Apparently all my firewood is over 30% MC - Safe to burn?

[Lantheaume]

Get some bio bricks for this year to burn on the really cold nights, if you can get pallets you can bust them up and burn them too, maybe mix a couple of pieces of your wood per load. Next year should be better for you.

Just picked up a few packages and am on the hunt for pallets. Looking forward to next year.

 

[SpaceBus]

I'm also in Downeast Maine and had a rough winter last year due to unseasoned wood. As mentioned bio bricks will get you through this winter. I think we spent around $300/pallet at Hammond Lumber for bio bricks.

 

[Lantheaume]

There are many threads here about getting through the season with wet wood. Mostly it comes down to getting dry scrap and/or pallets to mix in with the wet stuff. Can also buy some compressed bricks. Re-split some of what you have into smaller pieces and feed plenty of air.

In the end it will prob be a struggle. Don't judge the stove based on this years results.

Thanks @jatoxico! If there are any particular threads on getting through the season with wet wood worth reading I'd appreciate the pointer - but sounds like the rule is "Find dry wood, burn it instead" :-D.

I have started to split the wood I have into smaller pieces - I know they'll dry quicker, but also when I do want to burn "something" they are easier to keep lit then the larger logs.

 

[Lantheaume]

I'm also in Downeast Maine and had a rough winter last year due to unseasoned wood. As mentioned bio bricks will get you through this winter. I think we spent around $300/pallet at Hammond Lumber for bio bricks.

Thanks @SpaceBus! I have one down the street from me so will check 'em out. How long did the pallet last you? Do you burn a brick at a time? Put a few bricks in and let 'er rip for a while?

 

[SpaceBus]

Thanks @SpaceBus! I have one down the street from me so will check 'em out. How long did the pallet last you? Do you burn a brick at a time? Put a few bricks in and let 'er rip for a while?

I did about half wood and half bio bricks by weight (not volume!) and burned it as if it were normal cordwood. We used the one pallet for most of winter. There was maybe 3/4 of a cord of somewhat seasoned firewood that came with the house we burned at first. That ran out pretty quickly. I think I ran out of Bio bricks right at the end of the season and I'd guess we would normally use four cords.

Can you post some photos of your stove and chimney setup?

 

[jatoxico]

Thanks @jatoxico! If there are any particular threads on getting through the season with wet wood worth reading I'd appreciate the pointer - but sounds like the rule is "Find dry wood, burn it instead" :-D.

I have started to split the wood I have into smaller pieces - I know they'll dry quicker, but also when I do want to burn "something" they are easier to keep lit then the larger logs.

Yes that's the idea, lots of surface area. IMO there's no need to totally abandon burning some of the wood unless you do find that the wood is truly 40%. That just may be too much. Pick through and find the lightest/driest stuff and go ahead and make some fires. Bring as much as you can into the stove room. A few days indoors next the stove will help some too. Its all pretty much common sense

It will be more work building small airy fires since they won't burn too long but you'll get some heat while your willing to feed it.

It does tend to work out that if you have half load 30% wood and half of 10% bio brick or dry pallet wood (I prefer pallet) then the total moisture content is 20% and you'll be OK more or less. Get a stove thermometer and burn as hot a you can to keep the creosote in check.

 

[coutufr]

You can burn high moisture wood anyway you want but in the end not much heat will come out of it.

 

[weatherguy]

The good news is your all set for next year but get more wood now for the year after

 

[nathan125]

Scrounge or buy some dry firewood from someone who isnt a crook.

 

[Chas0218]

That's what she said!


Lol




But back to the topic... pallets got me through the first year. I never got the biobricks to burn well, but I seem to be the only one. Lumber yards often have slab wood that's thin and dries fast. It's kind of like a pallet in tree form.


Buy next year's wood now, if you can and have the room. Break the cycle of wet wood!

I wish that's what she said! haha

 

[Woody5506]

I'll burn wood in the mid 20's but anything higher than that is a no go for me. If you burn what you got this year it's basically just gonna be a waste of money. As other said, save it for next year! The first year with a stove was tough for me, I got lucky a few times and scrounged some good dead maple but I did end up burning a lot of unseasoned ash.

 

[Zack R]

Lots of good advice to be found here..... don't waste next years good wood supply by trying to burn it this year when its wet.

 

[firefighterjake]

You've pretty much got most all of the advice you need to know already.

