Is my wood ready to burn?

[Dmitry]

I was checking my wood today with moisture meter and got this: on a fresh split of about 6-5" diameter it shows almost nothing close to edges . About 10-15%. But in a middle with probes pressed hard it's 25-28.
It's been sitting for almost two years. Maple mostly , some birch.

 

[BigCountryNY]

That seems a bit high for maple and birch that's been split and stacked for 2 years. How do you have it stacked? Does it have plenty of exposure to sun and wind? Is it stacked in single rows? Is it off the ground?

25% can get you by if you have some pallets, scrap lumber, or compressed logs or bricks that you can mix in.

 

[begreen]

Soft maple if not tightly top-covered and well ventilated can hold moisture like a sponge. I had some 2 yr old maple stacked in a shady part of the yard along the fence line which runs at right angles to the the prevailing wind. It was top covered with tarps but there were some low spots that could pool up. The wood burned like crap even after 2 yrs. and sooted up the chimney. Won't make that mistake again.

 

[Dmitry]

It's been stacked for year , before that covered on pellets . It was bought " seasoned" year before . I got 1,5 tons of firebricks left. I'm gonna try to mix it.

 

[jatoxico]

Make sure your battery is good. My meter (cheapo) reads high on a weak battery. Really threw me once.

 

[Dmitry]

Good point , got meter that came with my insert , first one went bad , that's second . Seems flimsy ,going to buy another good one .

 

[gzecc]

It's been stacked for year , before that covered on pellets . It was bought " seasoned" year before . I got 1,5 tons of firebricks left. I'm gonna try to mix it.

Split and stacked only one year. If not in single rows it seasons even slower. Big pieces also take longer.