Kiln Dried Wood Yes or No?

[campfirejoe]

Hello, I’m new to MN and trying to support my heating efforts with an i2500 Regency catalytic hybrid stove. It’s been quite a learning curve and I have been reading different opinions on kiln dried wood. In the regency brochure it says „avoid“ using kiln dried wood and another note even mentions warranty voids if using kiln dried wood.
So what’s peoples experience/opinion on that? The local supplier claims their wood is below 20% MC and therefore should be ideal for fuel? It does seem like some batches are better than others and the last one I got seemed a bit green still and has a fruity smell even though it did split very well just like dried/seasoned wood. Any recommendations on what suppliers I should look for and is kiln dried a myth? Thank you very much for your insights.

 

[paredown]

The experts may well chime in -- but my idiot's version is that the danger of kiln dried wood is that it is easier to overfire a stove with a load of all kiln-dried wood. Moisture content for KD lumber is 6-8% to meet US standards; air dried lumber usually doesn't get below approx 10%.

That said, I'm in the habit of burning wood shop scraps (and sometimes unfinished wood flooring scraps) in mine as a starter/supplemental wood but I use it carefully and sparingly.

 

[Eman85]

The kiln dried firewood is different then kiln dried dimensional lumber, most firewood is kiln dried to kill bugs. true kiln dried wood burns fast and hot so the over firing might be a problem. I use kiln dried scrap oak from a cabinet shop in small quantities to get fires going.

 

[begreen]

Kiln dried can be for killing bugs, but not always. Locally, our woodseller offers kiln dried wood. In their case it's not to kill bugs, it's to guarantee the interior moisture content below 20%. This allows them to supply dry wood to those that can not store a lot on their property and those that are late in getting wood. They sell this wood at a premium price. I know of a couple sellers in mid-lower NY state that do this also.

Campfirejoe, the best thing is to get a decent moisture meter and spot check your wood, whether it's naturally seasoned or kiln-dried. If it averages around 18% mc it's going to be fine for burning. Wood that is too dry will be <15%mc and too wet at >23%. There are exceptions of course. If the wood is mostly around 15%mc, then adding some less seasoned wood that is 25%mc may be effective at controlling the burn rate better.

 

[Max W]

Kiln drying is good way speed drying up. I was happy to buy a couple of cords of kiln dried back aways when I was running low. However drying for moisture content is not sufficient to kill bugs. To bring firewood into Maine, in the effort to limit infestations, the state requires the wood must be certified to be heated to160 degrees and held there for 75 minutes

 

[campfirejoe]

Thank you everyone for your insights, much appreciated! Geez, these cat stoves are finicky, only perfect fuel equals great efficiency. I measured the MC of the KD wood I just got and it is consistently below 20% only if I measure it on the outside of the leg sized logs, once I split it and measure the freshly exposed side, it’s well above 30%, hence the fruity smell. It smelled so bad, I had to move it outside instead of storing it on a shelf in the living room near the stove. Since it’s peak season I assume the suppliers are just focusing on maximizing profits and moving the wood in and out asap. So my premium KD oakwood is not even seasoned until I split it and store it for a few weeks/months. I immediately noticed the difference in outcome. When I used my own seasoned wood from last summer (w/10-20% MC) I can get my entire living room heated up to 75F, with the new batch of KD wood I barely got it to 70 and it toon a lot of additional effort. Using the perfectly seasoned wood seems to be crucial for a good experience with a cat stove.

 

[begreen]

That sucks. Oak is slow drying. The wood will take another year or more to dry naturally to the core. Call them, especially if they are advertising 'ready to burn'.

 

[Eman85]

Buying firewood is a real gamble and most is not dry, seasoned or any other term that's applied. Do yourself a favor and treat it all as green and season it yourself. 1 year seasoned wood only works for certain species of wood, most good wood 3 years is a good bet. Ready to burn is different for different people. My neighbors cut this years wood a month or so ago, they like it as it burns slower.

