There's a tree service a mile or two away, I usually look in to see the huge pile of logs. Well today, everything was split, there was a pile of atleast 20-30 cords. Anyway saw a sign at the hardware store seasoned firewood for sale. Wow ! Seasoned in a big pile for all of two days....
Tree guy selling wood
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Yes! With full direct sun and a little breeze it is not unreasonable for wood to season in a day or two.
The rest of us just stack em for years because we like to show them off. Since they are in a business the MUST know what they are doing right? So sad... At least it will humidify the buyers house if not heat it? hehehehe
Maybe he ground a little pepper onto the stack...
A lot of people work under the assumption that wood seasons in log form...
"Seasoned" is like "cooked." Your rare steak is cooked, just not long. Seasoned wood means that it's drying, doesn't mean that it's dry.
It WILL be seasoned firewood.....around a year or two after you buy it from him, haul it home, and stack it! What a joke! These guys that sell that firewood (in most cases) have no idea that a forum like ours even exists! The really sad part is, that a lot of WOODBURNERS don't know this site exists, either! So there's always a buyer for that "seasoned" wood, and there's always a house or two in the area that burns down from a chimney fire EVERY YEAR........
Bottom line, if you aren't sure about the sellers 'claims' of the wood being seasoned or not, and you plan on buying from him, you MAY want to take an axe and a moisture meter along if you need help in seeing if it is seasoned or not. Make a fresh split with an axe, and check the inside of that split. If it ain't around 20%mc or lower, IT AIN'T SEASONED!
Bottom line, if you aren't sure about the sellers 'claims' of the wood being seasoned or not, and you plan on buying from him, you MAY want to take an axe and a moisture meter along if you need help in seeing if it is seasoned or not. Make a fresh split with an axe, and check the inside of that split. If it ain't around 20%mc or lower, IT AIN'T SEASONED!
how to piss of a wood seller 101:
1. Show up with a MM and tell him it isn't close to being seasoned
2. Tell him that in the state of XXX the Department of Agriculture: Weights and Measurement disallows the sale of firewood in any unit other than "Cords"
1. Show up with a MM and tell him it isn't close to being seasoned
2. Tell him that in the state of XXX the Department of Agriculture: Weights and Measurement disallows the sale of firewood in any unit other than "Cords"
Yeah, people that have never burned wood.
To me, "seasoned" implies that the wood has been drying for a season at least. Well, OK, I'll concede that the bark on the outside of the logs may be "seasoned."
Oh let the storys begain! Its getting closer to the guy who buys in Jan. and cant figure out whats wrong with my 3k stove! 
Oh how I wish there was a way to make this a crime. There are too many folks out there that just do not know what "seasoned" or dry wood is and just take a seller's word. Then, like Jay stated, come January they wonder what is wrong with that high priced stove. We see this over and over every year. People buy good stoves and have good installs but the danged stove won't work right. Tell them that the problem is the fuel and they won't agree because the seller assured them it was seasoned wood. I don't think it is a joke. I think it is a crime.
I agree that it "implies" something, but in fact it doesn't "literally" mean it's dry, or that it's been split for about a year. Imply is the same as assume in this case, and we all know the famous saying about that.Yeah, people that have never burned wood.
To me, "seasoned" implies that the wood has been drying for a season at least. Well, OK, I'll concede that the bark on the outside of the logs may be "seasoned."
Problem isn't only the sellers is a lot of people that buy wood don't care they wait untill the snow is flying before they start looking for there winters wood. I sell about 25 cord a year the last few years mostly ash with some elm dead and alive mixed in I tell them when it was c/s/s after I sell what I have stacked at the house I will start hauling what I would call next years wood and start replenishingy stacks if weather allows well people will buy it as fast as I get it to the house. Even had people by wood I had just cut and split to burn immediately because that is all they could find.
I heard that. I would like to know exactly what "seasoned" means to these guys. Even if they were under the impression that whole logs dry as they lie there, wouldn't they realize that this isn't the case as soon as they started splitting the stuff? PA is Oak country. When you cut and split a Red Oak log, even if it's been lying there all Summer, it's going to stink and you are going to see and feel the water. Maybe it's possible that they don't understand how intolerant the EPA stoves are of wet wood, and think that their lies don't hurt anybody, but I'd think that they would be getting some complaints and would figure it out. I'm with Dennis, these guys have to be lying sleazeballs...criminals guilty of fraud. I guess that anyone buying wood for a fireplace doesn't really care if the wood is wet. In the wood-selling business, I wonder what is the ratio of fireplace burners to wood heat burners?
Yep, ultimately it is up to the buyer to get the wood that is dry enough for their needs. For years, I procrastinated and ended up splitting my wood in late Summer, then fought that crap all Winter. If I had been buying my wood, there would have been no reason to wait....unless the cash flow wasn't there. You are to be commended for being up-front and telling your buyers how long it's been stacked. Good on ya!
I suspect these wood sellers are used to selling mostly to folks with pre-EPA stoves . . . which were a lot more tolerant with less than optimal wood.
Around here there are a lot of folks still using pre-EPA stoves and so they are used to the so-called seasoned wood . . . whether they buy it . . . or whether they process their own wood and start bucking up and splitting it this time of year after letting it sit in log form for the past six months. It's how they've always done it . . . their dads did it . . . and their grandfathers did it . . . and it worked for them . . . so why change? (at least that's the philosophy.)
