Confusing felling with "seasoning"

[Jon1270]

Seasoning is all in the details when buying wood. Found this place online selling kiln dried firewood (http://www.lifirewood.com/guarantee.php) guaranteed to be less than 30% MC.

From their guarantee:

*Dry firewood is less than 30% moisture content on average as per a calibrated moisture meter.

A disappointing standard at over $600/cord, but then it is Long Island. There probably aren't many scrounging opportunities, high incomes mean high opportunity costs of getting one's own wood, and I imagine most customers lack the space to store three years' worth. They're selling for ambiance and cooking, not primary heat.

 

[Snotrocket]

I know the whole "3 years" thing gets thrown around here a lot, but that is the absolute maximum amount of time it takes to dry the absolute wettest off the stump oak you can find.

If you cut it when the leaves are off, split it, then stack it in single rows in the sun you will be good to go in a year to 18 months.

 

[oldspark]

I know the whole "3 years" thing gets thrown around here a lot, but that is the absolute maximum amount of time it takes to dry the absolute wettest off the stump oak you can find.

If you cut it when the leaves are off, split it, then stack it in single rows in the sun you will be good to go in a year to 18 months.

I would add that for me that 18 months needs to include two summers.

 

[BillLion]

I would add that for me that 18 months needs to include two summers.

But to be clear, you are specifically speaking of oak. Right?

 

[oldspark]

But to be clear, you are specifically speaking of oak. Right?

I have said it before and will repeat myself, I can get BurOak to 20% or slightly less in two full long summers, not sure how much moisture is in the Oak when I cut it because my MM only goes to 42% and it reads Over Limit when I cut it. Single rows where wind can get to it not top covered.

 

[Jon1270]

not sure how much moisture is in the Oak when I cut it

According to the USDA, Bur Oak averages 74% green.

 

[oldspark]

Next spring I might cut some different types of wood and track their drying using my MM and post the results (gotta get a life).

 

[tahoostas]

I cut some aspen (I know..pooplar) this May June and it was below 20% by October... Not even stacked in a particularly sunny or windy location. Going to burn that before the seasoned stuff I bought ( still around 30%).

 

[Backwoods Savage]

From their guarantee:

A disappointing standard at over $600/cord, but then it is Long Island. There probably aren't many scrounging opportunities, high incomes mean high opportunity costs of getting one's own wood, and I imagine most customers lack the space to store three years' worth. They're selling for ambiance and cooking, not primary heat.

$600 per cord!! I'd expect lower moisture than 30% for that. I'd even haul it a good distance for that price.

 

[Paulywalnut]

So many varibles to the wood drying process there is no way you can put a specific time frame on it, many types of wood dont take 3 years to dry to under 20%.

I got ya, but when you get way ahead, oak mixed in with mulberry and maybe some hard maple it's easier to let the whole stack season out a "safe" 3 years.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Think I'll have to disagree with you on that one.

By majority of people, I mean everyone except all of us on hearth.com

 

[red oak]

Well, looking at it from the seller's perspective, if an average seller is able to sell 50 cords a year, getting 3 years ahead would mean having 150 cords c/s/s at any one time. That's A LOT of wood! A seller would have to have a place to store all that, not to mention the time to get all of that wood processed. Now consider that the average wood buyer believes that wood can be burned a few months, or even weeks, after it is cut and split. So the average buyer is perfectly happy buying less than dry wood. So I don't see much of a financial motive for a seller to let wood season for years and years. If you're going to buy wood, let the seasoning start once it's stacked at your house.

 

[oldspark]

I got ya, but when you get way ahead, oak mixed in with mulberry and maybe some hard maple it's easier to let the whole stack season out a "safe" 3 years.

I agree with that, some of my Oak is 5 years old but a lot of my wood gets burnt after 18 to 24 months, some woods like Silver Maple, Green Ash and Cherry might get burnt after 9 months except for rounds.

 

[PDXpyro]

I can't figure out whether this fixation on firewood and its seasoning is prematurely aging us, or keeping us young. Often, people who have problems with the march of time are spoken of as "living in the past," but on the other hand most of us seem to be living in the future: that golden time when our heaps of tree bones will at last be ready to cremate!

Well, at least the exercise must help, as long as we're careful not to over-strain these fragile human frames.

 

[weatherguy]

Well, looking at it from the seller's perspective, if an average seller is able to sell 50 cords a year, getting 3 years ahead would mean having 150 cords c/s/s at any one time. That's A LOT of wood! A seller would have to have a place to store all that, not to mention the time to get all of that wood processed. Now consider that the average wood buyer believes that wood can be burned a few months, or even weeks, after it is cut and split. So the average buyer is perfectly happy buying less than dry wood. So I don't see much of a financial motive for a seller to let wood season for years and years. If you're going to buy wood, let the seasoning start once it's stacked at your house.

I met a guy last week that uses a processor and cuts 7-8 cords a day, has a huge area to store the wood, pays some young kids to do all the work, he has some 3 year seasoned oak for a fair price. He said most people prefer the freshly cut stuff but if you need seasoned, he has it.

I have said it before and will repeat myself, I can get BurOak to 20% or slightly less in two full long summers, not sure how much moisture is in the Oak when I cut it because my MM only goes to 42% and it reads Over Limit when I cut it. Single rows where wind can get to it not top covered.

I split two cords of red oak March 2012 and measured it last week, all the pieces I measured were 19 or 20%. I've had worse results in the past but maybe getting it split by March and getting two full seasons of the good drying months did it this time. I cut the splits a good size too.

 

[Beer Belly]

I've got 2 stacks of Oak.....C/S/S December 2011....reading 34% on the MM last week, and they're not big splits.

 

[Jon1270]

FWIW, I've got a piece of red oak from tree that was taken down (live and healthy) in early April of this year (7 months ago). I've been tracking it's MC by weight, and it's down to 25% already. BUT, that 25% is an average number, not the reading I would get if I re-split it and metered the center. It may very well be 12% on the outside and 40% in the middle.