wood - how old is too old ?

[Saltieri1]

i have a neighbor who offered me some wood - he sees me getting new (seasoned) wood every once in a while and wants to get rid of what he has, and so he offered it to me. he's an elderly fellow, and this wood is old (god only knows how old!?!?), its grey, ... on the plus side, its been stacked properly but i'm not certain its been covered all this time. whattdyathink?

thanks

steve

 

[termv]

How old is too old? If its a rotten punky mess or dust.

 

[karri0n]

Absolutely take it. It will probably be some of the best burning wood you've ever gotten. There's really no "too old" other than petrified wood or wood that has rotted away, and both of these require special circumstances to happen.

When you load that stuff in the stove, STAND BACK! It's gonna throw some heat.


edit: as far as the "it hasn't been covered", that's a good thing. You really only want to cover wood from the snow, and even that won't do much damage.

 

[Saltieri1]

ok, i thought i heard old wood was something to stay away from for a wood stove? let me say it could be 10+ years old, but really, i am not sure, and he's losin it, he says its only a few years old - but i moved in 4 years ogo ... and it was there and really old-lookin back then.

but thank you!

...actually, come to think of it ... thats the best news i got in a while! :cheese: he's got at least a couple of cords there ...and he acts like i'd be doin him a favor. great for both of us!

 

[Jags]

Assuming that you can't poke your finger into it, burn it. Old can = uber seasoned if its not punky.

 

[karri0n]

Exactly. As long as it's not punky/rotted, (if it's gray, then it's probably not rotted), old, gray wood is pure gold, otherwise known as "Woodstove plutonium"

 

[Hogwildz]

I'll trade you some new wood for that old stuff!

 

[raiderfan]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

 

[karri0n]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

That's like saying your food is "too tasty" or your car is "too fast". Just doesn't happen.

 

[termv]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

That's like saying your food is "too tasty" or your car is "too fast". Just doesn't happen.

I have to disagree to that if all you have is "too seasoned"(kiln dried). Try throwing a match on a full box of that stuff and then reload 45 minutes later when the box is all coals. I guess if you can tend the fire all day and throw a piece or two in at a time you are ok.

 

[scotsman]

i have a neighbor who offered me some wood - he sees me getting new (seasoned) wood every once in a while and wants to get rid of what he has, and so he offered it to me. he's an elderly fellow, and this wood is old (god only knows how old!?!?), its grey, ... on the plus side, its been stacked properly but i'm not certain its been covered all this time. whattdyathink?

thanks

steve

I have recently negotiated for a very large batch of wood that is over 60 years old and some over 80 according to the manager of the site where it is. To quote one of the moderators of this forum, it "burns like gasoline". It's so cured it has a ring to it when dropped onto the sidewalk. As several have said--No such thing as "too old" . . . too rotten or something like that maybe, but not too old.

 

[Hogwildz]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

That's like saying your food is "too tasty" or your car is "too fast". Just doesn't happen.

I have to disagree to that if all you have is "too seasoned"(kiln dried). Try throwing a match on a full box of that stuff and then reload 45 minutes later when the box is all coals. I guess if you can tend the fire all day and throw a piece or two in at a time you are ok.

Wet Wood is going to give you more coals than dry wood. If you have wood that dry and your getting too many coals, its not the wood.

 

[termv]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

That's like saying your food is "too tasty" or your car is "too fast". Just doesn't happen.

I have to disagree to that if all you have is "too seasoned"(kiln dried). Try throwing a match on a full box of that stuff and then reload 45 minutes later when the box is all coals. I guess if you can tend the fire all day and throw a piece or two in at a time you are ok.

Wet Wood is going to give you more coals than dry wood. If you have wood that dry and your getting too many coals, its not the wood.

Any idea why kiln dried would gas real quick and turn to coals? What should it do? Gas and then ash? Maybe I read that wrong but its not too many coals. The coals do burn down to ash but its real quick to do so, thats all I was trying to say.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

ok, i thought i heard old wood was something to stay away from for a wood stove? let me say it could be 10+ years old, but really, i am not sure, and he's losin it, he says its only a few years old - but i moved in 4 years ogo ... and it was there and really old-lookin back then.

but thank you!

...actually, come to think of it ... thats the best news i got in a while! :cheese: he's got at least a couple of cords there ...and he acts like i'd be doin him a favor. great for both of us!

Do both yourself and that old guy a favor and take the wood. You don't say what it is but I highly doubt anything is wrong with it. Or like Jags says, if you can poke your finger into the wood, then it isn't so well. That is not because it is too old but because it wasn't taken care of.

I have no problem burning 10 year old wood. Makes a very nice fire and you certainly won't worry about creosote.

So take the wood and then get something nice as a thank you to your nice neighbor.

 

[Dill]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

That's like saying your food is "too tasty" or your car is "too fast". Just doesn't happen.

Actually

"That's like saying a girl's too pretty with too much class, being too lucky or a car too fast"
From that 90's country song "Too much fun" I think it was Tracey Lawerence.

 

[Hogwildz]

should be good to go. i brought up the fact that i thought my wood might be "too seasoned" (it was 10+ yrs old) and was informed by Savage that it was not, and that there was no such thing!! so burn away, man!!

That's like saying your food is "too tasty" or your car is "too fast". Just doesn't happen.

I have to disagree to that if all you have is "too seasoned"(kiln dried). Try throwing a match on a full box of that stuff and then reload 45 minutes later when the box is all coals. I guess if you can tend the fire all day and throw a piece or two in at a time you are ok.

Wet Wood is going to give you more coals than dry wood. If you have wood that dry and your getting too many coals, its not the wood.

Any idea why kiln dried would gas real quick and turn to coals? What should it do? Gas and then ash? Maybe I read that wrong but its not too many coals. The coals do burn down to ash but its real quick to do so, thats all I was trying to say.

Ah, makes sense. Lack of moisture is the main reason IMO. The dryer it is, the less it needs to be dried before consumed. Its burning faster & down to coals basically because its being burnt completely, with less energy & time being spent drying it out first. Mix some regular year old seasoned wood with it, and that should prolong the burn.
As far as coals that some complain of, I found two main reasons, wet wood, impatience in letting them burn down prior to reload, and cutting air back before high enough temp is reached. Oops, guess thats 3 reasons.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

It just struck me- Terry is a 'wood millionaire' like Lee. Get a stove, Terry! ;-)