Is my moisture reader correct?

[mnowaczyk]

Maybe it doesn't really matter.

The 85 year old oak tree was cut down April 1 because it had a water main leak directly under it and the city cut out most of its roots. The tree guys said it was literally squirting out water when they were cutting it down. I let a LOT of rounds sit until just about a month or two ago (October November?) when it started getting cool in this Philadelphia area. I realized that I better split it small to have anything to burn this year and saved all the construction wood scrap I could.

Tonight is my first burn of the season with 15 degree F temps for a good draft on my old slammer insert install under a 40-foot 13x13 clay chimney. To my surprise, the stuff is burning with minimal sizzling. I just opened my $10 ebay moisture meter and I'm surprised to find readings under 20% on the stuff I just split maybe two months ago.

Could oak really season in that short of a period of time? Or am I just telling myself what I want to hear?

I am pleased to know I will be but if this winter wth a great mix of contraction debris and 1/2 seasoned oak.

Edit:

Meter reads 34% poking my arm

37% in a ceramic bowl of water.

Rinsing a small split of oak in water and then poking it bears 30-33%.

 

[osagebow]

Her's an old thread on this. 34% seems plausible for skin

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/help-me-calibrate-my-general-moisture-meter.92673/

 

[Applesister]

I think theres a certain amount of skepticism when trusting the numbers on a cheap moisture meter.
But if the wood burns, burn it.
You might be wasting the heat though.

 

[maple1]

There's a sticky at the top of the Wood Shed page about using a multimeter to check moisture levels.

So you could use a multimeter to check your moisture meter.

 

[jatoxico]

40' long 13x13" chimney? Wow that's huge! How many stories is this house?

Assuming you're taking a reading on a fresh split face other things to consider is that moisture meters read low when the wood is cold and when the batteries are going.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

If it burns well, don't worry about the moisture level. I have burned oak the same year with fantastic results. Some if it dries a LOT faster than people say.
We are burning locust that was just split this year and it is dry as a bone.

 

[Paulywalnut]

No sizzle? Burn it. Take a piece of that oak and make a fresh split and measure that. You get low readings on the surface of an old split, even a few days prior.

 

[bholler]

Your setup is as concerning if not more so than your wood.

 

[claydogg84]

If the wood is sizzling and you're getting readings under 20%, then no, it's not accurate.

 

[baseroom]

The moisture meter I just bought off ebay is terribly inaccurate...........It arrived from China with NO batteries! Guess that's what i get trying to save a buck!

 

[David.Ervin]

Try splitting a piece in half, then re-check the reading on the freshly split face. Seems likely that the outside of the wood would be drier than the inside.

 

[billb3]

test the center of a split ( you have to split it to test - just like you have to cut a jelly donut in half to get to the center )
test with the grain and then against them, use the worst reading if there is one.
measure several places near the center, not just once.

most recommend inserting the probes an amount ( without breaking them off )

"an amount" for me is the tapered part of the probe has to disappear. I really haven't seen a difference based on stab depth but it's the technique I employ. I've read of people drilling holes but that seems a bit bizarre and unnecessary to me.

 

[Oldman47]

Compared to the resistance of the wood the depth of penetration should basically be insignificant. With an inch or so of wood between the probes the difference of 1/8 inch of penetration to make contact seems irrelevant as long as you do make a good contact.

 

[mnowaczyk]

Thanks for all the help guys! I took a trip with my wife and came back to some cold temps. I have started plowing through that oak that was cut down April 1, 2015 and split around September 2015, and it's burning like paper. I have almost never dampered down my thermostatically controlled air inlet. Lots of time I would even have to leave the flue damper open bypassing the afterburner channels. But this stuff is giving me an awesome bed of coals and providing a nice bed of coals when I wake in the morning. At night I've been trying to find the largest splits possible to help burn through the night.

I think I haven't ever had wood this good to burn. The locust I had was great, but it would honestly be tough to burn without a really hot fire sometimes. If the split was too big, sometimes it might put out the fire if the bed of coals was too small, requiring more air or open doors to make sure it would take off. This oak is... Throw it in there, piled as high as I want. Shut the door... Close the dampers. Set the thermostatic air Inlet based on the current fire temp (damper down when hot if I want to extend wood life), close te flue damper to force the after burner, and enjoy watching the flames build.

And to think I thought this year might be a year without burning because most of my wood wasn't seasoned yet!

 

[mnowaczyk]

40' long 13x13" chimney? Wow that's huge! How many stories is this house?

Assuming you're taking a reading on a fresh split face other things to consider is that moisture meters read low when the wood is cold and when the batteries are going.

Yeah... It's a big groan. Three living stories (~30' there) plus a 11-12' tall attic on a 12-10 pitch (steeper than 45 degrees) slate roof. It's only half the house, but a really pretty Tudor style. the chimney is a clay liner straight shot after getting past the slanted/angled smoke shelf. I bought my own brush and rods to clean it because all the chimney sweeps show up with little brushes and say "I can't get up there!" LOL.

Here's a pic from when we bought it over 7 years ago. We burnt that locust you can see in the back. The Oak was along the street and not in the picture, but would be to the right in the picture. I guess you can see a few of the branches in the top of the pic.

 

[bholler]

I bought my own brush and rods to clean it because all the chimney sweeps show up with little brushes and say "I can't get up there!" LOL.

I would tell you i would not work on a slammer like yours there is just to much liability for me and to much danger for you.. I have a feeling that is why the other sweeps wont do it also.

 

[mnowaczyk]

I would tell you i would not work on a slammer like yours there is just to much liability for me and to much danger for you.. I have a feeling that is why the other sweeps wont do it also.

It's purely the chimney. The sweeps that have shown up have never even entered the house except for the first sweep I hired that used a 9" round brush and cleaned from the bottom and ran out of extensions at probably about 20 feet up. That's why I decided to sweep it myself. I got the 13" square brush and 36 feet of extensions (so far). Almost all the creosote is in the smoke shelf area where normally there is raging fire with the open fireplace. I realize a creosote fire is far more dangerous though.

I completely respect the opinion that slammer installs are not safe, and in most cases I believe they are not safe. However, I'm not willing to put in a liner and decrease the chimney size. My neighbor's with liners installed after the home's construction all seem to have draft problems.

 

[bholler]

Almost all the creosote is in the smoke shelf area where normally there is raging fire with the open fireplace. I realize a creosote fire is far more dangerous though.

Well there should never be a raging fire in the smoke chamber of a fireplace.

I completely respect the opinion that slammer installs are not safe, and in most cases I believe they are not safe. However, I'm not willing to put in a liner and decrease the chimney size. My neighbor's with liners installed after the home's construction all seem to have draft problems.

What draft problems would be caused by a properly sized liner? What down side to properly hooking up your stove is there? Why is yours safe when all others are not? Does your insurance company know you have an appliance that does not meet code?