How Can I Tell?

[SpeakEasy]

Total newby.

Burned a lot of campfire wood over the years, but this is a whole new ball game.

I have purchased a total of 6 face cords from two different suppliers for my first year of heating with wood. The first supplier brought me stuff that is about 6 months old - he says. I figure I'll prolly have to save that till next year. The other guy brought me four face cords of mostly ash. He admits it isn't seasoned, but says that i can burn it cause it's ash. Well, it's burning OK, but not ideal.

So - should I bite the bullet and try to get some better seasoned stuff to use this year (and keep what I've already got for next year)?

Also, how do I get one of those moisture meters so many of you are talking about?

Thanks,
-Speak

 

[northwinds]

Harbor Freight sells cheap moisture readers. You can buy more expensive ones at amazon.com. My friend who does
wood working has one that cost several hundred dollars. I've got the cheapie Harbor Freight one, and use it for
a ballpark idea of wood moisture.

How your wood burns is the ultimate wood moisture test. If you are getting up to temperature quickly, and your wood
isn't hissing, or smoldering, you're probably all right. This is a tough time to find dry wood. Lots of people are advertising
dry wood for sale, and it isn't.

 

[hawkeye4771]

is there anyplace inside maybe near the stove where you can keep several pieces that could help drying them out before using them? and then just keep replacing them as you use them. may help a little. Value Home Center has a little rack that can hold around 10-12 pieces that could sit next to the stove.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

They would have to be there for a while to dry out. I'd find some pallets to cut up and burn. Mix them in with your semi green wood.

Matt

 

[Vic99]

I second the pallets. Try to get pallets that do not have chemical spills on them.

Even better is lumber scraps from a house construction project . . . but stay away from pressure treated wood. Chemicals will REALLY stink up the place. Arsenic is no fun to breath in either.
I've been there my first year. Good luck.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Total newby.

Burned a lot of campfire wood over the years, but this is a whole new ball game.

I have purchased a total of 6 face cords from two different suppliers for my first year of heating with wood. The first supplier brought me stuff that is about 6 months old - he says. I figure I'll prolly have to save that till next year. The other guy brought me four face cords of mostly ash. He admits it isn't seasoned, but says that i can burn it cause it's ash. Well, it's burning OK, but not ideal.

So - should I bite the bullet and try to get some better seasoned stuff to use this year (and keep what I've already got for next year)?

Also, how do I get one of those moisture meters so many of you are talking about?

Thanks,
-Speak

Welcome to the forum Speak.

Don't expect to be able to purchase any wood that has seasoned long enough. There just is rarely anything out there no matter what the wood sellers say. Even the one that is supposedly 6 month old; it was probably cut 6 months ago and split just before it came to you.

On the ash, if possible split it thinner than it is now and burn it. You will have to keep a hot fire going and you will have to clean your chimney more often but it can be burned this year. I have done this one winter and we stayed warm. However, we did burn more wood than we usually would have and also cleaned our chimney many times through the winter.


If you have to buy wood, you must buy at least a year in advance; two years if at all possible. Stack it in the sun and wind. If you have to choose one of the two, choose wind. Stack it so the wind hits the side of the piles and pile it a little loosely so air will flow through the stacks. Put some poles, landscape timbers or pallets on the ground and stack the wood on top. This will allow for some air under the piles and also keep the wood from touching the ground.

There are mixed theories on covering but one thing everyone does agree on and that is to never cover the sides of the piles. We never cover our piles the first year or at least through one summer and then cover the tops only. Some cover the top of the piles immediately after stacking and some never cover.

Good luck.

 

[firefighterjake]

Total newby.

Burned a lot of campfire wood over the years, but this is a whole new ball game. Yes . . . burning outside where heat is not as important . . . and the fire has all the air it can get . . . is a totally different experience.

