Just What is "Dry" Firewood ?

[MrWhoopee]

Just came across this while searching the web.

From Nassau County Firewood.
http://nassaufirewood.com/guarantee.php

"Our KILN DRIED Firewood is dry - 100% GUARANTEED"

"*Dry firewood is less than 30% moisture content on average as per a calibrated moisture meter."

Apparently definitions vary.

 

[KaptJaq]

Saw another one with a picture of a moisture meter showing 11.7% on the outside of a gray split. The wood had not been re-split. The caption was "Proof our wood is dry."

I only believe it when I check the moisture to see if it is to my standards...

KaptJaq

 

[DuelburnJake]

Its alarming to see all the different claims of "dry" firewood around here. A local seller around me c/s some red oak in april than sold it in the falls as "dry" wood. I tried informing some friends of this and they said I was being over cautious! I then told them to check out hearth.com!

 

[Paulywalnut]

They are apparently not members of our elite group.

 

[kingston73]

I wish I could remember the source, maybe popular mechanics? Whatever it was stated that anything below 20% is basically pointless? Is there any truth to that?

 

[Jags]

I wish I could remember the source, maybe popular mechanics? Whatever it was stated that anything below 20% is basically pointless? Is there any truth to that?

Well...pointless is a strong word. Necessary? No. Get the stuff around 20% and your stove will be happy.

 

[Applesister]

I overheard a flooring contractor talking once, who specialized in reclaimed wide plank flooring, talking about moisture equalibrium.
He was saying how he leaves the flooring material at the installation location long enough for the wood moisture to 'match' its surrounding environment.
Depending on your application, moisture in wood can be a very precise science. Museums are really big on it.
Firewood is at the bottom of the barrel, no pun intended.

 

[oldspark]

I overheard a flooring contractor talking once, who specialized in reclaimed wide plank flooring, talking about moisture equalibrium.
He was saying how he leaves the flooring material at the installation location long enough for the wood moisture to 'match' its surrounding environment.
Depending on your application, moisture in wood can be a very precise science. Museums are really big on it.
Firewood is at the bottom of the barrel, no pun intended.

That is SOP for when you lay a wood floor even in your house.

 

[Woody Stover]

Only a wood monger could make a moisture meter lie. Probably just innocent misuse though, right?

I wish I could remember the source, maybe popular mechanics? Whatever it was stated that anything below 20% is basically pointless? Is there any truth to that?

I think there are some past threads on here where it was said that super-dry wood decreases stove efficiency slightly. Don't quote me on that....this question gets into some pretty complicated variables. Some of the old Battenkiller posts addressed this, I believe....

 

[oldspark]

Is that a dead horse I hear coming in?

 

[blades]

Heck read the box of flooring you just got at wherever, says right on box to open and let the product stablize forx amount time to your enviroment.

What is Dry Fire wood? Kiln dried generally means it has been reduced to a 8-10% moisture content as it is removed from kiln, the wood will reacquire some from ambient conditions where it is stored. If I remember correctly for furniture grade work 12%+/- is the preferred range as this is fairly stable. For Stove purposes 12-20% is good , if you are hanging in the 15%+/- bracket great. Anything over 20 and you are using a lot of BTUs to boil off excess moisture

 

[oldspark]

"Some of the old Battenkiller posts addressed this, I believe"
I miss him, he got hammered by some here but he had the data to back it up, learned a lot from that guy.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Just came across this while searching the web.

From Nassau County Firewood.
http://nassaufirewood.com/guarantee.php

"Our KILN DRIED Firewood is dry - 100% GUARANTEED"

"*Dry firewood is less than 30% moisture content on average as per a calibrated moisture meter."

Apparently definitions vary.

Boy!, the terms of their Guarantee don't guarantee much at all, except that if you buy from them they are gona make money from you one way or another, whether it be through product sold, or stacking and delivery charges, which are not refundable. They could resell the sale cord over and over again, and just make money dropping it of and picking it up again.
Also that term "less than 30% moisture content on average" means that there could still be a lot of the wood that is actually over 30% MC, as long as a little more of it is somewhere below 30%. So long as the average is less than 30%, they'll still meet the terms of their "Guarantee". On average is much different than saying all the wood is less than 30% MC.

