Show me your reading.

[Richard Pryor]

Burning seasoned lodgepole. Got my moisture meter today. We live in the desert so things dry fast here. This is what my current pile looks like.

Recently took down a juniper and today I measured it and it was around 20-21%.

What numbers do you guys want to see before you burn it?

 

[lsucet]

Under 20 is what most manufacturers recommend. Some say 25 is okay.
Remember to bring the piece inside for 24 hrs minimum to room temperature, split it and measure on a fresh split part of it. That is more accurate reading.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Burning seasoned lodgepole. Got my moisture meter today. We live in the desert so things dry fast here. This is what my current pile looks like.

Recently took down a juniper and today I measured it and it was around 20-21%.

What numbers do you guys want to see before you burn it?

Measuring a split on the end grain like that is an inaccurate way to measure wood moisture. You need room temperature and to check it on freshly split face.

 

[Richard Pryor]

Ok I’ll do that

 

[MissMac]

Ok I’ll do that

you will likely always get a higher MC on a fresh split when compared to how you did it in your pic, which is why it's important to do what these fellows suggest.

 

[spudman99]

Here is a method taken from the Blaze King insert manual (not promoting them, just crediting the source)

 

[Richard Pryor]

So, what kind of numbers are the moisture police getting? I guess this is one of the benefits of living in the desert. Freshly split round.

 

[Richard Pryor]

I personally think anything above 15% is WAY too wet to burn.

 

[lsucet]

I personally think anything above 15% is WAY too wet to burn.

Is that snow? Was the split inside for a least 24 hrs before split and measured?

 

[MissMac]

So, what kind of numbers are the moisture police getting? I guess this is one of the benefits of living in the desert. Freshly split round.

that's probably a false low reading, given that there's snow on the split. bring some wood inside, leave it inside for a day, then put a fresh split on it and measure MC. you want the split to be warm. if it's too cold, MC will read lower than it actually is.

 

[Richard Pryor]

I had to take it outside to split it, hence the snow. It was inside for 12 hours. But I realize these are lower readings than what you guys normally get. Again, desert living. It ain’t perfect but our wood is dry.

 

[Akon]

Rotate the prongs 90 degrees to read along the grain for more accurate readings as described in post 6.

 

[Richard Pryor]

Rotate the prongs 90 degrees to read along the grain for more accurate readings as described in post 6.

How much do you think that will change the readings? .1? .3? Lol

I know that living on the East coast must be hard to keep wood dry. I used to live in a VERY humid climate. For 35 years. I said no more and moved to the high desert. Wood is dry, life is good. Haters gonna hate. Show me some of your reading please @Akon @MissMac

 

[Rickb]

Mine ussually show 15-17% when I measure it correctly. Never tried it the way your doing it so no idea how much that might change the readings.

 

[lsucet]

I think your wood is dry and I don't think somebody is saying that is not. But learning the proper way of doing it is better cause everybody is in the same page. I can have my wood down to 6 to 7 on MC ( pine ). I am in New Mexico.
Unfortunately you can't teach who don't want to learn.

 

[Ashful]

I personally think anything above 15% is WAY too wet to burn.

Haters gonna hate. Show me some of your reading please

Now who could hate on someone who posts this?

Lots of folks live in places where they could leave the wood in a shed for a decade, and not get to 15%. It will plateau at an equilibrium moisture content, after the initial drying period, of typically 1 - 3 years under cover. Equilibrium content is governed by the species (density) and average relative humidity.

Exactly where in Oregon are you?

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/zp/equilibrium_moisture_content.pdf