Wood not dry in September?

[Jay106n]

I got my chimney swept today and had terrible creosote build up. My sweeper was not happy, said I must have burned wet wood, which I did, causing stage 3 creosote. Fail. So anyway, chimney is clean and good to go. I split about 4-5 cord of wood back in April as soon as the snow melted, and stacked it, top covered. I checked the moisture content of a split today and got 45%! This is my first year doing c/s/s and now its mid September and I still don't have dry wood. I am feeling kind of defeated. I refuse to pay $300/cord for split "Seasoned" wood that will be wet anyway. With low oil prices, and after all the investments into wood burning, I may not even burn this year.

 

[mpilihp]

You really need to let it season IE dry for a full year at least. Some people even go two. Leave this wood stacked and buy seasoned wood for this winter and you will be all set moving forward, IE a full year of drying...

 

[Woody Stover]

checked the moisture content of a split today and got 45%!

To get an accurate assessment, you really have to test multiple splits from different places in the stack, different woods, etc. You may have tested an Oak split; Soft Maple stacked at the same time would be a lot drier. Was the wood stacked single-row?

 

[maple1]

Also needs to be stacked in an open space where the wind can get at it. Also 5 months will be nowhere near enough for some species. I can get white birch dry enough in a summer by splitting small & stacking single row in the open in the summer wind. Lots of factors.

I would expect to see some drying though on the ends - did you test there?

 

[Jay106n]

My stack back in April prior to being covered. I guess my expectation was off that it would be good to go for this winter. It is double stacked with space in between. The ends have some drying, but the centers were very wet. Also my splits may be too big.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

checked the moisture content of a split today and got 45%!

I'm no botanist but 45% seems high for fresh/green wood much less wood that's been split and stacked all summer. Also, put your moisture meter in a drawer and leave it there. They are easy to misread/misuse and they won't help your wood dry any faster.

I split about 4-5 cord of wood back in April as soon as the snow melted, and stacked it, top covered.

Tell me you put it on pallets or got it off the ground in some way. Also, tell me you're working on next year's wood now. . .

I refuse to pay $300/cord for split "Seasoned"

Good. It may be "seasoned" but "seasoned" has no real meaning. You can be assured it's not "ready to burn"

stage 3 creosote.

Is that what he called it?

 

[Woody Stover]

Double-row with space isn't bad but yeah, splits look pretty big. Then if you had a wet summer like we did here, drying is slowed further. Lotta work but you could go through the stack and separate the non-Oak and smaller splits, re-split the soft Maple or other fast-drying wood, and you might get away with burning it hotter in your pre-EPA stove. Or mix in some bio-bricks. You would still have to check your chimney often and brush as needed. Not too hard to do if you have a liner.

 

[maple1]

Also most meter readings get pretty suspect once they into the mid-30's.

I would expect to see lower readings on the ends facing the sun, but if that is oak (looks like it but pretty far away) I would expect it to take a couple years to dry split that big. Or any of the denser hardwoods.

 

[BoiledOver]

Nice looking stockpile you have. Hardwoods css that size in April would be a miracle to use this season, next year you are pretty much golden. To be certain for next year, it might be wise to take a portion for further processing. Resplit and stack with more surface to air than what you have now. No matter to specie, the smaller the split equals quicker drying.

Your thoughts on using low priced fossil fuels now and begin burning from your nice stockpile next winter sounds like a good plan. You already know the results of using wet wood, risking a house fire that begins in the chimney is no good for anyone.

 

[billb3]

Any dead standing wood in the forest behind that stack ?

 

[Woody Stover]

Any dead standing wood in the forest behind that stack ?

Good idea. Anything standing, small diameter with the bark fallen off, may be dry already...

 

[Jay106n]

Thanks for the responses. The land behind is not mine and do not have permission to use or go on. Yes the wood is stacked on pallets. I will do some more tests tomorrow on some more splits. Looking back on it, I should have left the wood uncovered for most of the summer, because it hardly rained, and I should have split smaller. I might sub-process some of it.

 

[Wisneaky]

definitely shouldn't of covered it.

 

[billb3]

Thanks for the responses. The land behind is not mine and do not have permission to use or go on. Yes the wood is stacked on pallets. I will do some more tests tomorrow on some more splits. Looking back on it, I should have left the wood uncovered for most of the summer, because it hardly rained, and I should have split smaller. I might sub-process some of it.

what you covered with may not have impeded wind flow and may even have raised temps under

 

[blacktail]

It's only been five months. Some species will be dry in that time. Some won't.

 

[BigCountryNY]

As others have said already, you really have to have it CSS'd for at least a year here in the Northeast. The smaller you split it, the sooner it will be dry and ready to burn. The bigger splits just have to be left to dry longer. I top-cover my stacks with 6 mil black plastic and weigh it down with uglies and short splits. I left just enough to hang over the edges of the stacks so that water can run off. That will help heat things up underneath when the sun hits it and since the sides are exposed, that moisture has a way to escape.