I have purchased a total of 6 face cords from two different suppliers for my first year of heating with wood. The first supplier brought me stuff that is about 6 months old - he says. I figure I'll prolly have to save that till next year. Sadly, you're probably right . . . but truthfully it will depend on what type of wood it is and whether the dealer meant the wood was cut and split 6 months ago . . . or simply cut down from the woods 6 months ago. The other guy brought me four face cords of mostly ash. He admits it isn't seasoned, but says that i can burn it cause it's ash. Well, it's burning OK, but not ideal. "They" say ash can be burned right away . . . truthfully any wood can be burned right away without seasoning (of course you will not get as many BTUS out of the wood and you will be more at risk for having a chimney fire), but truthfully the longer you season the wood the better it will burn . . . and if you do burn the ash and find it is not as seasoned as it should be you will find you get less heat, your glass may blacken up more and you will most definitely want to keep an eye on the chimney and check/clean it more frequently.

So - should I bite the bullet and try to get some better seasoned stuff to use this year (and keep what I've already got for next year)? My opinion . . . you can try to get more seasoned wood . . . but honestly at this point it may be a challenge depending on where you are . . . it never hurts to look around . . . but bear in mind that while most of us here would consider "seasoned" wood to be defined as cut and split a year or more, many dealers have different definitions of "seasoned." As mentioned, getting your hands on some pallets may help you some . . . it is far, far from ideal and you will need to check and clean your chimney more frequently, but you can use the pallet pieces to help "drive" the moisture out of the more seasoned wood. If at all possible, you will want to get next winter's wood delivered this Fall . . . that way next year's wood will truthfully be seasoned.
Also, how do I get one of those moisture meters so many of you are talking about? Harbor Freight offers these for sale.

Thanks,
-Speak

 

[prajna101]

I tried buying that cheap MM from harbor freight. It was backordered, I waited, and waited and waited. I would check with customer service and they would give a date, then it would pass, I would email again, they would give a new date, it would pass. After a couple of months, I canceled the order. Ordered one last tuesday from amazon for $6 more than Harbor freight was selling it for. Free shipping with amazon too. Its already tracking to be delivered friday. I should have bailed on harbor freight earlier. I must say their prices are good. but service is atrocious. I will probably never buy from them again. Too bad.

todd

 

[Wood Duck]

You're gonna have a tough time buying seasoned firewood because, like the others have said, most firewood sellers either don't konw much or think much about what seasoned firewood is, or they are lying or exhagerrating about the condition of their firewood. If you try, you should visit the place where the wood is stored and try to pick out the oldest, driest wood. Look for wood that is grey, not brown, tan or whitish, checked or split on the ends, and feels light compared to fresh wood. After a while you'll get the hang of identifying nicely seasoned firewood.

 

[Duetech]

Hi Speakeasy and welcome to the forum,
Sometimes you can find someone in your area that has really seaoned wood but is not a seller . A user who may have a lot of wood and who might be wiling to make a trade for some of the ash or other stuff. Just enough for you to mix your wood (not all of it) so that you are not burning all green wood. Be willing to throw in a few extra bucks if they seem close to dealing with you. You would probably burn the differece in green wood anyhow and a swap may keep you from fighting with the stove when the weather is the coldest. Perhaps you can do a scrounge around and locate some dead standing trees that are free of bark and either free or cheap. The top sections are usually dry enough to burn but lower portions are usually still wet. If there is a saw mill in your area they might have some slab wood they sell for fire wood If they do look for the older (gray colored) bundles.

 

[muncybob]

I was in the same situation with this being my 1st year and being somewhat unprepared. I lucked out and found a farmer on CL that had 3 cords of c&s that has been sitting for over 3 years...he delivered for a very reasonable price. I've learned to ALWAYS ask when the wood was split when unquiring from wood dealers. Keep an eye on CL...I found a guy trying to get rid of a bunch of wood crating & constrcution lumber that had been sitting is his dad's garage for years. He pulled all the nails out thinking one day it would be "hobby" wood. 5 p/u truck loads for free! I'm mixing it in with any less than seasoned wood this winter. It also got me through the shoulder season without using my good firewood. Check your local CL daily..never know what you'll find!

 

[gyrfalcon]

I tried buying that cheap MM from harbor freight. It was backordered, I waited, and waited and waited. I would check with customer service and they would give a date, then it would pass, I would email again, they would give a new date, it would pass. After a couple of months, I canceled the order. Ordered one last tuesday from amazon for $6 more than Harbor freight was selling it for. Free shipping with amazon too. Its already tracking to be delivered friday. I should have bailed on harbor freight earlier. I must say their prices are good. but service is atrocious. I will probably never buy from them again. Too bad.

todd

eBay. Got a perfectly good meter from some outfit in Hong Kong, and it arrived within days.

