So disappointed in my Wood this year...

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NoobTube

Burning Hunk
Nov 11, 2013
225
Seymour, CT
Guys, I think its a sign... last year the wood I got, I was not impressed with. The first year I got wood from a local guy and it was pretty darn good, and I got it pretty late in the season (Mid-November).

I burned through my 2 cords last year very quickly (and I didnt really think it was that cold of a winter in CT.)

This year I bought 3 cord for around $720. The moisture content in this wood has been off the charts, and a lot of the wood is clearly insect riddled. I am definitely going to have to do a mid-season clean on the liner. The creosote must be pretty dang bad from this wood.

Anyone in CT know of a good wood supplier? I'm just getting fed up with this crap. None of the wood felling companies will drop off wood, and I don't have a truck to pick up road-side stuff. I mean if I'm going to pay $700 for 3 cords, I'm tempted to buy a ton or two of Bio-bricks at around the same cost.
 
You should be buying your 2021 burning season wood right now, not your 2018 wood! I don’t think you can reasonably expect to buy wood that is consistently below 20%MC from any seller, year after year. You just need to buy ahead and season it yourself.
 
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Is anyone selling kiln dry wood in your area ? I know it’s probably expensive. But if it’s been kiln dried it should be good to burn. Save what you bought already and burn it next year at a minimum if it’s not ready this year. Burning it this season will only lead to frustration, low heat output, and a dirty chimney
 
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Who’s it from
 
You can try Kriz in Bethany he keeps it under a lean-to
 
Dieselhead said:
You can try Kriz in Bethany he keeps it under a lean-to
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. BTW, awesome BK! I tried to talk the wife into one of those but she just wouldnt let me get anything other than an insert. As you can tell I have uphill battles with my firewood and selection in stoves...
 
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NoobTube said:
I'll have to try and run that one by my wife... lol.
Click to expand...

You act as if it is a crazy suggestion, but notice the 3 “likes” that have already shown up under that post. The 3-year rule is one of the most oft-repeated pieces of advice on this forum, not usually coming from me.
 
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Ashful said:
You act as if it is a crazy suggestion, but notice the 3 “likes” that have already shown up under that post. The 3-year rule is one of the most oft-repeated pieces of advice on this forum, not usually coming from me.
Click to expand...
Relying on somebody else is nothing more than a recipe for failure. You need to buy green wood and season it yourself.
 
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Ashful said:
You act as if it is a crazy suggestion, but notice the 3 “likes” that have already shown up under that post. The 3-year rule is one of the most oft-repeated pieces of advice on this forum, not usually coming from me.
Click to expand...

Not trying to suggest you are wrong. I agree. You just don't know my wife. She is like super OCD about stuff. My last wood-pile was beautiful, but she couldn't stop touching the bark pile I had because she didnt want people to think that we were messy. Then I moved this wood pile so that no one could see it and cover it. Now she is saying that it takes up too much space.

Trust me I do what I can, but at the end of the day, I have to make her happy too.
 
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NoobTube said:
Not trying to suggest you are wrong. I agree. You just don't know my wife. She is like super OCD about stuff. My last wood-pile was beautiful, but she couldn't stop touching the bark pile I had because she didnt want people to think that we were messy. Then I moved this wood pile so that no one could see it and cover it. Now she is saying that it takes up too much space.

Trust me I do what I can, but at the end of the day, I have to make her happy too.
Click to expand...

Understood. I also had a bit of an uphill battle with the spousal unit, with regard to some of the other aspects of wood burning, so I know where you are coming from. I am sure we can find another solution.

Some larger sellers offer KD wood, at a premium price. The wood is kilned to kill pests and make it legal for inter-county or inter-state transportation, not for the purpose of drying the wood, but that is a happy side-effect. I have no experience with this, but some reports on this forum seem to indicate that KD wood is dry enough that it might finish seasoning in one summer. That would mean you could just buy next year’s wood this spring, rather than next fall, and possibly be in good shape.

Some other members, most notably @Poindexter, have built their own homemade firewood kilns on the cheap. Essentially clear plastic tents that dry the firewood in just a few weeks’ time. This would cut the amount of wood on your property way down, but then you’re wife might be asking you about the silly plastic tents in the back yard. See @Poindexter’s threads on kiln drying, searchable on this forum.
 
Next time you purchase "seasoned" wood bring a moisture meter and a splitting axe to test the moisture content. Grab a random piece from the truck, split it open, measure the moisture and then go from there.

Even if the wood is still green as least you can get green wood pricing.
 