 

[begreen]

My neighbors cut this years wood a month or so ago, they like it as it burns slower.

I see that all over in rural areas, even around the world. Some people run their stoves like a smudge pot without regard to smoking up the neighborhood.

 

[Eman85]

I see that all over in rural areas, even around the world. Some people run their stoves like a smudge pot without regard to smoking up the neighborhood.

Around here people don't start gathering the wood for the winter until it gets cool out. They don't store wood, I became known as the guy with the big wood pile as it was an oddity. Most learned to do it this way and this will be the way they do it. The majority have simple old style stoves like Fisher or Buck and many local welding shop built stoves. Old flue block chimney, some with no liner. Common to see SW metal pipe sticking out a window the a 90* and SW chimney. Piece of sheet metal replaces the glass with a hole for the pipe.

 

[Max W]

the state requires the wood must be certified to be heated to160 degrees and held there for 75 minutes

Just realized 160 is the same temp as a well done steak. 75 minutes that would one tough steak

 

[all night moe]

Kiln dried can be for killing bugs, but not always. Locally, our woodseller offers kiln dried wood. In their case it's not to kill bugs, it's to guarantee the interior moisture content below 20%. This allows them to supply dry wood to those that can not store a lot on their property and those that are late in getting wood. They sell this wood at a premium price. I know of a couple sellers in mid-lower NY state that do this also.

Campfirejoe, the best thing is to get a decent moisture meter and spot check your wood, whether it's naturally seasoned or kiln-dried. If it averages around 18% mc it's going to be fine for burning. Wood that is too dry will be <15%mc and too wet at >23%. There are exceptions of course. If the wood is mostly around 15%mc, then adding some less seasoned wood that is 25%mc may be effective at controlling the burn rate better.

Somewhere, you recently posted a recommendation for a meter. I'll be looking for a good one. I almost always avoid buying cheap.
Better yet, is there a thread on comparing brands and accuracy?

I normally season my stuff well. I check buy sound. The bowling pin bounce works for me. I'm interested in a meter because I aim to do sales this coming season. I want to know what I'm selling. Haven't sold wood in 20yrs or so. I have the property to process, more than before. I may even build a kiln down the road...... but then I'll need a barn to keep it all dry and mold free. Time will tell.

 

[NHWS]

Several people here use meters made by General (https://generaltools.com/digital-tools/moisture-humidity-digital-tools/moisture-meters). Mine is a General MM9, sold by a big box store. There are other companies that also make good-enough meters.

There's no need to buy expensive. Mine is one of the more expensive ones; it costs a bit less than $40.

 

[kcmclellan]

Somewhere, you recently posted a recommendation for a meter. I'll be looking for a good one. I almost always avoid buying cheap.
Better yet, is there a thread on comparing brands and accuracy?

I normally season my stuff well. I check buy sound. The bowling pin bounce works for me. I'm interested in a meter because I aim to do sales this coming season. I want to know what I'm selling. Haven't sold wood in 20yrs or so. I have the property to process, more than before. I may even build a kiln down the road...... but then I'll need a barn to keep it all dry and mold free. Time will tell.

This is the exact same route that I followed about 15 years ago when I first started burning... I quickly realized that I could split and sell extra cords to cut down on my price point for my own wood to burn. Arthritis finally caught up with me making me give up selling, but I'll never give up burning wood for heat. I love every aspect of it, even talking about it! 😊

 

[all night moe]

Arthritis finally caught up with me

FWIW, I do an almost daily shot of apple cider/vinegar. I should be loaded, from all the injuries sustained over the years.
I'm not..... just a blue moon flare up here and there.

