How dry is good enough?

[Johnpolk]

Hello, I know this subject has been beat to death here, so I'm just looking for a short and sweet answer. I have some maple and ash stacked since may 2012 that I plan on burning this year. Splitting random pieces and Checking moisture content it all seems to be in the 17% range. Any opinion on if this is pretty good/ok/terrible? Last years wood sizzled in the stove and was a hassle so I'm hoping the extra year of drying time will make for much better results.

 

[Coal Reaper]

Hello, I know this subject has been beat to death here, so I'm just looking for a short and sweet answer. I have some maple and ash stacked since may 2012 that I plan on burning this year. Splitting random pieces and Checking moisture content it all seems to be in the 17% range. Any opinion on if this is pretty good/ok/terrible? Last years wood sizzled in the stove and was a hassle so I'm hoping the extra year of drying time will make for much better results.

good to go, ready to burn

 

[Johnpolk]

That's the short and sweet kinda answer I was hoping for. What is typical for most of your wood that you consider well seAsoned? Is 17 average or a bit high/low?

 

[rdust]

Perfect for burning, enjoy.

 

[Jacktheknife]

I have heard on here that if its under 20 you are good to go, so I made up a rhyme.

In the teens, burns hot and clean. 20s and thirties? lights hard; burns dirty.

 

[PapaDave]

That % is gooder to go.
Nice that you've gotten to that point, and you should be happy this winter burning that stuff.
Most manufacturers will suggest 20% or less, although some say 6 months to a year for drying.
Most places, you can't get Oak dry enough in less than 2 years, but other wood will be dry in less than half that time.
Isn't this fun?

 

[Gark]

Yeah, that will burn nice. On a related thing, just recently a link was posted that finally quantified how much heat loss is caused by "green" wood vs. "dry" wood (like yours at 17% for example). I always heard "you'll waste alot of heat" and "major difference in output", etc. But no numbers (how much??) were shown. This link states that with green wood your heat produced will be only 60% of what you get with dry wood. That is substantial. And then there's the creosote thing, too. Good on your 17%!

 

[bogydave]

Good to go with 1 year seasoning on most woods.
Oaks take longer.
Yours is good to go.

 

[ScotO]

15% to 20% is darn near ideal......it's hard to get wood much drier than that without having it kiln dried.
20% to 24% is useable, but you're gonna use more wood to get the same amount of heat, and you're gonna get some creosote in the chimney.......

Sounds like you are ready to rock at 17%!

 

[weatherguy]

You wont see any sizzle this year, first year I burned really seasoned wood was a dream, burns hot, takes right off, I couldn't go back to over 20% after that experience. 25 will work if that's all you have but its a noticeable difference.

 

[NortheastAl]

17%, hmmmm. I'll trade with ya!

 

[Paulywalnut]

You're ready to rock and burn!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hello, I know this subject has been beat to death here, so I'm just looking for a short and sweet answer. I have some maple and ash stacked since may 2012 that I plan on burning this year. Splitting random pieces and Checking moisture content it all seems to be in the 17% range. Any opinion on if this is pretty good/ok/terrible? Last years wood sizzled in the stove and was a hassle so I'm hoping the extra year of drying time will make for much better results.

Very good John. That ash and maple should keep you nice and warm with no problem. Now get thee to three years ahead on thy wood stack and you'll be a much happier camper.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

15% to 20% is darn near ideal......it's hard to get wood much drier than that without having it kiln dried.
20% to 24% is useable, but you're gonna use more wood to get the same amount of heat, and you're gonna get some creosote in the chimney.......

Sounds like you are ready to rock at 17%!

Not hard at all to get that low or lower. What about those splits we had which were less than 10%? No kiln involved, just simple stacking in our normal way. In fact some of those splits came from a stack that was about 20 rows stacked tight together. They seemed to dry quite well. To add even more, they were not stacked off the ground. All those were stacked right on good old Mother Earth.

 

[schlot]

I have heard on here that if its under 20 you are good to go, so I made up a rhyme.

In the teens, burns hot and clean. 20s and thirties? lights hard; burns dirty.

I see a wood poet in the making!

 

[Jacktheknife]

I see a wood poet in the making!

It's right up there with frost!

 

[schlot]

It's right up there with frost!

Or Shakesbeer?

 

[Johnpolk]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm excited to see how much better the stove performs this year with dry wood. Last year I felt like I was always having trouble with it and I chocked it up to the low quality wood.