If you move buying your wood to march/April and get ash, maple no oak it might be ok come November, might be hard to do though.
 
Try Grazy Brothers Farm in Oxford. I didn't buy any but this name came up several times on the Oxford facebook page. Too bad you didn't have a truck there is no shortage of wood in Oxford o the side of the roads. I already scrounged some.
 
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Zack R said:
Next time you purchase "seasoned" wood bring a moisture meter and a splitting axe to test the moisture content. Grab a random piece from the truck, split it open, measure the moisture and then go from there.

Even if the wood is still green as least you can get green wood pricing.
Click to expand...
... and since you usually buy your firewood already split, take that axe out and practice awhile first, so you don’t look like a noob trying to make those few splits.
 
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find a neighbor that won't mind having your seasoning piles in their yard. Once a year, rent a trailer from and bring it over to your place.

There used to be a place in danburry that would stack and season for a year or so...
 
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So just as an FYI all most ALL of the firewood vendors keep there wood out side in piles uncovered and out in the open. So with all of the rain we had this year in the northeast how dry did you really think this wood was actually going to be. Did you really think you were getting sub 20% MC. It kinda looks to me like you really didnt.put much thought in that at all.
If you want good quality wood that is sub 20mc process it yourself
If your wife dosent like wood piles, then wood heat just isnt for you.. so then go help big oil boot there record breaking profits
 
Last edited:
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NoobTube said:
Not trying to suggest you are wrong. I agree. You just don't know my wife. She is like super OCD about stuff. My last wood-pile was beautiful, but she couldn't stop touching the bark pile I had because she didnt want people to think that we were messy. Then I moved this wood pile so that no one could see it and cover it. Now she is saying that it takes up too much space.

Trust me I do what I can, but at the end of the day, I have to make her happy too.
Click to expand...
Okay, make her happy at the end of the day, but do what you need to do during the day. Get your wood seasoned, at least 2 years worth. And buy her a pick up truck for Xmas.
 
The 3 yr plan is the ideal situation. However, if one has limited space, means, etc, getting ahead even by a year or 2 would be a good.
 
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robj80 said:
Try Grazy Brothers Farm in Oxford. I didn't buy any but this name came up several times on the Oxford facebook page. Too bad you didn't have a truck there is no shortage of wood in Oxford o the side of the roads. I already scrounged some.
Click to expand...
I drive through the towns in NE Conn for work and I see wood all over the place on the sides if the road.
 
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NoobTube said:
Guys, I think its a sign... last year the wood I got, I was not impressed with. The first year I got wood from a local guy and it was pretty darn good, and I got it pretty late in the season (Mid-November).

I burned through my 2 cords last year very quickly (and I didnt really think it was that cold of a winter in CT.)

This year I bought 3 cord for around $720. The moisture content in this wood has been off the charts, and a lot of the wood is clearly insect riddled. I am definitely going to have to do a mid-season clean on the liner. The creosote must be pretty dang bad from this wood.

Anyone in CT know of a good wood supplier? I'm just getting fed up with this crap. None of the wood felling companies will drop off wood, and I don't have a truck to pick up road-side stuff. I mean if I'm going to pay $700 for 3 cords, I'm tempted to buy a ton or two of Bio-bricks at around the same cost.
Click to expand...
Get the Northern idaho energy logs instead of the bio bricks .They're the best ones out there.
 
Rich L said:
Get the Northern idaho energy logs instead of the bio bricks .They're the best ones out there.
Click to expand...
They're the best if you can get them, if not the bio bricks XL are pretty good.
 
weatherguy said:
I drive through the towns in NE Conn for work and I see wood all over the place on the sides if the road.
Click to expand...

Don't even have to go that far. The area this guy lives in and myself just got wrecked by tornados in May. But if you don't have a chainsaw and a truck all those logs on the side of the road are hard to scrounge. I got lucky, one fell in my driveway! I didn't have to drive far at all for wood.If you call this lucky
 

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Jan Pijpelink said:
Okay, make her happy at the end of the day, but do what you need to do during the day. Get your wood seasoned, at least 2 years worth. And buy her a pick up truck for Xmas.
Click to expand...

She actually likes the Ford Raptor... But... then I told her what the Gas mileage was on on it... And she was not having it. I'm going to borrow a trailer from my buddy a few times this coming year. There is some wood around my area, but its odd, i've stopped 3 times this year and each time I got yelled at by the home owner, mind you it didn't even look like it was on their property.

Worse comes to worse, if wood becomes unmanageable in the future, I'll sell my insert and get a pellet one... ;sick;sick
 
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