Tips for a first time wood buyer?

[gouache23]

hi there. Earlier this year we installed a morso 1440 in our tiny house. I need to find wood for it. The challenge is that it takes 10" to 12" wood.

Any tips for the first time wood buyer? Should I buy my own moisture meter to test what I'm buying?

 

[kborndale]

You will not be able to find wood ready to burn this year unless it is kiln dried.

 

[bholler]

Should I buy my own moisture meter to test what I'm buying?

Yes but i doubt it will be anywhere near ready. But at least you can prove it is not and hopefully negotiate the price down a bit. You may need to use compressed blocks this year or if you can find some acctually kiln dried stuff that would work. But at least in our area even the kiln dried stuff is only brought up high enough temp to kill any bugs but not heated long enough to dry it

 

[jeffesonm]

Also it will be very tough to find wood already cut that small. You can buy wood in 18-20" length and then make a jig to quickly cut a bunch of pieces down to size with a chainsaw:

 

[D8Chumley]

^^^ this. Get it stacked now it will be gold for next year. Bio bricks, old pallets, maybe scrounge some standing dead to get you through this year

 

[JTRock]

I don't know sometimes. If your wood is not sopping wet but still not quote un quote seasoned but marginal when delivered is certainly not a death sentence.

Sure you won't have the optimal benefits of some who have been burning for years that are way ahead of the game and also have the room, equipment, trucks etc.

I survived last year with marginally seasoned wood and had nice warm fires. Keep compressed wood on hand to offset some of the questionable pieces and you should be fine.

Use your head too. If your putting pieces in and its spitting and sizzling than that's not good of course. But at the same time if its not 3 years old then it will still keep you warm just not ideal like some of the Veterans here

 

[newburner]

The challenge is that it takes 10" to 12" wood.

Where you located? My dealer sells what he calls seconds. He calls them that because they measure 10-12"

 

[blades]

Another option is slab wood from a mill although even for that it is getting late in the year drying wise. most of time in 8' bundles, you cut to length. Ditto on the compressed blocks mixed with marginal dry splits.

 

[Osagebndr]

A lot of good advice and the bricks are very good. Get wood CSS now for next year ash,cherry, maple dry pretty quick compared to oak/ hickory and locust that typically take 2-3 yrs time to season. Moisture meters help out also

 

[Newwave]

What they said. Find a reputable wood seller, garden center, tree service or whatever. If you can swing it......financially, storage space etc., buy now what you think you will burn in the next three years. Stack it on pallets off the ground and top cover only then wait. It's better than money in the bank. Cry once and spend the money now for the future if you can. Your life will be much easier burning dry wood than suffering and being frustrated with firewood too wet to burn properly. This way you will usually save money on green weed, season it yourself and not have to count on so-called seasoned firewood.

Due to age and health limitations I buy most of my wood and have about 4 years worth stacked and ready to burn.

You may have to cut down the length depending on what is normal for your area. Around here you normally get 16-20 inch pieces. Some folks need them to all be the exact same length, I'm not so particular as my stove will handle the 20" stuff no prob.

For this years heating buy compressed, or bio bricks if you can't find genuine kiln dried wood. Buy a moisture meter and use it when buying wood or to determine if your wood is ready to burn. Best to be <20% moisture for premium performance of your stove/insert and get the most heat for a given load of wood.

Just my opinion based on experience. YMMV.

Welcome to the forum and good luck!

 

[Poindexter]

If you can find 20 or 24" green firewood, it'll stack a lot easier, you can wait and cut them in half when you are ready to burn after they are seasoned.

Otherwise agree with all of the above, definitely keep a working moisture meter around until you have the hang of it.

 

[gouache23]

Thanks for the thoughts, everyone!

Newburner - I'm in Michigan. I'll call around to see if I can find seconds. Thanks for the tip!

Coincidentally we have a big oak tree that is leaning ominously over our cabin and needs to come down. The tree guy agreed to cut it into 10" long pieces. So maybe I can stack that and use it in coming years. And do compressed wood this year. Glad to know that that's a good alternative.

I've never used a moisture meter before. Any tips on a good model? And how to use it?

 

[gouache23]

Oh also - we have some land, with lots of fallen wood / branches. Can I burn any of that, or no? What about cut trunks that have been lying around?

 

[Ashful]

Lowes sells one made by General, and many here use it. $30. Just make sure you're testing long grain on a freshly split face.

Oak is great, but is also extraordinarily slow to give up its moisture. The rule of thumb here is three years CSS'd for oak. Ash can almost do the same in one hot dry summer, by comparison.

 

[Oldman47]

Fallen wood does not dry quickly so it is almost like starting with fresh cut wood. Branches can dry well if they have lost their bark but otherwise dry slower than a cut up trunk. That dead and down wood makes a great resource for you to start providing for your future firewood needs.

 

[Wood Duck]

I think there is time to get decent firewood for this winter. It won't be great, maybe not even good, but it will be OK. Start with sellers. As for their oldest, driest wood. I bet there is a lot of wood on your property that is OK (not good, just OK). Look for wood that is propped up off the ground, not laying flat on the ground. Cut it soon, stack it in an open, sunny spot, and it should dry a little before winter. Same goes for any wood you buy. You have a few months to dry it out. Cover the top of the stack, but leave the sides open. Allow lots of air flow.

Another option is to find pine or another softwood (coniferous tree) which dries fast.

 

[saskwoodburner]

Oh also - we have some land, with lots of fallen wood / branches. Can I burn any of that, or no? What about cut trunks that have been lying around?

Is it a small house or a "tiny house"? In any event, according to the literature, the Morso 1440 is a small stove, so I don't think you'll feed it 7 cords over a season. I started burning wood last fall (small stove/mobile home), and scrounging really makes a difference if your wood supply is close.

How many acres of bushland do you have? There will be standing dead, and dead fall. If the wood has been on the ground too long, it gets soggy/punky/rotten. If it fell down, but is leaning on other trees, or partially off the ground, there's a good chance at least some is good. Take a "can do" attitude with you into the bush, and you'll go far.

You'll soon figure out little tricks to test the wood quality of dead fall, and don't get too fussy.....ugly and small chunks of wood burn pretty good. There was even a thread posted last year about burning branches and twigs, and it works!