-- Best advice: Save the wood this year to burn next year. Burning the wood this year will result in less heat, more creosote and more heart break . . . plus you'll burn up a lot more, a lot quicker.

-- Bio-bricks or logs can help.

-- Pallets can be burned. They are often free, but the disadvantage is disassembling them can be tedious (depending on how you do it), you have to be careful of nails (both in the disassembly and in the disposal of ashes) and one must be careful to not over-fire the stove by stuffing it full of broken up pallets.

-- Standing dead trees might be of use. In my first year pallets and standing dead elm saved my butt . . . but not all standing dead wood is the same. Make sure it's not punky or rotten and be aware that some standing dead trees may still be too high in moisture content to burn well.

-- If you ever make your way up to the Bangor-Brewer area you might want to check with Peavey Manufacturing (they're the ones who still make Peaveys). Last I knew they were selling white ash "trimmings" pretty affordably. These may be small pieces though so you would most likely not want to stuff the firebox full of this and then touch it off.

-- You'll most likely have a tough time finding truly well seasoned wood on Craigslist, Uncle Henrys (does anyone still use this anymore), Facebook Marketplace, the poster at the local store advertising "seasoned" wood for sale, etc. around this time of year. Heck, even folks selling "seasoned" wood often don't have wood that is seasoned enough for the modern woodstove. But you never know . . . you may get lucky and strike on that one home owner who just sold their house and the new owner doesn't want the firewood.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

If you have the space then stack your wood in single rows a few inches off ground. I season oak down below 20% no problem that way in 1.5 years in a seasoning rack that totally protects it from rain.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lantheaume]

I did about half wood and half bio bricks by weight (not volume!) and burned it as if it were normal cordwood. We used the one pallet for most of winter. There was maybe 3/4 of a cord of somewhat seasoned firewood that came with the house we burned at first. That ran out pretty quickly. I think I ran out of Bio bricks right at the end of the season and I'd guess we would normally use four cords.

Can you post some photos of your stove and chimney setup?

Looks like someone is selling kiln dried locally so we’re going to try and grab some (not sure where to store it!)

have a power outage and used some bio bricks to get our stove going.
You asked for photos so I grabbed some.

 

[peakbagger]

Great news! Hard to match kiln dried wood to learn on with a modern stove.

 

[coutufr]

Btw most people buying a wood stove for the first time don’t have dried wood that they can burn right away. It is my 4th winter with my wood stove and I am just starting to feel like I have enough dry wood for the whole winter. Last year I was also thinking that but I ended up building another wood rack last spring... we are having extremely cold temperatures for November here in Montreal so this winter could potentially be even colder that last year

 

[johneh]

Btw most people buying a wood stove for the first time don’t have dried wood that they can burn right away. It is my 4th winter with my wood stove and I am just starting to feel like I have enough dry wood for the whole winter. Last year I was also thinking that but I ended up building another wood rack last spring... we are having extremely cold temperatures for November here in Montreal so this winter could potentially be even colder that last year

You may be right about being a long cold winter. We are breaking records all over the place
I have 5 1/2 cords of seasoned wood that I usually use in a year. I had 10 but gave 4 1/2 away
to people in need hope it doesn't come back to bit me in the rear

 

[MissMac]

You may be right about being a long cold winter. We are breaking records all over the place
I have 5 1/2 cords of seasoned wood that I usually use in a year. I had 10 but gave 4 1/2 away
to people in need hope it doesn't come back to bit me in the rear

Selflessly helping people never hurts. That is very generous of you.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Even without the moisture meter I wouldn't have tried burning that wood. I've never encountered firewood for sale that is fully seasoned. When they say "seasoned" it's been stacked for month or two. You need six months to three years, depending on the type of wood.

Cherry can be ready in as short as six months. Tulip poplar maybe 9 months. White pine maybe 6 months. Up in Maine maybe there's some white pine for sale? Also, there may be a firewood dealer that sells kiln dried wood, ready to burn. It'll cost you more, but could be the way to go this winter.

The smaller you can split it, the faster it'll season, if you stack it in a sunny, breezy place, not touching the ground.

 

[Chas0218]

I have had Ash season in 6 months CSS in June and left uncovered until end of October. The wood I'm burning the following year stays uncovered until the next October so it stays uncovered for close to a year.