I am using a moisture meter on my wood splits. Outside wood reading is 18% inside the same piece is 35%. Is this normal?
Wood moisture
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Yes, outside readings are not meaningful. The wood needs to be dry to the core. To check moisture it needs to be done on the inside, on a freshly split face, at room temp.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
Yup, normal. your wood is not yet fully seasoned.
The inexpensive moisture meters often top out at 35% indicated. if you happen ti have one of those the correct term for what you have now is 35% or more.
The inexpensive moisture meters often top out at 35% indicated. if you happen ti have one of those the correct term for what you have now is 35% or more.
Thanks! What is the best way to know if I am buying well seasoned wood, besides the ad saying "seasoned"?
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
The term "seasoned" in an ad is meaningless. There is no standard for it, like there is for a "cord". What you would have to do is negotiate with the supplier that you require an internal MC of around 20%. You can probably get away with up to 25% if you need to. But I think what you will find is that very few suppliers will guarantee that. If they do, expect to pay more because it costs them a lot to adequately dry the wood before delivery.
Then you will have a leg to stand on if they don't come through.
The first year is always the toughest to find good wood, especially in season. I bought mine the first year in early spring and it still was pretty marginal by burning season. You may have to supplement this wood with a manufactured compact product like "Biobricks" or similar. There are ways to make up for poor wood the first year, but it will take more attention. You will probably get some good suggestions from others.
If you have some good neighbors with good wood, maybe you can scrounge some for a while.
Meanwhile, get whatever you end up with split up small, stack it loose under good cover for air circulation and get it going best you can. Small pieces will dry that much faster. Think of it as drying from the outside-in.
Before they start unloading the wood, take a few sticks off the truck. How do they feel, exceptionally heavy? If so they may be wet. Bang two of the sticks together. Do they go thud or do they ring with a musical note? If they thud, another bad sign. If you have an axe or a maul, split one apart and check the moisture. If it's damp you don't even need a moisture meter. Just press it up against your cheek. If it's damp it will feel cold and wet. Or whip out your moisture meter if you want to know just how wet it is.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
Locally i can buy 'seasoned' wood from just about anyone in craigslist. but none of them have ever delivered seasoned wood.
Real good pointers in the last posts since you quoted me above.
I would add your moisture meter is likely calibrated for wood at +70dF. Below about +55dF wood temperature the mm reading is virtually useless. the reading you get in the same two pin holes after the wood has come up to +55dF in your garage will be MUCH higher then whatever you measured out in the cold while the wood was on the delivery trailer.
From +32 down to about -40dF outdoor ambient I leave wood in my 55 degree garage 48 hours before i bother sticking a meter in it.
Real good pointers in the last posts since you quoted me above.
I would add your moisture meter is likely calibrated for wood at +70dF. Below about +55dF wood temperature the mm reading is virtually useless. the reading you get in the same two pin holes after the wood has come up to +55dF in your garage will be MUCH higher then whatever you measured out in the cold while the wood was on the delivery trailer.
From +32 down to about -40dF outdoor ambient I leave wood in my 55 degree garage 48 hours before i bother sticking a meter in it.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Yes. If you do want to use a meter on cold or warm days, here is a chart to make necessary corrections to the meter reading for a range of temps:
http://www.moisturemetersdelmhorst....st/EN/images/Temperature-Correction-Table.pdf
Pin-type meters work on the same principle, so this chart should be good for any brand (non-insulated ones anyway which most common ones are).
There are also charts for species correction if interested (they come calibrated for Douglas Fir): http://www.moisturemetersdelmhorst....Correction-Table-Pin-Type-Moisture-Meters.pdf
toddnic
Minister of Fire
Woodchick, great question! You already have some great responses to your question. I would just reiterate that the only moisture measurement that matters is the one from inside the wood after a fresh split. We are currently on our third year with a woodstove and it has taken us this long to get really seasoned wood. It truly is amazing the difference in how seasoned wood burns and how the stove operates. We burn around 3 cords per year and I have about 9 cords C/S/S. Thus, 3 years of wood. You should plan on it taking 2 to 3 years for the wood to season properly after being cut, split, and stacked before it is ready to burn.
To save some money, if you have room to store the wood, buy at least a season ahead and stack the wood, top covered in a location that will allow the prevailing wind to blow through the stack and get good sun exposure.
sportbikerider78
Minister of Fire
Yup..buying a year or 2 ahead is the best way. Just think of all the money you're saving by burning wood. 
iron
Minister of Fire
question: i know i always see the "fresh split and room temperature" requirement for moisture meter use. so, do you bring the wood inside, let it get to room temp, go outside and split, and then test?
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
I bring it in for 48 hours, split it wherever and measure the fresh faces. ten minutes outdoors is not going to refreeze what took two days to thaw.
If the ad says it's "seasoned" it probably isn't. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but my bet is that they are few and far between.
Personally, I wouldn't bother trying to buy seasoned wood. Buy what you can when you can and season it yourself. Then you know for certain what you have.
Unfortunately, this advice is totally useless for this burning season. Sorry.
Thanks for the great feedback, folks
I think I am going to use this year as a learning year! I am going to buy 2 or 3 of cord of semi-green this week and let it season in my wide open back yard!
I think I am going to use this year as a learning year! I am going to buy 2 or 3 of cord of semi-green this week and let it season in my wide open back yard!(newb here) I just got my first cord of "seasoned" wood in Georgetown, Massachusetts. I got a moisture meter today and when going outside to test wood i'm getting 23-25%. I'm going to bring some in and split tomorrow to see but is that 23-25 range to wet to be burning this season?
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Depending on the temperature and the species, it's probably okay if not ideal. That's what I burned my first season. It was iffy and caused a little glass darkening and a little light creosote on the chimney screen. It will be better next year for you. See the charts I posted in post 9. If the reading is 25%, it could actually be higher than that. My experience is that 25% is kind of a tipping point and gets more problematic quickly after that.
You will need to watch things a little more carefully and watch for signs of creosote buildup such as blackened glass, etc. You may not be able to turn the air down as much or as soon as you would with dryer wood. If possible, take a look down the chimney with a flashlight to look for creosote a couple of times this year. You may want to invest in a "Sooteater" or similar cleaning tool also.
What species wood is this?
Be sure you are measuring the inside face of a fresh split like Jake said.
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Wood should be tested when at room temp, not outside unless it's summer. 23-25% is a bit damp. If you can bring it into the house for a few days before burning that may help.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
And split it small to increase the surface area exposed. Putting it in front of a slow fan may help too if you have room for a few days worth. You may have heard of people putting it next to or even on top of the stove to dry faster, but since this is a safety-oriented forum, I won't advise that. If your measurements are true, you should be okay with the caveats above.
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I'm not sure, i've reached out to the company we purchased it from (http://www.northatlanticfirewood.com/) and they said "Our wood is a mix of hard woods including oak, maple, and ash".
I didn't re-split, but I took a reading on some pieces that have been inside for 4-5 days and it measured 13-15% with my General 2-pin moisture reader
It's kinda important to resplit and test the wood on the inside of that resplit to get a more accurate moisture meter result.
Essential. Wood will dry on the outside much quicker than it will dry at the interior core. A lot of "seasoned" wood is from logs that have been down for a while, but only split the week before delivery. That wood most likely is still unseasoned and damp inside. Bring some of the wood indoors for a day, then resplit and test again on the freshly exposed surface of the wood.
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