 

[Draughts15]

Hello, I’m new to MN and trying to support my heating efforts with an i2500 Regency catalytic hybrid stove. It’s been quite a learning curve and I have been reading different opinions on kiln dried wood. In the regency brochure it says „avoid“ using kiln dried wood and another note even mentions warranty voids if using kiln dried wood.
So what’s peoples experience/opinion on that? The local supplier claims their wood is below 20% MC and therefore should be ideal for fuel? It does seem like some batches are better than others and the last one I got seemed a bit green still and has a fruity smell even though it did split very well just like dried/seasoned wood. Any recommendations on what suppliers I should look for and is kiln dried a myth? Thank you very much for your insights.

I'm in MN too, welcome. I burn kiln dried oak in a PE stove with MC around 11-13% and it burns hot. I pay a good price for it but I think I burn less wood also. I haven't had any issues with overfiring but I watch it closely and I'm turning the air down within a few minutes.

 

[seastump]

I’ve been burning kiln dried in my cat stove this winter. It burns fast and hot, so just need to control for that. I’m definitely seeing significant benefits with the kiln dried vs well seasoned. Fire starting is a breeze, smoke is minimal, and no bugs to worry about. You pay a premium for it though so definitely want to check MC, preferably while it’s being delivered. My first delivery this season registered ~8% MC. My second near 0%, which is impressive (good, heavy splits too!)

 

[begreen]

I recommend that anyone buying "seasoned" firewood, check a few random splits for MC before they start unloading the truck. Just yesterday I saw a Facebook ad for seasoned firewood showing them testing the MC on the outside face of a split. It read 9%. In conversation with them I found out they had borrowed the meter for the picture and didn't know how to properly test for MC.

 

[ctreitzell]

I recommend that anyone buying "seasoned" firewood, check a few random splits for MC before they start unloading the truck. Just yesterday I saw a Facebook ad for seasoned firewood showing them testing the MC on the outside face of a split. It read 9%. In conversation with them I found out they had borrowed the meter for the picture and didn't know how to properly test for MC.

@begreen if only!

If I try that with my guy, he’ll never come back! I am looking for other suppliers anyway

This year, I bought 40cm from him and he delivered 50cm…opening to my stove is 42cm max…I would have had to cut every stick

But he brought paperwork…and these French guys certainly respect the paper…I asked him to swap the 50 for 40…took him a few days to figure out how he’d do it…to his credit he did collect the 50 and deliver the 40 a lot closer to my wood store…he’s a nice enough guy…but he certainly won’t be told

Anyway, we learned a lesson this year, my wife and I, that we didn’t know:
in Europe, you only get a full stair if you buy 1meter lengths…otherwise the customer actually receives less (by the cutting of the wood)…so 50cm is actually the most economical where at 50cm equals 80% of a stair and 40cm equals around 60-70% of a stair

I’ll have to get to checking the MC…is using a DMM not very reliable? I thought that is essentially what a Moisture Meter was…a specialty DMM…

It’s just, I have a reasonably good DMM…

 

[begreen]

A digital moisture meter can be reliable, if used correctly.

 

[AsylumResident]

How much is one spending on a cord of kiln dried wood?

 

[begreen]

It depends on the location and firewood type. Locally a reliable seller has kiln-dried softwood for $335/cord and $475 for hardwood.

 

[seastump]

I paid $689 for a cord of kiln dried, mixed hardwoods. A cringy-worthy price, but best around. I had higher quotes from other suppliers. Very much depends on where you live.

 

[FTG-05]

Around here people don't start gathering the wood for the winter until it gets cool out. They don't store wood, I became known as the guy with the big wood pile as it was an oddity. Most learned to do it this way and this will be the way they do it. The majority have simple old style stoves like Fisher or Buck and many local welding shop built stoves. Old flue block chimney, some with no liner. Common to see SW metal pipe sticking out a window the a 90* and SW chimney. Piece of sheet metal replaces the glass with a hole for the pipe.

 

[begreen]

Lots of expensive vehicles there, but not enough money or concern to install a proper flue system. The scrap metal value might just pay for one.