is 3 month old wood dried 3 days in kiln "seasoned"?

[Jotel me this]

Your right about this.. but heres the thing.. when i did the kiln it wasnt because i needed to dry my wood.. at the time i was 3 yrs ahead, almost 13 cord CSS. I did it to see if i got jamed up, could i get myself out of a jam with out relying on anybody else for seasoned wood. If my experiment failed it had no influence on my wood burning. I had 13 cord and all my storage set up, 3 woodsheds. Your not in this position.. if your experiment doesn't work, your in the same boat next year as your in this year. Looking for usable wood to burn.
The following below is all hlp and observations.. please dont take any of it the wrong way.
From reading your posts you have no real wood storage, and your not sitting on alot of wood. If you burn 4 cords of wood per year right now you should be sitting on, or have plans for having a minimum of 8 cords. By the end april,If your not sitting on that much wood than you havent solved you wood issue. First you need enough wood to burn, for 2 years.2nd you need enough dry wood to burn for 19/20. The kil is to get you out of a jam.. i dont rely on it. I dont put it together every year as i try to make my wood process as stream line as possible. I do the best i can and try to handle the wood as little as possible.Thers no value of dreaming up a kiln when you dont have enough wood to run in it..
If you choose to do a kiln you dont need to start to run it untill june.. meanwhile get your wood score up.. once your in sitting on alot of wood run a known kiln to insure you wood drying success and have enough wood for the entire season next year. Then after that.. come up with somthing improved and post it for all to see..

thanks. i just got several cords of burnable wood delivered a few days ago. that should be enough for now as i work on this.this is going to be a fun project.

im going to post my progress on the thread i made:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/solar-kiln-jotel-me-this-style.172087/

 

[hickoryhoarder]

just had my wood delivered. massive load of wood but looks pretty good. when i pulled out the moisture meter the guy got mad and started spewing off how come i dont believe him. i told him im measuring the wood or its no deal. he keeps going off about how NO one ever questioned him. so i pulled out my splitter haha to check. runs at 20%. should be good enough for the winter.

next year... im processing ALL my wood from my own trees. no more dealing with people who want $1000 but then complain when you want to check to be sure youre getting what you paid for.

No honest person should be offended by someone measuring moisture in firewood.

 

[wooduser]

just bought 2 cords from a guy who advertised it as "seasoned" and paid seasoned rates. I asked "is it dry"? The kid driving the truck told me it had been cut 3 months ago and put in a kiln for 2 or 3 days to dry it out. Just started a fire and the moisture is bubbling out the end of the logs.

Tried to facebook message the dude and he is not responding.

Did I get hosed?

Ummm. It sounds like you were given perfectly honest and accurate information on the firewood. Cut down three months ago and in a kiln 2-3 days. Unfortunately, you didn't know how to interpret the information you asked for and were given.

 

[CincyBurner]

Caveat emptor.
If you buy a baked pie one assumes it's fully baked to doneness. You wouldn't expect the rejoinder from the seller to be, "Well it was baked (for 5 minutes)".
I guess not so for kiln-dried firewood.
That begs the question: How dry ? To what moisture content (MC) ?
Is there industry standards for MC of kiln-dried wood ?

In defense:
What was the purpose for kiln-drying firewood - meet regulations (e.g. APHIS) to kill insects ?
If wood is kiln-dried to a lower MC: Is there a state law for firewood (maximum MC) ? Has seller advertised/ stated a certain MC ?
Kiln-drying is an energy intensive, value-added procedure for which buyers should expect to pay more for product (firewood). The trade-off: for low MC dry wood, additional energy is used to prepare the product, instead of waiting 2-3 to have passive (solar) energy season your wood.

 

[wooduser]

Caveat emptor.
If you buy a baked pie one assumes it's fully baked to doneness. You wouldn't expect the rejoinder from the seller to be, "Well it was baked (for 5 minutes)".
I guess not so for kiln-dried firewood.
That begs the question: How dry ? To what moisture content (MC) ?
Is there industry standards for MC of kiln-dried wood ?

.

He wasn't told that the pie was fully baked. He was told it had been made three months before and had been in the oven 2-3 days!

Was the pie done at that point? The seller didn't say. And unfortunately, the buyer didn't know that the pie was still only slightly baked. based on the facts as stated.

It's unfortunate the buyer didn't have the experience to know that the wood was still green, but I don't think the seller was being dishonest.

The seller gave him accurate information on the seasoning the wood had received.

And according to many of the posts I see on this board, lots of people buy wood just like that, and expect to do the seasoning themselves.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

He wasn't told that the pie was fully baked. He was told it had been made three months before and had been in the oven 2-3 days!

