# "Seasoned firewood"....so angry!



## Straz85 (Jan 14, 2015)

I just got my insert this year and had to buy seasoned firewood. I called around and ended up finding out that the husband of a coworker owns a tree company and sells firewood. I got a cord delivered. Up until now I had been burning wood I got from a friend who bought a house with a lot of wood he wasn't going to use all of. That ran out a couple days ago. I've tried a few fires with the new wood. I tried everything and it just smolders. I put a MM on it, every piece I checked is 26-27%. I'm furious. Now I have no wood to burn. The wood I have seasoning for next year is even lower. I checked 2 pieces and they're both 21-22%. 

I just emailed the guy and decided to take the high road and asked if he has anything better seasoned I can buy and I'll just use this stuff next year. My pessimistic side is expecting him to blame my MM, how I stacked it or something. 

Just had to rant. Thanks for listening!


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## Rickb (Jan 14, 2015)

26% from a tree service is pretty good......  Could be a lot worse.


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## Straz85 (Jan 14, 2015)

They claim it's been seasoned for a year. I've been seasoning my wood for 6 months and it has a lower moisture content!


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## TheRambler (Jan 14, 2015)

Leave it for next year and burn your 21-22 stuff. Not perfect but much better than 26+


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## bobdog2o02 (Jan 14, 2015)

What species is yours/his.  He might have been honest and its just good stuff


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## Wood Duck (Jan 14, 2015)

A lot of people think wood starts seasoning as soon as it is cut down. Also, many guys with older stoves are used to burning poorly seasoned wood, so to them the wood might be "seasoned." I am sure there are some dishonest wood dealers around, but I think there are also lots of guys who are trying to be honest but don't think wood needs to be 20% in order to call it seasoned.


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## OhioBurner© (Jan 14, 2015)

26% isnt bad at all for buying wood from a dealer! That certainly isn't green! Though the term 'seasoned' is quite vague. Like Wood Duck said most firewood sellers think it starts seasoning as soon as its cut down... meaning that tree that fell down about a year ago is seasoned though it wasn't even cut or split until you ordered a cord last week.

If you want to be more precise, ask if they have any wood thats been cut, split, and stacked for at least a year, and don't use the word seasoned at all.


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## Straz85 (Jan 14, 2015)

Wow, I didn't realize that buying seasoned wood was often so poorly seasoned. I didn't expect <20, but low 20s at least. Now this begs the question, should I be having trouble burning wood with 26% moisture content in an EPA  non cat stove? Even with the damper open all the way it just  smolders.


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## Rebelduckman (Jan 14, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> Wow, I didn't realize that buying seasoned wood was often so poorly seasoned. I didn't expect <20, but low 20s at least. Now this begs the question, should I be having trouble burning wood with 26% moisture content in an EPA  non cat stove? Even with the damper open all the way it just  smolders.



By itself yes. Add some pallet wood or construction scraps and it'll do a lot better.


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## mopar440_6 (Jan 14, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> Now this begs the question, should I be having trouble burning wood with 26% moisture content in an EPA  non cat stove? Even with the damper open all the way it just  smolders.



Yes, you will likely have trouble with wood that is at 26%MC. If I were in your situation, I would try burning the 21-22%.


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jan 14, 2015)

If you have to buy wood, buy 3 years worth so one day you won't have these problems anymore.....


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## skysong (Jan 15, 2015)

Eco Bricks or similar brands can be a great help....add 2 north/south with a space in between and then lay a couple of splits on top east/west...should help quite a bit.  We had the problem last year of not so seasoned wood and were impressed with the boost the bricks give. They get hot so start small. We still use them this year even though our wood is dry. It cuts in half the amount of wood we buy and use. The bricks take up less space and store in the garage and less wood to move around. We are older and hauling so much wood was getting tough...we heat totally with wood and bricks now. It helps out with not so dry wood....no fighting to get it up to temp. We have our wood piles seasoning for next year and a supply of eco bricks. I know it's not for everyone but for us it was the answer. Last year before the bricks, we had plastic tubs lined up in front of the stove trying to dry the wood.