 

[colsmith]

I hesitate to disagree with Backwoods Savage, but he said

There are mixed theories on covering but one thing everyone does agree on and that is to never cover the sides of the piles.

I believed this for a while, but kept having snow covered wood in the winter. Seems you should never cover the sides spring-fall, but in the winter when it will snow it is wise to cover it to the ground. Otherwise it just gets snow stuck to it all up and down the piles and that keeps it damp. After brushing snow off a lot of firewood, we are now trying to cover as near to the ground as we can with our collection of tarps and plastic sheeting. That is just for the winter, we don't cover it at all spring-early fall. We start covering it when it gets around late September when it tends to rain a lot. Late November we cover further down to avoid the snow piling up on it. What with climate changes, we get a lot more snow in WI than we used to. That is, deeper snow and more often. Last year was quite the record locally. So if you don't cover the sides, the snow attaches all over and gets into the middle of the pile between pieces. Then slightly thaws and melts onto the wood, than gets cold and freezes on for a few months straight. So I find it better to cover totally in the winter.

 

[Valhalla]

Most wood dealers call anything split
as seasoned! There are few good ones.

If you can't work up your own, try to
buy ahead and season it at home under
a shed or tarp for a minimum of 12 to 18 months.
Buy in the end of the season for 18 months ahead.

Otherwise harvest away and plan ahead.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I hesitate to disagree with Backwoods Savage, but he said

There are mixed theories on covering but one thing everyone does agree on and that is to never cover the sides of the piles.

I believed this for a while, but kept having snow covered wood in the winter. Seems you should never cover the sides spring-fall, but in the winter when it will snow it is wise to cover it to the ground. Otherwise it just gets snow stuck to it all up and down the piles and that keeps it damp. After brushing snow off a lot of firewood, we are now trying to cover as near to the ground as we can with our collection of tarps and plastic sheeting. That is just for the winter, we don't cover it at all spring-early fall. We start covering it when it gets around late September when it tends to rain a lot. Late November we cover further down to avoid the snow piling up on it. What with climate changes, we get a lot more snow in WI than we used to. That is, deeper snow and more often. Last year was quite the record locally. So if you don't cover the sides, the snow attaches all over and gets into the middle of the pile between pieces. Then slightly thaws and melts onto the wood, than gets cold and freezes on for a few months straight. So I find it better to cover totally in the winter.

I doubt you will find many who will agree with you and I certainly will not. I see no reason for covering the sides even if you get some wet snow that sticks. Wood is not a sponge, especially during the winter months. Here is a picture of one of our wood piles. The picture was taken Christmas Day, 2008:

 

[iskiatomic]

Dennis, send some snow this way!


KC

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Okay. I'll put some in an envelop and mail it to you. lol

 

[colsmith]

I doubt you will find many who will agree with you and I certainly will not. I see no reason for covering the sides even if you get some wet snow that sticks. Wood is not a sponge, especially during the winter months.

When I started a thread called "Darn Snow on Firewood all the time"
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/14994/
I was advised by Jags that when lots of snow is coming to cover the whole pile all the way to the bottom. Makes perfect sense, and it is what I am trying to do with winter. It isn't that I think the snow and ice is penetrating the firewood a great deal. It is simply that I see no reason to insert ice and snow covered wood into my wood stove. Why go through all the trouble of drying wood, and then covering it with snow and ice before burning it?!? Perhaps you get less snow, or don't live on such a windy hill. We get a LOT of wind, and snow tends to come in horizontally here, it gets all inside the wood pile as well as piling up on the sides. With occasional freezing and thawing, that results in ice and snow on a lot of the wood. It is a real pain in the arse to thwack and brush it off almost every piece before burning. We had 100 inches of snow the previous winter!

 

[gyrfalcon]

I doubt you will find many who will agree with you and I certainly will not. I see no reason for covering the sides even if you get some wet snow that sticks. Wood is not a sponge, especially during the winter months.