I mean heck . . . there are many folks out there that fully expect that running a woodstove means a) there will be lots of smoke coming from the chimney, b) the chimney will get clogged with creosote and c) there is a good likelihood you will have a chimney fire if you heat with wood . . . for these folks this is the reality of heating with wood.
For me . . . I chaulk it up to basic ignorance on the part of the wood seller and the wood buyer.
The problem as noted is when someone buys an EPA woodstove and is all excited with the promise of clean burning and more efficiency . . . and then come December or January they're thinking the woodstove salesman bamboozled them and they start yearning for the good ol' air-tight Federals, Ashleys, etc. vs. the new-fangled "pieces of crap" -- never realizing that their stove is fine, it's the fuel that is crap . . . despite the promise of "well seasoned" wood.
We have some serious pent-up frustrations here, don't we?
First year here, the wood wasn't dry and it didn't burn well. I figured it out very quickly.
Took another couple years to get it fixed because that's what it takes around here.
Why is it that more people who start out that way can't do the same? Too accustomed to believing a sales person or advertising, perhaps.
"If I pay good money for this, it better be right", kind of mentality.
This isn't something that's only seen in firewood burning, it's prevalent in many other areas of life as well. Few know how to do for themselves, so rely on others for "expertise", either because those others have some sort of degree or vast experience, or both, so must know gooder than the rest of the population.
Tain't necessarily so.
Rant off. I'll go take my meds now.
First year here, the wood wasn't dry and it didn't burn well. I figured it out very quickly.
Took another couple years to get it fixed because that's what it takes around here.
Why is it that more people who start out that way can't do the same? Too accustomed to believing a sales person or advertising, perhaps.
"If I pay good money for this, it better be right", kind of mentality.
This isn't something that's only seen in firewood burning, it's prevalent in many other areas of life as well. Few know how to do for themselves, so rely on others for "expertise", either because those others have some sort of degree or vast experience, or both, so must know gooder than the rest of the population.
Tain't necessarily so.
Rant off.
I'll go take my meds now.
Oh dont forget not only is it not seasoned we will also need to stack and measure. Any bets on those shortage threads?
It's crazy all around, like J says, I have never received an actual cord of wood unless it was in the form of rounds from a tree guy as they dont care.
The firewood sellers can't be bothered to stack and allow wood to season properly as it just takes so much time and space.
Trying to teach new burners the fundamentals of burning and seasoning is as futile as explaining the downfall of the US due to Obama... BAM
The firewood sellers can't be bothered to stack and allow wood to season properly as it just takes so much time and space.
Trying to teach new burners the fundamentals of burning and seasoning is as futile as explaining the downfall of the US due to Obama... BAM
This will be our first year burning and I'm SO glad I found this site!
I had called several dealers in April/May and they ALL said I would have absolutely no problem burning green wood this winter if I bought it and stacked it in May.
My neighbor who's been burning for 50 years bought 2 cords of "seasoned" wood from a dealer in July which he'll be burning this winter...
He did tell the dealer no Oak, but he's still paying the same price for fewer BTU's...
I had called several dealers in April/May and they ALL said I would have absolutely no problem burning green wood this winter if I bought it and stacked it in May.
My neighbor who's been burning for 50 years bought 2 cords of "seasoned" wood from a dealer in July which he'll be burning this winter...
He did tell the dealer no Oak, but he's still paying the same price for fewer BTU's...
3. Tell him that the random pile in the bed of his 1-ton pickup didn't measure out to a full 8x4x4 cord when you stacked it.
Or refuse the load even though it is exactly as described and pictured in the ad. Worse yet, make him drive out and unload before telling him this.
For this reason, when I sell wood I make sure I have green cash in my pocket before the first stick hits the ground. I don't get the ticky tacky moisture meter people, I get the tape measure people but I've never had a load refused.
Ive been a tape measure guy.. Never complained when it was reasonably close, but a couple cases I got shorted almost half. I called the guys about it and their promises before the sale to "make it right" turned into anger or a dissapearing act.
I decided its not worth the effort. For a year or two I dont have to buy, but if I do again in future I will just in my mind assume 1 cord advertised = 2/3 cord in reality; and adjust the price im willing to buy at accordingly.
I decided its not worth the effort. For a year or two I dont have to buy, but if I do again in future I will just in my mind assume 1 cord advertised = 2/3 cord in reality; and adjust the price im willing to buy at accordingly.
I've been real lucky......or something.
I never expected dry wood when ordering, so never got ticked/pizzed due to receiving wet wood.
Every load I've gotten, whether it's been c/s/d or logs, has always been so close (amount) as to not be an issue.
I never expected dry wood when ordering, so never got ticked/pizzed due to receiving wet wood.
Every load I've gotten, whether it's been c/s/d or logs, has always been so close (amount) as to not be an issue.
I've refused a few loads. We get lots of yahoos selling wood out here and it's expensive. If the wood is too long or too wet I send them packing. However, I do check the wood on the truck and not after it's been dumped. If I buy wood at all now, it is in April/May and I buy extra. Fortunately for the past few years this hasn't been necessary. I've supplied our own wood and we're a few years ahead. It sure makes for more consistent burning to have well seasoned wood. Having scrounged up some additional nice locust, cherry and madrona plus a few cords of doug fir from the property has us well set for winter. Soft maple + more madrona and locust is next year's stash.
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