I just bought a cord of wood, but it's damp and hisses when I burn it. What can I do?

[NewtownPA]

Hi, I have another question. I am relatively new to the whole wood stove thing, but I just recently bought a cord of wood. When I burn it I hear hissing sounds and see bubbles of moisture at the ends of the wood. This wood was sold to me as "seasoned hardwood".

Is there anything I can do about all that wood that's so damp internally?

Do most of you order your wood in the spring and keep it covered all summer and fall in order to keep it dry for the following winter?

 

[Eric Johnson]

There's not a whole lot you can do at this point, unfortunately. "Seasoned" is basically a meaningless marketing term in the firewood business.

The best way to dry wood is to cut it and stack it for at least a year. Longer can be better, depending on the conditions.

Some of the chunks might be drier than others. You can usually tell by their weight. It's noticable when you lift a dry piece and a wet one of roughly the same size. Some species, such as white ash, burn green better than others.

If you don't have a catalytic combustor in your stove, then you can burn green wood and get some heat out of it, but you have to watch your chimney very carefully. Green wood produces excessive creosote under most conditions, although if you can get your stove running hot, you should have less.

Finally, you might try stacking the wood in your basement or other indoor space, if possible. The low humidity in your house in the winter will dry the wood out relatively quickly. By the end of this heating season, in other words, you should be burning fairly dry wood. Plus, you'll get the benefit of the moisture in your house. Similarly, make a small stack of wood by the stove overnight and you'll have wood that's at least a little drier for loading the stove in the morning.

Burning green wood is a rite of passage for most wood burners, especially the first season or two. Once you realize the value of dry wood, you make sure you have it. I've burned more than my share of green wood, and the only good that came of it was that I now appreciate how much better dry wood really is.

Good luck & don't get discouraged. Consider it paying your dues.

 

[mikedengineer]

My friend had this same problem. He called the firewood guy and complained. The firewood guy brought out some new dry firewood and he got to keep the wet stuff (to dry for next season). I'd complain to the guy you bought it from. Make it sound like you plan on getting a bunch next time and know other people looking for firewood. If he a decent person he should make good.

-Mike

 

[NewtownPA]

Thanks for your advice and tips. I had a small pile (like maybe 10 -12 logs) in our living room; well my wife found a huge white worm and she wasn't too pleased about that!

Question: You say "green" wood. Is wood that has been cut for over a year, but soaking wet, still called "green"?

There's not a whole lot you can do at this point, unfortunately. "Seasoned" is basically a meaningless marketing term in the firewood business.

The best way to dry wood is to cut it and stack it for at least a year. Longer can be better, depending on the conditions.

Some of the chunks might be drier than others. You can usually tell by their weight. It's noticable when you lift a dry piece and a wet one of roughly the same size. Some species, such as white ash, burn green better than others.

If you don't have a catalytic combustor in your stove, then you can burn green wood and get some heat out of it, but you have to watch your chimney very carefully. Green wood produces excessive creosote under most conditions, although if you can get your stove running hot, you should have less.

Finally, you might try stacking the wood in your basement or other indoor space, if possible. The low humidity in your house in the winter will dry the wood out relatively quickly. By the end of this heating season, in other words, you should be burning fairly dry wood. Plus, you'll get the benefit of the moisture in your house. Similarly, make a small stack of wood by the stove overnight and you'll have wood that's at least a little drier for loading the stove in the morning.

Burning green wood is a rite of passage for most wood burners, especially the first season or two. Once you realize the value of dry wood, you make sure you have it. I've burned more than my share of green wood, and the only good that came of it was that I now appreciate how much better dry wood really is.

Good luck & don't get discouraged. Consider it paying your dues.

 

[NewtownPA]

The guy said his usual rate is $185 / cord, but he sold this to me for $165 / cord. I think he knew it wasn't so dry, so that's why he gave me a price break.

My friend had this same problem. He called the firewood guy and complained. The firewood guy brought out some new dry firewood and he got to keep the wet stuff (to dry for next season). I'd complain to the guy you bought it from. Make it sound like you plan on getting a bunch next time and know other people looking for firewood. If he a decent person he should make good.

-Mike

 

[TMonter]

What kind of wood was it and how did he claim he stored it for the last year? Also if you were burning the pieces that were on the top of the pile and they had been rained on that could be some of the reason. Remember some wood types are hydroscopic and will soak up moisture after being cut, particularly if left out in the rain.

 

[Corie]

Green wood is wood that has not been seasoned.


Wet wood is wood that is seasoned, but has been left in the soaking rain for a while and picked up a little moisture.


Usually a few days, or a week of nice dry sunlight is enough to get the wateer absorbed by the wood out, whereas green wood can take anywhere from 6 monthes to 2 years to become seasoned.

