Ok firewood experts......another question.
I have a place I can get some firewood locally. They are a logging company. They have the wood season as logs (uncovered). Then when they get orders they split the wood and deliver it. So the inside of the wood is dry. My question is, is this dry enough and would this work ok in a non cat stove? Just curious what you all think. 245 per cord delivered is a great price. And they have Fir, Pine, Alder and Maple.....I can choose.
This is a crap shoot ---- loggers have a strange concept of what "seasoned" firewood really is. If they can get it to burn, it is "seasoned".
Often times it will burn OK, especially mixed in with some true seasoned wood, or those NIELS. That is a good price for this time of year, & if it ends up being too wet, will dry enough for next winter -- I'd give it a go. All these woods will actually dry (season) in 9-12 months if split & stacked with wide aisles between stacks (from even green wood).
Fir = most common firewood, probably on west side of state. May be a mix of Douglas-fir, true firs, & hemlock.
Pine = common on east side of cascades, has a lot of resin usually & may burn better with a higher moisture content. We don't get it over here in the coast range.
Maple = a good burning wood. A hardwood, takes longer to season & dry. It does make for more ash residue. Loggers don't like to burn it for some reason (too lazy to empty ashes I guess, & over here in the coast range they consider it a weed tree)
Alder = another hardwood that is softer (less dense) than the fir. When dry, it burns hot & fast, and makes lots of ash. Be careful if you ever load your stove up with seasoned alder -- the only time my Alderlea got too hot was burning an alder load (& they were just 3 very large unsplit logs). One advantage of alder is that it will often burn with more moisture content than the others. (Loggers like to burn the punky alder they find in the woods = on the beginning stages of rot, but it will burn) I do not like alder, personally & will not buy it, normally -- I don't believe it gives me the return btu's that the other coastal woods do.
Tell the seller your situation, they'll likely sell you the driest they have available. It may be a good connection for future wood buying.
(Hope this little dissertation helps)