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## Jeff S (Jan 15, 2015)

I can certainly understand the frustration many have because they can not find properly seasoned wood. lets be realistic, it truly is the responsibility of the wood burner what they feed their stove and the only cure is for them to get ahead on their wood pile. Why do people think that someone that is not going to burn the wood should have it C/S/S for 2-3 year so that the person that burns the wood doesn't have to. I'm proud that I was able to sell some wood this year ranging from 3-5 years seasoned, but I'm not really in the wood business but rather a wood burner that got so far ahead that I could sell some of my surplus .Similar to what Ram 1500 said, buy ahead to be ahead.


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## blades (Jan 15, 2015)

Dealers and "seasoned" wood (seasoned with two stroke exhaust fumes and  chainsaw bar oil)   And except in rare occasions dealers who advertise kiln dried are only doing it long enough to kill bugs ( 3 or 4 hours at x temp)  certainly not down to apx 15% moisture content( in the middle of a split on a fresh face at room temp) that most current stoves shine at.  I my area I have one landscape firm that does indeed sell kiln dried firewood - generally about 20%or a little better. He is the only one in the area that I can say sells dry wood that will properly burn in the current stoves  available.   The firewood ads have all picked up on the word "seasoned" around here although their definition is sadly lacking as to the true intent of its meaning in regards to heating with wood.


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## jimdrea (Jan 15, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> I just got my insert this year and had to buy seasoned firewood. I called around and ended up finding out that the husband of a coworker owns a tree company and sells firewood. I got a cord delivered. Up until now I had been burning wood I got from a friend who bought a house with a lot of wood he wasn't going to use all of. That ran out a couple days ago. I've tried a few fires with the new wood. I tried everything and it just smolders. I put a MM on it, every piece I checked is 26-27%. I'm furious. Now I have no wood to burn. The wood I have seasoning for next year is even lower. I checked 2 pieces and they're both 21-22%.
> 
> I just emailed the guy and decided to take the high road and asked if he has anything better seasoned I can buy and I'll just use this stuff next year. My pessimistic side is expecting him to blame my MM, how I stacked it or something.
> 
> Just had to rant. Thanks for listening!


Go to tractor supply in taunton and buy some Eco Brics.6 Brics for 3.39  I bought a hundred dollars worth and work them in with my firewood. You could get your stove going with the brics and add the wood on top.


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## MJFlores (Jan 15, 2015)

Around here, "seasoned wood for sale" are just logs that were cut a year ago and then was recently split and stacked as firewood.  It's not ready to burn, but I guess it's seasoned.  It's not green wood. The term "seasoned" has a wide variance...even when looking at local laws regarding firewood sales.  As a general rule, any wood you buy you have to assume that it's not ready to burn...but might be after a season of drying.  If you don't dry it yourself, its not ready to burn unfortunately.  I'm with others here...burn the 21% stuff, it'll do ok.  Mix some dry stuff of bio bricks in with it here and there to help out.  You could try resplitting the other stiff into smaller splits...it'll dry quick in this dry winter air.


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## Straz85 (Jan 15, 2015)

I just got a nice surprise. I called the guy I bought the wood from, he was extremely helpful. He said he has some really well seasoned wood he mixes into his own personal supply that I can try out and if it works well, I can take (not buy...take) half a cord. He was giving me tips on how to season it, asked me a few question about how I was storing it. Didn't seem like he was trying to blame me so much as he was trying to be helpful. My faith in humanity is restored.


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## Ram 1500 with an axe... (Jan 15, 2015)

That's great, take the Half of cord, burn that with your 21% stuff and stock up now for future years so you don't go through this over and over.....


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## JP11 (Jan 15, 2015)

That's good.  If the guy makes good.  Do yourself a favor and don't leave your wood drying to chance.  Do it yourself.  Buy green wood, then don't burn it for 2 years AFTER it's split.

