Wood Moisture Level Question

[JotulOwner]

Over the weekend, I split some of my, well, splits, in half to check the moisture levels. I was surprised that none of them read over 22 percent. I have some older (2 years) splits that measured in the low teens in the center (expected), but the Maple and Cherry I got recently (which I know was only split a month or so ago) read 22 percent in the center. I have a good quality moisture meter, so I am confident it is accurate.

My question is whether 22% or 20% is really "dry". At those levels, I can tell there is still moisture by smell and it seems like it might not be as dry as it should be. I am relatively new at this, so I haven't reached the point where I don't question these things too much. My first season left me kind of over-cautious about wet wood, and I didn't start measuring moisture until recently, so I was wondering what I should expect.

Thanks!

 

[smokinj]

Sounds like your ready for the burn season!

 

[LLigetfa]

Is it a two prong or four prong meter? Are you getting the prongs in deep enough? Have you tried sticking it in your arm? They say the human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water.

 

[thewoodlands]

Over the weekend, I split some of my, well, splits, in half to check the moisture levels. I was surprised that none of them read over 22 percent. I have some older (2 years) splits that measured in the low teens in the center (expected), but the Maple and Cherry I got recently (which I know was only split a month or so ago) read 22 percent in the center. I have a good quality moisture meter, so I am confident it is accurate.

My question is whether 22% or 20% is really "dry". At those levels, I can tell there is still moisture by smell and it seems like it might not be as dry as it should be. I am relatively new at this, so I haven't reached the point where I don't question these things too much. My first season left me kind of over-cautious about wet wood, and I didn't start measuring moisture until recently, so I was wondering what I should expect.

Thanks!

Send your wood to us and we will dry it in our wood stove.

Zap

 

[JotulOwner]

Is it a two prong or four prong meter? Are you getting the prongs in deep enough? Have you tried sticking it in your arm? They say the human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water.

You aren't the first person to tell me where to stick it :lol:

I have a Protimeter (two prongs). I bought for testing homes for water leaks. It is a high quality meter, so I am confident it is accurate. It even comes with a calibration tester.

 

[BrotherBart]

Burn it. If it sizzles at ya throw the high priced meter in the stove with it and close the door. :coolsmirk:

 

[Pagey]

I had stuff that was 25% last year, and I didn't have any problems at all. Once you get too dry, you can skip the secondary combustion stage rather quickly and go straight into the charcoaling stage. You don't want it too dry. You need a proper balance, and it seems that for most of today's non-cat stoves that happy medium is the 18-22% range.

 

[jdinspector]

Battery charge on a Protimeter won't make a difference. It shuts off when it doesn't have enought voltage. I have 2 protimeters (my main unit is a Surverymaster) for work. They are VERY accurate and pretty much considered the "cadillac" meter for professional home inspectors.

You probably got lucky that you have such dry wood. I'd say you're good to go this year. Congrats!

 

[jdinspector]

I re-read my earlier post. I think it came out different from what I meant. By "lucky" I mean you're lucky that the newer stuff is so dry. 22% is fine. Use your dry stuff first. The 22% will be dry by late winter. I'm sure your good planning is the reason that the other wood is in the low teens %.

 

[nocdpc]

I just used my meter today to test my pile that I C/S/S in Jan09. It came out to 21%. I will test a few more pieces to get a true reading as I imagine wood at the top of the stack could potentially have less moisture then wood at the bottom.

 

[nocdpc]

got my answer after some more searches on this here great forum! Thank you.