When I started a thread called "Darn Snow on Firewood all the time"
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/14994/
I was advised by Jags that when lots of snow is coming to cover the whole pile all the way to the bottom. Makes perfect sense, and it is what I am trying to do with winter. It isn't that I think the snow and ice is penetrating the firewood a great deal. It is simply that I see no reason to insert ice and snow covered wood into my wood stove. Why go through all the trouble of drying wood, and then covering it with snow and ice before burning it?!? Perhaps you get less snow, or don't live on such a windy hill. We get a LOT of wind, and snow tends to come in horizontally here, it gets all inside the wood pile as well as piling up on the sides. With occasional freezing and thawing, that results in ice and snow on a lot of the wood. It is a real pain in the arse to thwack and brush it off almost every piece before burning. We had 100 inches of snow the previous winter!

You're surely right, if you have no sort of staging area indoors or undercover for the wood to dry out for a few days before using it. I have an attached enclosed west-facing woodshed where it loses most of the ice/snow in a couple of weeks, and a couple of large plastic boot trays in the house where it dries out even faster and catches any remaining melt. For me, wrangling those tarps on and off is far more of a pain in the backside than brushing off the snow and then managing the drying out. Each to his/her own.

 

[quads]

I doubt you will find many who will agree with you and I certainly will not. I see no reason for covering the sides even if you get some wet snow that sticks. Wood is not a sponge, especially during the winter months.

When I started a thread called "Darn Snow on Firewood all the time"
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/14994/
I was advised by Jags that when lots of snow is coming to cover the whole pile all the way to the bottom. Makes perfect sense, and it is what I am trying to do with winter. It isn't that I think the snow and ice is penetrating the firewood a great deal. It is simply that I see no reason to insert ice and snow covered wood into my wood stove. Why go through all the trouble of drying wood, and then covering it with snow and ice before burning it?!? Perhaps you get less snow, or don't live on such a windy hill. We get a LOT of wind, and snow tends to come in horizontally here, it gets all inside the wood pile as well as piling up on the sides. With occasional freezing and thawing, that results in ice and snow on a lot of the wood. It is a real pain in the arse to thwack and brush it off almost every piece before burning. We had 100 inches of snow the previous winter!

My wood is stacked under the snow in the background, uncovered. That was two years ago, We got 117 inches that year.

 

[SpeakEasy]

I'd like to THANK everyone for the replies to my OP.

An update: I bought one of those moisture meters from my local Harbor Freight. Seems to work nice. My original piles of wood have been registering from the low 20's to "OL" which I believe must mean "Outside Limit" of the meter. The highest readings available are in the 40's. I avoid burning those.

I worked my network and was able to find a landscape guy that has wood that has been cut and split and lying around for a year or more. When I first spoke to him I first asked him if he had some "old" stuff. I then went on and explained in more detail what I needed and why. He assured me that he had stuff that I'd be happy with, so I went ahead and bought a truckload from him. It is mostly cherry; it is well seasoned, and it is burning great. My cat lights up within about 15 minutes from a cold start.

Here's the thing. Some of the wood is punky. Maybe about 5% of it. I guess, since I asked for "old" wood I should have expected this. But still...

I'm thinking of calling him and telling him about it to see if he will make it right. Would I be unreasonable to make an issue of this?

-Speak

 

[LLigetfa]

Would I be unreasonable to make an issue of this?

-Speak

Depends on what you paid.

 

[SpeakEasy]

Would I be unreasonable to make an issue of this?

-Speak

Depends on what you paid.

$280 for just shy of four face cords. It's the going price around here.

 

[LLigetfa]

I would let it slide. No point alienating a supplier before you have some good alternates.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Would I be unreasonable to make an issue of this?

-Speak

Depends on what you paid.

$280 for just shy of four face cords. It's the going price around here.

If you're doing business with a high-volume dealer, I'd say insist he make it good. But for a guy who cuts a few extra cords from his wood lot to sell or anybody else for whom firewood isn't their main business, I'd say let it go. I always end up with a small amount of punky stuff in the mix, and I've bought from four different guys over the last several years.