MM: Do You Really Check All Your Wood ?

[DUMF]

Who actually checks every stick of Firewood ? ( "15, 15, 18, 20, 22, 17, 18, 25" etc....etc....) ?
And, is the MM that accurate ?
Questions questions.
Damn, all we do is stack green wood from the seller in early Spring, wait, let the splits dry in open stacks or under cover, wait some more, then burn. Some odd larger pieces do sizzle a little, but so what. Who has that kind of time to stick that MM in each stick ? Curious minds need to know......
Wow.

 

[Stinkpickle]

I don't. I just stack and let everything dry for at least two years, regardless of it being green or seasoned when i pick it up.

 

[blueguy]

Moisture meters are somewhat accurate, and, at least in my case, are just to spot check now and again to confirm the moisture content. Although there are some pretty anal burners out there, the only time I see dedicated checking going on is when their stove isn't working as well as previously or they thought it should be.

Most just stack and let the wood dry for at least a year, preferably two and burn it.

 

[Jags]

I am not aware of anybody sticking every piece of wood with a meter. That would require resplitting every single piece and I don't see that happening. MM are a good tool for the beginners (ya know, the ones that question why their delivered wood that was promised to be seasoned ain't burning so well) along with some of the long time burners. I don't use mine very often, but I do use it on occasion simply as a spot check of a couple of sticks here or there.

 

[mellow]

I will use it to spot check a rack of wood, take a piece from each end to see how far along it is, no way would I split each piece.

 

[jb6l6gc]

Wouldn't mind picking one up but haven't found anywhere around here that carries em. I'm not a big online shopper I like to see what in buying. Like said above i season for a year or two. Generally I can tell by the sound of the wood when clanked together

 

[Beer Belly]

As others.....just spot check here and there

 

[jatoxico]

Need/usefulness of a MM depends quite a bit on your stove too. I don't use it as much any more but my first year with the EPA stove I had 18 mo CSS locust and thought I was pretty set because I had planned ahead. Well not so much. Burned Ok-ish (even dry locust can be tough if you do a lot of cold starts like me). Checked w/ the meter and it was 22-24% give or take. That would have been great for the older stove I ran but but was marginal at best for the new one.

Without the meter I would have said the wood was fine. It clinked together nicely and felt dry when handling. Now I know better what dry means.

 

[Wickets]

Are the meters <$50 at places like amazon worth buying? thanks.

I saw a dr meter with good reviews for $25.

 

[begreen]

The very expensive meters are for cabinetry and flooring pros. Not necessary for basic firewood moisture measurement.

 

[Wickets]

Thanks. This is my first year with a stove. First cord i bought was delivered short and the second was supposed to be dry, but I'm not sure. Anyway, after reading through some of the threads, it seems that it is in my best interest to check a log or two before paying for the delivery

 

[begreen]

Yes, if you are paying for "seasoned" wood then verify that it is truly seasoned by respliting a few random splits and checking their moisture. Or, if you have space, buy 2 yrs in advance and stack it top covered.

 

[mellow]

The Harbor Freight Moisture meter works good, it can be had with coupons for under $12.

 

[rdust]

In the fall if I have any doubts I pull the biggest split I can find in the stack, split it and check it. If it's good the rest will be fine. On the 4 year plan so the meter sits most the time unless I'm curious how some species are progressing in the seasoning process.

 

[Hogwildz]

Being 3 years ahead in rotation or more, makes for no worries about wetness. If your wood is sizzling, you don't need a meter either, that is already telling you its not ready. Unless it is the outside of the wood wet from a recent rain or snow. The big deal with burning wet wood is you're losing btus to drying that wet wood, that could be going to heating the house, but now is wasted drying wood. The load may burn cooler than normal also. And of course the creo build up that is likely to occur.

 

[CincyBurner]

No, I don't use MM on all wood. I'm 3+ years ahead, so wood should be ok, even on less than ideal stack locations. But I do use MM to sample wood, or stacks I might have some doubt as to it's dryness. It's a useful tool to attempt to match the intuitive sense of "That wood 'seems' good.", against its actual MC. Sampling MC of a few splits beats bringing in a load of wood that isn't dry enough.
* It's good to establish baselines, even if it's qualitative (e.g. ash in stack 'A' typically takes 2 years to dry to an acceptable MC).
* How well does stove perform with MC of oak @15%, 18%, 22%, 24% ?
* Stack is in less than optimum location (shade, poor wind). How is it drying ? Should I season an extra year. Should I pull wood off of other pile instead ? I tested off of a stack that typically dries quickly, but with 2015 being a very moist, cool summer I was surprised to find that 20"ash splits not as dry as I'd hoped - 18% on windward side, and 22% on leeward side of the split.
* Wood C/S/S in same stack at different times, or different species.
* What's the MC of that really thick (what was I thinking) split ? Dry enough ?