Moisture content vs. seasoning time

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enchant

Member
Nov 5, 2016
107
Marshfield, MA
I would think this has been asked and answered, and if it has, please just point me there. I couldn't find anything.

I've always felt ok with wood that has a moisture content under 20%, but I'd prefer 15%. I typically buy my wood a year ahead so it's plenty seasoned by time I burn. But this year I was planning to move to a new house and didn't buy enough wood. With the virus, the move got delayed, and now I'm down to half a cord.

A place near me has a website that says their wood is seasoned at least one year. I called and they said that what they have is closer to 10 months. I drove over and it didn't feel all that heavy. I had a cord delivered today. I split a few medium sized pieces (about 5-6" dia). If I just touch the moisture meter, it reads about 25%. If I push it in some, it's over 30%. Thing is, I really don't know, but I'd think that wood that's been seasoning for 10 months shouldn't be that wet.

Am I wrong? And can I assume that 30%+ probably won't be ready till next season?
 
They may have had it in a big pile or cut into rounds but not split, without proper air flow the wood will not dry properly. I have Ash that I myself cut split and stacked in rows starting last March so 7 months and stacked on a knoll that gets 6hrs of sunlight and lots of lake erie wind. I am getting 3-4" splits still reading at 24-25%. But yet I split Tulip Poplar and had it css for 3-4 months and it is already down to 23-24%. Guess I am getting at, depends on species, location, climate and time. So it may have been seasoning for 10 months or longer but conditions may have not been ideal.
 
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If you are using the same moisture meter as usual it sounds like you get to season your purchased wood until next season. Sounds like you had a challenging year. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info, guys. I think what we'll do is seal off a couple of rooms that tend to lose heat and try to live off the good stuff we have while mixing in some of the thinner new stuff. I split some of the pieces under 3" and it was more like 25% or so.
 
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In a pinch I'll burn stuff 25% or maybe slightly over. Nothing at 30% or more though. Even at 25% it's noticeable, and makes wood burning more of a chore.
 
Your best bet is to split small and put it out and let is season some more. your well north so I dont think a kiln will help but it may and worh a try. Different species will season faster and some slower. oak will be slow cherry and ash will be faster. That being said also how its stacked will also affect seasoning. If its in a pile even the faster drying wood will be slow. If its stacked in a prime location and in rows seasoning will be quicker. Id try to get it more seasoned. It can't hurt to try to get the MC down a little more, youll get the benefits of your labor. Its just going to sit there anyway so why not try to get the MC down.
 
enchant said:
Pardon my ignorance, but would it help my issue if I cross-stacked it? (Hope I got the terminology right.) i.e. a row N-S and a row E-W?
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anything is better than nothing.. splitting small will also help alot.. keep it in the sun with prevailing winds
 
enchant said:
Thanks for the info, guys. I think what we'll do is seal off a couple of rooms that tend to lose heat and try to live off the good stuff we have while mixing in some of the thinner new stuff. I split some of the pieces under 3" and it was more like 25% or so.
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I know it sounds a little crazy but since you are willing to seal off some of your house maybe you are willing to do a long drive. I have 3+ years of wood and can part with cord or so if you have a truck/trailer and want to go for a drive. I am 20 minutes west of Hartford, CT.
 
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John, that's awfully neighborly of you, and I *am* tempted. But I think we've made our peace with the situation and we'll manage the winter ok. I've got a friend with a splitter who's going to deliver it over here and we're going to split this stuff further. Thanks so much for the offer, though!!
 
Lot to be said for buying a pallet of biobricks and then mix in the firewood. Yes splitting it smaller and stacking it to maximize air flow helps.
 
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enchant said:
John, that's awfully neighborly of you, and I *am* tempted. But I think we've made our peace with the situation and we'll manage the winter ok. I've got a friend with a splitter who's going to deliver it over here and we're going to split this stuff further. Thanks so much for the offer, though!!
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Sounds good, give a yell if things change.
 
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grab a bunch of pallets and cut them up to mix in with some of the wet stuff too. Or other dry scrap wood you can find. Might not get as long of a burn but it''ll help.
 
Likely what happened was the tree was cut down a year ago and just thrown on a pile. They likely bucked and split within the past month. Without being split the tree isn't really going to dry, so while it's been "drying" for over a year, the extremely slow speed of a full log drying means there will still be tons of moisture.


What you can do to try and get some piece dry, is try and keep a few pieces at a time near your stove so the heat +air flow can help dry them out faster, when they drop to 20% throw them in with your good wood and you should hopefully be fine.
 
If its mixed hardwoods go through it and separate the oak from the rest (usually in our area theres oak, maple. ash and birch) oak takes the longest to dry out, you can tell by the wood grain and the weight of the splits which is which.
 
Dabster13 said:
You can come, you just can't stay for 24 hours or more
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I was going to have him "work off" the wood - I had a lot more that 24 hours worth of chores lined up!
 
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Keep a big stack next to the stove. It will dry down in a day or three. We can bring in half dry wood and it is totally burnable in 2-3 days.
 
Sorry to disagree IMHO, piling wet wood near a woodstove does not drop the moisture content of the wood out appreciably. Its better than nothing as surface water evaporates quickly but its still going to have lot of bound water. Yes it dries out the surface of the wood but when its split the moisture content will be about what it was when it was brought in.
 
We bring in a face cord at a time and it can be slightly wet and will dry in a few days. I'm not trying to pull anyone's chain.
It works for us when the wood isn't quite ready.
 
Isaac Carlson said:
We bring in a face cord at a time and it can be slightly wet and will dry in a few days.
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I once stacked a half-cord of 25% White Ash, split small, in the house with a fan blowing on it. It got to 20% in a couple weeks.
 
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We stack ours about a foot and a half from the stove. There is a lot of radiant heat, air movement, and the ambient temp is about 100-120*.
 
enchant said:
I would think this has been asked and answered, and if it has, please just point me there. I couldn't find anything.

I've always felt ok with wood that has a moisture content under 20%, but I'd prefer 15%. I typically buy my wood a year ahead so it's plenty seasoned by time I burn. But this year I was planning to move to a new house and didn't buy enough wood. With the virus, the move got delayed, and now I'm down to half a cord.

A place near me has a website that says their wood is seasoned at least one year. I called and they said that what they have is closer to 10 months. I drove over and it didn't feel all that heavy. I had a cord delivered today. I split a few medium sized pieces (about 5-6" dia). If I just touch the moisture meter, it reads about 25%. If I push it in some, it's over 30%. Thing is, I really don't know, but I'd think that wood that's been seasoning for 10 months shouldn't be that wet.

Am I wrong? And can I assume that 30%+ probably won't be ready till next season?
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I wouldn't burn that wood this year.

I have never made a firewood purchase from a commercial seller that was properly seasoned (except for the time I bought an expensive pallet of kiln dried wood so I could enjoy my first season of burning). Maybe others have had better experiences with their wood suppliers.
 
JotulOwner said:
I wouldn't burn that wood this year.

I have never made a firewood purchase from a commercial seller that was properly seasoned (except for the time I bought an expensive pallet of kiln dried wood so I could enjoy my first season of burning). Maybe others have had better experiences with their wood suppliers.
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I agree with that. Anytime I buy wood from a commercial seller I plan on using it the next year.
 
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