It all depends on the way things are stacked though. Wood can be cut for a years but left unsplit in a huge pile and not seasoned too much. Its all about airflow.

 

[NewtownPA]

I don't remember all the names but I do remember he said: Ash, Oak, Locust, Poplar and Birch. I didn't ask how he stored it, but he said that it was "seasoned" and it does look like it has been cut some time ago - but I'm just a beginner.

What kind of wood was it and how did he claim he stored it for the last year? Also if you were burning the pieces that were on the top of the pile and they had been rained on that could be some of the reason. Remember some wood types are hydroscopic and will soak up moisture after being cut, particularly if left out in the rain.

 

[NewtownPA]

Do you guys buy your wood months in advance and keep it all summer under a tarp or something? I'm thinking I need to do that. I may buy another cord or two in April and keep it all summer - would that make for a nice dry pile come next winter?

 

[NewtownPA]

Green wood is wood that has not been seasoned.


Wet wood is wood that is seasoned

Does "seasoned" mean wood that has been cut and split for at least a year? Or is there something else that they do to it to "season" it?

 

[Jay H]

I'm a first time stove user and also a first time homeowner. This is my first winter heating my house with only my wood stove. Had the stove installed in late June, bought wood in early July, started to burn in late november here in Northern NJ (paid $155/cord). Fortunately, I had a good supplier but I was prepared to wait one season if I got skunky wood. It's kind of a pot luck here and I wasn't even on hearth.com before I got my stove so I just did some internet sleauthing, found a supplier near me and called.

Jay

p.s. I thought seasoned means salt and pepper, maybe some cinnamon :D

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

i think seasoned means it was sprinkeld with alittle tony's
seriously, it simply means dry, and ready to burn.

 

[Roospike]

Cut "Green" wood can and will show some cracks on the end in just a few months , If its real heavy thats a good sign its still green.

The normal "jive" of seasoned wood from a firewood dealer is going to be from 2 hours ago and the logs were down for a few months to 3-6 months. The average i have found firewood dealers seasoned wood it to be 3 months.

Minimum seasoned wood is 9 months cut and stacked .........
I normally go 2 years for seasoned wood ( 24 months ) and longer.

Hard wood like oak and Locust needs two years to season.

Your best best is if your buying firewood , call firewood dealers now and get there best price for green wood that you will season yourself , your not going to get proper seasoned wood from a firewood dealer so you might as well buy it bulk at green and do it yourself.

 

[slowzuki]

I'm burning a fair bit of wet wood since I have very little wood this year. I mix it in with dry wood and only use it when a good bed of ashes is in the stove. Don't bother trying to choke it down to make the burn last. Not a good idea with wet wood. If done correctly you can light the stove on dry wood and run on wet wood the rest of the day keeping the temps very high. The moisture will be driven off and it will burn quite clean. Storing split wood in by the stove a few days helps your houses humidity and drys the wood rapidly. Rounds don't seem to benefit as much. Burning wet rounds is nearly impossible in a woodstove.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I'm going to side with Roo and disagree with MSG (who must be dreaming). "Seasoned" means it's been cut and split and stacked for a day or more. If the wood were dry, they would call it "dry." If it's not dry, they call it "seasoned."

Again, to concur with Roo, you won't get a better return on most investments than you will with firewood. Buy it green in the spring, stack it in a sunny spot in your yard (uncovered), and watch it begin to dry. In the early fall (preferably after a dry spell) cover the top until you burn it. Or better yet, get it under a roof of some kind. It should be ready to burn by winter. Compare the price of green wood vs. "dry" or "seasoned" wood to see what I'm talking about when it comes to return on investment.

My guess is that you'll be cutting your own wood (and thus controlling your fuel supply) within a year.

 

[NewtownPA]

get there best price for green wood that you will season yourself

Thanks for the advice. Suppose they are charging $175 / cord of "seasoned" wood, how much would it typically cost for "green" wood? (how much of a savings should I be looking for?)

 

[NewtownPA]

My guess is that you'll be cutting your own wood (and thus controlling your fuel supply) within a year.

haahahha Well my brother was visiting me over New Year's and we went out to the woods and chopped up a couple of birch trees. We used an axe - it was A LOT of work, but it was all done for the fun of it - with the added plus that I got a bit of firewood out of too.

It's just much less work to give the guy a call and have him dump it in my driveway - but chopping your own is a blast!

 

[Roospike]

I've seen cost breaks for "green" wood from $25. a cord to $75. a cord and it helps to buy in bulk when making the deal.

Ask for the price break on green wood so you can season it yourself ( tell them your going to do it your self ) ...........then...............ask for a bigger price break for buying 4 or more cords at a time.