BioBricks are made in CT, so you should be able to get them fairly easily. You could get 1-2 tons and mix them in with some of this wood that's drier or you could just burn the BioBricks and oil until next year. Don't be too hard on yourself, it's always tough getting started. Once you get going though you have to carry the momentum through to get ahead for future seasons. Once you're ahead, then it gets a little easier. We've all been there and even an experienced wood burner can be set back if they move and they can't take their stacks with them. Keep at it - you'll get there and many on this forum will provide you with all the encouragement (and occasional ribbing) to keep you going.

 

[Pennsyltucky Chris]

45%? I was just processing a huge oak and the splits were reading around 50-52% That must be oak.

I wouldn't burn this year, but I would start c/s/s-ing anything and everything I could scrounge. If you split and stacked everything in that picture on April 1st, you gave it 5.5 months to season. That's not enough. Start looking for pine, maple and ash immediately. Get that split quickly and you can burn next winter.

My 500 cents.

 

[Jay106n]

Most of the stack is oak. So it must have been an oak split, I wasn't really paying attention. I moved into this house this year, so this is my first full year of c/s/s. I've come to terms I wont be burning this year, but will be good for the next one.

It's a Stihl moisture meter. I doubt its off and I have other sources to compare it to. I'll take pics Saturday.

 

[AmbDrvr253]

I would expect it to take a couple years to dry split that big

X2 Oak is great wood, after 3 years of CSS and top covered.

 

[kennyp2339]

Wow nice stack - Even cooler that's its premium oak,
The stacking method that you use is a great method, the only thing that is bad is that its to deep. Next time take your pallets and make single rows, stack only (2) rows on a pallet. There's a member from Alaska (pointdexter?) that has some good pallet stacking pics, he starts off wide on the bottom and makes an upside down V about 4.5 to 5ft high, this helps with air movement, also when the time to top cover comes you have an automatic slope for rain / snow to fall off and drain away.
Like some others have mentioned, standing dead tree' s might bail you out, and bio bricks mixed standing dead will make your winter warmer and cheaper.

 

[Woody Stover]

The stacking method that you use is a great method, the only thing that is bad is that its to deep

I think it's just two rows of pallets at right angles, not a big cube of wood...

double stacked with space in between.

 

[Little Digger]

As others have said already, you really have to have it CSS'd for at least a year here in the Northeast. The smaller you split it, the sooner it will be dry and ready to burn. The bigger splits just have to be left to dry longer. I top-cover my stacks with 6 mil black plastic and weigh it down with uglies and short splits. I left just enough to hang over the edges of the stacks so that water can run off. That will help heat things up underneath when the sun hits it and since the sides are exposed, that moisture has a way to escape.

I tend to keep my piles covered year round since this area seems to get an awful lot of rain but the first year it gets the black plastic with a little overhang to give the wood a head start at drying as well. The black turns the stack into an oven. After I'll switch over to silver tarps to keep the rains from re-wetting the wood for the following years.

Jay106n: though your splits are a bit on the larger size, they are about average for most I've seen. I only worry about size when it comes to fitting the splits through the wood stove door. So sometimes I have some nice fat splits. Since I let the wood season for a minimum of 3 years moisture is not an issue, but I do still use a moisture meter to periodically check as a precautionary measure.

If at all possible, try to maintain 3 seasons of firewood. That way you shouldn't have to be nearly as concerned about the moisture content. While oak at one year plus will burn, it burns better at two years plus. But for the best burn, go three years or better plus. The plus is whatever months you have until the upcoming heating season.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I still stand by 3 years for oak, which is impossible if your burning oak in a new stove and first year. Cut and stack your oak and leave it alone. Burn maple and ash or cherry for a few years. You'll appreciate the way 3 year oak burns believe me. I have six cords of oak and locust in the 3rd and 4th year. I can't wait for cold weather, but I didn't touch it while it was seasoning. Good luck! It's hard burning and seasoning for the first few years.

 

[Jay106n]

Thanks again guys. I never found time to get out to the pile today, maybe tomorrow. (Had to patch a roof leak and mow the lawn) The stack is off the ground on pallets, stacked 2 wide with space in between, it is not a cube...Also I only top covered, not draped over the sides. I might be able to scrounge some dry stuff for this winter, but for the most part this was my stash. I do have one other pile of dry cherry and ash, maybe about 1 cord, but that wont last too long. I might just reserve that for power outages and such. I do use an All Nighter, which takes 23" logs, so I was not too concerned about size when I was splitting. Now I am regretting it, but like most have said, it would have taken 2 summers to dry out the oak anyway, so in the end it doesn't really matter. Oil is cheaper than wood right now, so I might go that route for this season and begin stock piling for future winters.

 

[Monaco]

I am in the same boat. New house, first year of wood - and I have oak coming out the butt. I've resigned myself to burning maple and a selection of "not-as-wet" oak that was cut early in the year, but will continue to work on next year's wood right now.

Everyone around here tells me that burning some wet wood isn't the end of the world, just keep an eye on the flue.