 

[Jags]

The old BK threads were interesting. Anyways...YES - you can have too dry of wood. Believe it or not - if the wood is TOO dry, it can burn dirty and inefficient. Follow me here...
If the wood is TOO dry, the outgassing of the wood can exceed the rate at which the reburner (tubes or cat) can consume them. This will cause an incomplete burn of the fuel (outgassing) and it will be pumped up the stack. Hence - dirty burn.

THAT BEING SAID. Drying your wood outside in good old Mother Natures presence and you should have NO SUCH problem. It is pretty tough to get firewood too dry outside.

 

[Buckeye 2012]

Firewood needs to be seasoned until it has less than 20 percent moisture content in order to achieve an efficient and low-creosote burn, according to the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Still, folks will advertise stuff like that and for those who really know practically nothing about it, well, it sounds good to them, so they buy. It is no different than what we hear every year. The guy guaranteed his wood is seasoned and ready to burn. Then after the payment is made and they try to burn the wood, most will first blame the stove before reality kicks in and they learn that the seasoned wood they bought was fresh stuff. Ah, but it is seasoned. Maybe they put pepper on it....

 

[red oak]

Unless you have a moisture meter, assume any wood you buy is not seasoned.

 

[DaveGunter]

"Some of the old Battenkiller posts addressed this, I believe"
I miss him, he got hammered by some here but he had the data to back it up, learned a lot from that guy.

I miss a lot of people around here lately

 

[lsmccracken83]

Hello. I have learned a lot form this forum but just decided to register. Anyways, I live in Edgewood,NM, we have some pretty dry conditions at times. I have a meter from HF and used it on some 4-5 year old elm, ash and other random wood I got from a huge storm in OK and it gives a reading of 6-8%, is that crazy!!?? My 3 yr old cedar and pinon read 8-10, and mu pine from last year reads about 11-14, I am wondering if the meter is working or if it has to do with the low humidity out here, I cut some cherry and apple the other day and got a reading in the 40's. I have read all the other threads on MC and am still confused. Either way its what I have and it is going to get burned. If it is correct does that seem too dry?

 

[StihlHead]

Welcome aboard.

Seems that your meter is correct, given the value for green apple. In dry locations that is not unheard of, especially for wood that has been drying that long. Here my house timbers are 12%, so that is about as dry as I can get wood here. In NM obviously you can get a lot drier. As some have said above, wood that is over-dry can gasify to the point that it overwhelms the stove's air tubes or cat and not oxidize completely. In which case I would just burn less wood at a time (which is what I do here anyway to prevent making charcoal).

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

On average under 30% pssssshhhhhhaaaaaa....

 

[Trooper]

Hello. I have learned a lot form this forum but just decided to register. Anyways, I live in Edgewood,NM, we have some pretty dry conditions at times. I have a meter from HF and used it on some 4-5 year old elm, ash and other random wood I got from a huge storm in OK and it gives a reading of 6-8%, is that crazy!!?? My 3 yr old cedar and pinon read 8-10, and mu pine from last year reads about 11-14, I am wondering if the meter is working or if it has to do with the low humidity out here, I cut some cherry and apple the other day and got a reading in the 40's. I have read all the other threads on MC and am still confused. Either way its what I have and it is going to get burned. If it is correct does that seem too dry?

Welcome! I am from AZ, and given you are outside of Albuquerque, we probably have similar climates. Your MC readings are close to mine.

Here is a post I started soon after joining with the same question as you have.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/why-dry-wood.108069/

 

[oldspark]

For dry climates your numbers sound Ok, we should come up with a ball park chart for moisture readings, not sure why this is so confusing to some.

 

[lsmccracken83]

Appreciate all the help. The wood just so extremely dry here compared to what most on here talk about. I thought the meter was right since I got a reading of 34 or so in my palm.