Kiln dried and Kiln Seasoned wood

[faultymechanics]

Looking for some input.

We ended up getting a new stove this year just under the gun of the tax credit. We didn't really have plans to get a new stove until the end of November so we don't have any seasoned wood. I do have a local friend who is actually looking to clear out her distant wood shed(she's older and cant make it out that far).

Anyhow, until that happens, we have a place not too far that offers Kiln dried wood and Kiln Seasoned wood. My thought was to store about 1/4 cord of the Kiln dried wood in the basement and then store some Kiln "seasoned" wood outside but I was wondering how useful that Kiln Seasoned wood could be.

The Kiln dried wood is around 12-15% moisture while the Kiln Seasoned Wood is 30%. Is it safe to mix the two together to get a decent overnight burn? Will the high moisture content in the Seasoned wood still build up a bunch of Creosote even with the drier Kiln Dried wood?

Also, the seasoned wood does have a cost premium over a cord of Green wood, at that point, should I just get "greener" wood and forgo the Kiln Seasoned wood?

I figured it would be nice to have Kiln Dried wood or biobricks(though I've seen some things about avoiding the bricks with a cat stove) in the basement just for those days when I'm not around and my wife doesn't want to make the frosty crawl out to the outdoor stack (Which will be made of my friends wood once I can start grabbing it).


Thoughts?

 

[blades]

don't waste money on the klin seasoned, that is just a specific set of parameters to kill bugs in the wood for interstate transportation ( pallet material).

 

[begreen]

That can be true in some locations, particularly those close to a border state, but not all. I know of at least 2 locations, one in NYS and one in WA state that kiln dry the firewood to be at low moisture content throughout the wood.

 

[stoveliker]

The name doesn't matter, the dryness does.

If the moisture content is measured after resplitting on the freshly exposed surface (and with the wood at room temp, and the pins parallel to the grain), then the 12-15 pct is great.

I would not add 30 pct wood to the mix in a cat stove
A tube stove, maybe - one 30 pct split to a load.
But they make a lot of cool water vapor which your cat does not like.

Buy a pallet of biobricks. NIELS if available. Redstone works too.
Make sure there are no additions, just compressed sawdust. No wax, binder, whatever.
And check for pieces of other stuff in the bricks; I recently had a few (just to play around) that had pieces of melamine in the bricks).

 

[faultymechanics]

The name doesn't matter, the dryness does.

If the moisture content is measured after resplitting on the freshly exposed surface (and with the wood at room temp, and the pins parallel to the grain), then the 12-15 pct is great.

I would not add 30 pct wood to the mix in a cat stove
A tube stove, maybe - one 30 pct split to a load.
But they make a lot of cool water vapor which your cat does not like.

Buy a pallet of biobricks. NIELS if available. Redstone works too.
Make sure there are no additions, just compressed sawdust. No wax, binder, whatever.
And check for pieces of other stuff in the bricks; I recently had a few (just to play around) that had pieces of melamine in the bricks).

Do biobricks "coal" enough to keep heat overnight? Or is that more of a cord wood kind of thing?

 

[bigealta]

Buy some regular cordwood now for next year and if you have room the year after.

For this year try to find anyone giving away "old" woodpiles, they may be your best chance at this point.
You can also try to get some dead standing or dead fallen branch wood. That has potential to be dry enough to burn sometimes.

Only you can confirm moisture content, don't take anyone's word or estimate of moisture content. A meter is around $20 and it ends all uncertainty. Always check on the inside of a piece you just split. Preferably at around 60-70F.

I would not use any 30% moisture in my tube stove. That is just way to wet.

 

[stoveliker]

Do biobricks "coal" enough to keep heat overnight? Or is that more of a cord wood kind of thing?

They don't coal but they do last a long time. More btu per volume than cordwood
How big is your firebox?

 

[faultymechanics]

They don't coal but they do last a long time. More btu per volume than cordwood
How big is your firebox?

2.6 cuft

 

[stoveliker]

With that firebox, you should be able to get thru the night.
What stove is it?
There are some who warn against stuffing a firebox with these bricks; they can take off because they're so dry. I.e. add a few to a cordwood load is what they say. For sure for tube stoves imo. But cat stoves I'm not so sure.
In my experience, not all cat stoves run into trouble with them. Mine does not (at all).

So, stuffing the box will get you 7-8 hrs, I think. Doing that with bricks is at your own risk. (SOme manuals say not to stuff it, so check your manual.) Adding some bricks to cordwood stretches a limited supply of cordwood, and that may be the advisable thing to do.