JP


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## gzecc (Jan 15, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> I just got a nice surprise. I called the guy I bought the wood from, he was extremely helpful. He said he has some really well seasoned wood he mixes into his own personal supply that I can try out and if it works well, I can take (not buy...take) half a cord. He was giving me tips on how to season it, asked me a few question about how I was storing it. Didn't seem like he was trying to blame me so much as he was trying to be helpful. My faith in humanity is restored.


 
We'll see, talk is cheap. Maybe he's a "Hearth" member.


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## TreePapa (Jan 15, 2015)

I recently bought 1/4 cord of "seasoned" Ash and Oak mix. The oak was seasoned, 'cuz it was years dead before it was cut. Native oak is protected in So. Calif. The ash, which was most of the wood, the guy said it had been "seasoning for months." Got it home, re-split a few pieces, used my Harbor Fright moisture  and ... 30%, 32%, OL, OL, OL (OL - Overload; prolly 40% or more). Set it aside for next year. I had purchased some ash from the same guy last year and it was under 20%. Next time I take an ax and my meter and check before I load the truck.

The oak barely registered on the meter. That's they way I like firewood for my fireplace (never convinced the wife that we should install a stove and now ya' can't permit one in So. Calif. unless your house is at over 3000 ft.). For the fireplace, with the "Grate Wall of Fire" I get the most heat, and least smoke, with firewood at 15%, even down to 10%. If I build the fire right and don't suffocate it, you usually can't see visible smoke from the chimney when the fire is going - only when starting the fire, or when their isn't enough air to the fire (which I control by using "spacers" of small pieces cross-wise between somewhat larger pieces).

Much over 20% and I can hear the wood hissing as it is burning.


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## Fred Wright (Jan 16, 2015)

This is pretty much standard practice for bulk firewood dealers. Cut into rounds, split to order when the phone rings. If the dealer has enough space available, they'll split and toss it into a pile where it remains until it's loaded and delivered to the customer.

Few firewood dealers have the space and time available to stack wood for 2 years before moving it.


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## Clarkbug (Jan 16, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> I just got a nice surprise. I called the guy I bought the wood from, he was extremely helpful. He said he has some really well seasoned wood he mixes into his own personal supply that I can try out and if it works well, I can take (not buy...take) half a cord. He was giving me tips on how to season it, asked me a few question about how I was storing it. Didn't seem like he was trying to blame me so much as he was trying to be helpful. My faith in humanity is restored.



When your finances allow, would be great to place another order with the guy to show your appreciation for his willingness to help you out.  Sounds like he wants to earn a longtime customer.


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## McKeznak (Jan 17, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> Wow, I didn't realize that buying seasoned wood was often so poorly seasoned. I didn't expect <20, but low 20s at least. Now this begs the question, should I be having trouble burning wood with 26% moisture content in an EPA  non cat stove? Even with the damper open all the way it just  smolders.



I've burnt some bad wood in my first year. And I woulda killed for 26% back then, like others have said the 21% would be better and/or you could mix to bring down the average MC of the load.

I've just never seen 26% smoldering. I've seen sluggish ya, forced to leave door open a bit longer on first relight ya, and not able to turn the primary down as far as you want too. But not really smoldering. Just curious where you took the moisture reading? Did you split it then check in the middle of the freshly split side? If it's really smoldering I'm gonna guess the dead centre will be >30%. Just a thought.


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## Jacyte (Feb 4, 2015)

I would gladly take wood that dry. I ran out of my good pile and out of desperation purchased 2 cords off craigslist from a guy with a tree service. I got ripped off VERY bad. I am still deciding on my next course of action but he basically sold me frozen punky sponges. Thawed you can put your finger halfway through the wood while frozen it looks and feels like wood that's got a little fungi damage but is as light as expected for proper seasoned stuff. Also the splits range from 5" to 30" and all sorts of thicknesses. He came back and brought another half cord to make up for the ugly sizes but I hadn't realized how much of the stuff was frozen wet punky wood. He is now no longer responding to me. He lives in my same town though so ill think of a way to surely make things right.


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## Pennsyltucky Chris (Feb 6, 2015)

What kind of wood did you buy? I stacked Ash and Silver Maple in early August, single row, and it's 16-18%


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