I dont cut firewood to sell but if i did and some one asked for green unseasoned wood and wanted 4-6 + cords then thats easy money for the firewood dealer as now they dont have to stack and store the wood and its a done deal before the wood is even cut in some cases. They could cut the wood , split and take it right to your house.

If you get $50. off a cord buying green and in bulk thats like 1 cord free to every 3 cords plus you know its seasoned right.

There might also be a price break for unslpit wood if your wanting to split it yourself.

In whatever case everybody wins.

get there best price for green wood that you will season yourself

Thanks for the advice. Suppose they are charging $175 / cord of "seasoned" wood, how much would it typically cost for "green" wood? (how much of a savings should I be looking for?)

 

[TMonter]

Does most everyone here who burns hardwoods cut actual green timber? Where I'm at, I usually burn stuff I cut same year, but I get standing dead or dead-fall timber that has fallen so it's off the ground. Never had a problem and sample wise the moisture in my wood is typically 18-22%. Maybe softwoods are just a lot easier to dry out.

 

[Roospike]

Yes , soft wood is easier to dry and less time to do so. Its less dense.

All my wood is standing live green trees when i cut. I've cut many that were on there way out with holes in the middle , ants and other issues but still standing and green. Normally not a lot of good fallen hard wood round' des parts.

The big soft wood of Nebraska , Kansas and such is "cotton wood" and we let it be. not worth wasting time on soft wood and not a lot of pine around here.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Some of it depends on the species and some on the drying conditions. With most hardwoods like maple, oak, ash, hickory, cherry, beech, etc., you can cut them in the spring and burn them the following winter. Some species though, like white oak and yellow birch, take more time to adequately dry. If you live in a drier climate, or if it's a hot, dry summer, then your wood will dry more quickly than if it's raining all the time.

Roo and I like to get far enough ahead on our wood so that we're always burning stuff that's dried for at least two years. That way you pretty much know where you stand, regardlesss of what the weather does. But storage and handling start to become major issues when you do it that way.

 

[sgcsalsero]

Newtown, consider buying a wood moisture meter, if you do a search on posts you'll find some good info, I copied out below
from one of the forum experts. . . .perhaps with a little scientific data you can 'convince' your supply guy to do the right thing, moisture meter at Harbor Freight should be $20

Good luck, SGC

p.s. off topic but is Newton/Yardley still an insane real estate market

Reading and my experience both tell me that below 20% is good, 15% is even better. Most wood dries to 20 - 25% fairly quickly (< 1 yr) as the water between and inside the wood cells is eliminated. The remaining water is "bound" within the cell walls themselves (a constituent of the wall) and is much slower to exit.

I've got one of those HF meters. I doubt they are well calibrated so I did a control test first thing using a fresh split for a baseline and sanity check. This device is also not exactly heavy duty so I use it as follows to maximize life expectancy.

Re-split a piece of wood to expose its middle for testing.
Work on a stable surface to prevent fumbling while tines are embedded in split.
Lightly press the tines in to create two little pilot holes at a 90* angle to split.
Push an ice pick into both pilot holes creating more depth and increasing tine contact surface.
Hold the whole thing very carefully (one fumble and that delicate sucker will be toast).
Press the 'High' button, get reading, press the 'Low' button.

Mo's Proposed Warning Label:
Do not poke tines into skin, eyes, or genitals.
Do not use hammer to set tines.
Do not use without battery.

 

[carpniels]

THis is what Roo said:

I dont cut firewood to sell but if i did and some one asked for green unseasoned wood and wanted 4-6 + cords then thats easy money for the firewood dealer as now they dont have to stack and store the wood and its a done deal before the wood is even cut in some cases. They could cut the wood , split and take it right to your house.

I love the guy (after all he has a PE SUmmit in WH red, but I disagree with this: easy money for the firewood dealer as now they dont have to stack and store the wood.

I have never seen or heard of any firewood dealerthat stacks wood. WAY too much work. You are lucky if it has been laying for more than a few months in a pile on a dry piece of land. Most of the time, it was in a waterhole and often let than a month after cutting. Kiss the firewood dealers feet if he stacked it for a year off the ground. I don't know a single one that does that.

Carpniels

NewPA,

I would call the nearest stove dealer and ask them for references for good firewood dealers. The timing right now is terrible, but it is worth a call. Also ask around for firewood dealers at your local chainsaw store. They really know who is good or bad. best bet is to get a chainsaw instead of an axe to cut wood. Mauls are for splitting, chain saws are for cutting. Then get some pellets stack the split wood on there, cover with a tarp, and before you know it, you will be like all of us. Burning your own cut wood where everything is controlled by you

 

[Roospike]

What!? , Your telling me that not all firewood dealers store wood like this ? ;-)

 

[TMonter]

How much hardwood do you burn in a typical season Roo?