting my own wood. I have already learned to identify a few types of wood from the board but I have a long way to go.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Don't feel bad that you don't know all the wood. I'm well into retirement and still have much to learn! I recall in my youth that learning the different trees was very baffling. Not until I started working in the woods did I really begin the learning process.....and now have probably forgot 99% of what I learned back then...

 

[soupy1957]

"There is a big difference between species on the drying time."

There is, (and I've seen the chart posted in here by someone) a big difference in the amount of useful BTU's that come from various species as well, of course.

Just to give you one example..........when I burn "Cherry" wood, (from a Cherry tree, I mean), it tends to show less flame when burning, but burns hotter than softer woods (when I used to only burn fires in our outside fire pit, I avoided Cherry, only because the wife "likes the pretty flames.").

Another factor to remember..........As long as your moisture content is about 25% or less (±5% in my world), I'm a happy camper! (If you don't have a moisture meter...........get one!!)

-Soupy1957

 

[homebrewz]

Good advice on wood here so far. The kiln-dried stuff is probably so dry it will burn hot and quick. Now you're onto the other stuff which may burn OK, but not as quickly.. so it doesn't release its heat as fast as the other stuff. Since you're new to burning, consider that your stove will have a learning curve too and it may take you a while to get that thing running at its peak efficiency.

 

[Gasifier]

Homebrewz just made me think of another issue. Remember you do not want your fire to hot. Like I said. If you are using kiln dried wood, like lumber scraps, mix a 20-25% to 75-80% with your less dry wood. This will get your fire going hot and get your less dry wood going good. You do not want your fire to burn to hot though and take a chance on hurting your stove/insert over time. What type of stove/insert are you burning in? I did not look for that. Some of the new stoves/inserts can be over fired easier than the old ones. They are not as heavy steal.

 

[TomR]

The stove is an Enviro - Boston Model 1700 I believe. It is steel and cast iron. So, I took some advice from here and just picked up a moisture meter. About half of the wood is registering at 22% moisture or greater. Some of the smaller stuff is in the 15-18% range. The wood sat the last 2 days in the rain though (Because It's parked on my driveway and I don't have a stacking setup yet - how much will this throw off the meter?

I will be mixing in the drier stuff. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Be sure to split the wood before using the meter, and take the measurement on the freshly spilt side. You'll get the truest reading of how much moisture is really in the wood that way.

 

[The Beagler]

Bang some pieces of wood together. If it sounds like a deep "thump", it's not ready. Also, if the wood
Feels heavy like the day you cut it, chances are it's not dry enough.
It takes a few seasons to learn. This forum is a great tool. Many of the guys on here
Could forget more in 5 minutes than what took me 20 + years to learn!
Always remember, any kind of wood (soft or hardwood) will give you btu's when it's good & dry.
If it's wet & not seasoned, even the best like oak or hickory will make your wood burning experience
Miserable.

 

[Dix]

Tom, if you can, get some Bio/Envi/Whatever bricks. You'll be alot better off. You will be able to burn less than ideal wood, and stretch everything out.

But buy them now, if you can. In February, they might not be available.

 

[TomR]

Thanks - there is a pretty big bio brick dealer close so I'm going to head over there on Sunday and pick up what I can. I can tell that most of the wood I had delivered really isn't ready but I don't have much of a choice so mixing in some high quality stuff is probably my best option. Appreciate the advice.

 

[CTYank]

Thanks - there is a pretty big bio brick dealer close so I'm going to head over there on Sunday and pick up what I can. I can tell that most of the wood I had delivered really isn't ready but I don't have much of a choice so mixing in some high quality stuff is probably my best option. Appreciate the advice.

You have options:
1. Wood that's a little on the wet side, stacked near the stove for a few weeks, will become ready. Happens all the time here.
2. If the fire starts to go rogue on you, you can close the draft some and/or move the splits so they're in contact. Close the airflow gaps.

Wood cannot be too dry. Not from anything seen here in 35+ years. See (2) above.

 

[Woody Stover]

About half of the wood is registering at 22% moisture or greater. Some of the smaller stuff is in the 15-18% range. The wood sat the last 2 days in the rain though (Because It's parked on my driveway and I don't have a stacking setup yet - how much will this throw off the meter?

22% (reading taken from a fresh split) is definitely burnable, even though you're not getting maximum heat quickly from the wood. If you stack it now, covered single-row in the wind, you may get additional drying depending on split size, species, and weather. Can you get any bark/split/end-grain pics you can post of the different kinds of wood you got in this load?
Like CTYank said, you can get a bit more drying near the stove, if you're not averse to having a little stack in the house. Harder with an insert, though. Just don't violate the "distance to combustibles" specs found in the manual for your stove and you'll be OK. And inspect your chimney frequently to monitor creosote formation from the damp wood.

 

[ruserious2008]

Hey Tom,
Welcome to the forums and wood burning. I was in your place last year and now into my second season thanks mostly to the fine folks here I feel like a veteran at this stuff
I went on a Craiglist/asking everyone I knew and didn't know scrounge binge this past spring and summer and now have about 5 cords of pine, 4 cords of mixed hardwood I bought for $400 that I know was cut in 2009 (and have confirmed it is well seasoned with a moisture meter and burning it this year), another two cords of ash that was dropped in 2010 and split by me and my wife this spring, a little over a cord of oak that I KILLED myself cutting and hauling this summer (Never again will I tackle a 30"+ oak with my puny 18" 2 hamster power chainsaw but I did it and lived to tell the tale that will get split and stacked next spring (2014-2015 wood) and today I scored about 1/2 a cord of birch that's been down a year that I need to stack and season along with some more pine.
What I learned the hard way was that when many wood sellers say wood is "seasoned" all the means is that it does not have roots attached to the ground! I bought "seasoned" wood my first year (2 cords), talked to the guy's wife that was selling it who told me they burn the same stuff and it burns "great"! and in reality that stuff hissed more than an angry rattle snake at a Dan Rather euphemism convention! So what I did was I managed to score a bunch of red oak pallets - think already nice and dry wood- and also bought one ton of Eco Bricks from tractor supply. So I'd get the stove up and running hot with the pallet parts, thrown in an eco brick and once that was going nice I'd feed my "hissing" wet wood in and it would work. Got me thru the winter.
I think you'll find if your wood is not dry enough you'll never get a good hot fire going and that's bad for heat and also possible creosote build up.
Also speaking of creosote, be sure to read up on that issue here and at the advise of people here I bought a "Soot Eater" - its basically a giant weed whacker that attaches to your drill (you'll want a good 2hp or more drill, not some batter powered sucker) and you feed it up your chimney and ity spins and cleans and slices and dices and I had a glaze of creosote on my chimney the first time I used it and was not expecting much but after about 10 runs up and down the chimney where I could see glaze before I saw bare clay liner! Got it for about $80 at True Value.
Good luck with your first season and be safe and warm!