Was the pie done at that point? The seller didn't say. And unfortunately, the buyer didn't know that the pie was still only slightly baked. based on the facts as stated.

It's unfortunate the buyer didn't have the experience to know that the wood was still green, but I don't think the seller was being dishonest.

The seller gave him accurate information on the seasoning the wood had received.

And according to many of the posts I see on this board, lots of people buy wood just like that, and expect to do the seasoning themselves.

So again you couldn't be more wrong.

The PO stated the the wood was advertised as seasoned. The purchaser thought the wood was seasoned, and paid a price for seasoned wood. The wood purchased was not at a discount, or green wood prices. Its unfortunate that the OP has little experience, and its it's a shame that he spent his hard-earned money for wood that he thought was seasoned and is not burnable. We are here to help.
Your post adds no value nor is it actuall help.
To the OP going forward if you going to purchase wood, go on the premises that its for the following year and unseasoned, dont pay a premium and get your wood storage needs together to keep the wood in good condition. Get a MM so you know where the MC content is

 

[elasticman]

So again you couldn't be more wrong.

The PO stated the the wood was advertised as seasoned. The purchaser thought the wood was seasoned, and paid a price for seasoned wood. The wood purchased was not at a discount, or green wood prices. Its unfortunate that the OP has little experience, and its it's a shame that he spent his hard-earned money for wood that he thought was seasoned and is not burnable. We are here to help.
Your post adds no value nor is it actuall help.
To the OP going forward if you going to purchase wood, go on the premises that its for the following year and unseasoned, dont pay a premium and get your wood storage needs together to keep the wood in good condition. Get a MM so you know where the MC content is

 

[elasticman]

I am the OP. A week later, after storing some of the wood in my dry garage, I tested some random logs with my newly purchased moisture meter. I took about 20 logs from random parts of the stack, split them, and checked the moisture on the ends and in the center. 90% of the split logs (oak) are reddish in the center and are registering between 22 - 28%. They all have that "puke" smell that oak is known to have when green. I am having a tough time keeping good fires going in my Jotul Castine. I have to run it with the ash door open occasionally or opening the door.

The seller never mentioned that the logs were split 3 mo ago and put in the kiln for 2-3 days. The kid who delivered the wood offered that bit of info. As some of you have said, I did lack the experience to know that what he was describing is not "seasoned".

Now I have to store this wood till next year and burn sawdust logs and bio bricks for this year.

Hopefully someone else has learned from this thread too and wont get burned like I did. No pun intended!

 

[wooduser]

I am the OP. A week later, after storing some of the wood in my dry garage, I tested some random logs with my newly purchased moisture meter. I took about 20 logs from random parts of the stack, split them, and checked the moisture on the ends and in the center. 90% of the split logs (oak) are reddish in the center and are registering between 22 - 28%. They all have that "puke" smell that oak is known to have when green. I am having a tough time keeping good fires going in my Jotul Castine. I have to run it with the ash door open occasionally or opening the door.

The seller never mentioned that the logs were split 3 mo ago and put in the kiln for 2-3 days. The kid who delivered the wood offered that bit of info. As some of you have said, I did lack the experience to know that what he was describing is not "seasoned".

Now I have to store this wood till next year and burn sawdust logs and bio bricks for this year.

Hopefully someone else has learned from this thread too and wont get burned like I did. No pun intended!

Here's how Wikipedia defines seasoned wood:

<<
People also ask
What does it mean for wood to be seasoned?
Wood drying (also seasoning lumber or wood seasoning) reduces the moisture content of wood before its use. When the drying is done in a kiln, the product is known as kiln-dried timber or lumber, whereas air drying is the more traditional method.


That's pretty vague, and calling wood "seasoned" doesn't provide much useful information, in my view. But the wood you received arguably meets the definition of "seasoned" wood above, I suggest.

More importantly, the seller calling his product seasoned is, I suggest, "puffing" his product, which is making vague statements to encourage their purchase:

<<
Feedback
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Puffing legal definition of Puffing - Legal Dictionary - The Free Dictionary

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Puffing
Puffing is generally an expression or exaggeration made by a salesperson or found in an advertisement that concerns the quality of goods offered for sale. It presents opinions rather than facts and is usually not considered a legally binding promise.



The delivery guy made what might reasonably be considered a guarantee about the product ---- that the trees had been cut three months before and kiln dried for three days. If that was a guarantee (it might not be) it was apparently a truthful one.

It's not my intention to beat up on you. You did what you could at the time.


I like the guy on another thread who described taking delivery of wood. He took a stick of wood and split it and measured the moisture with a moisture meter, all over the angry objections of the seller. In that case though, the wood was down to a suitably low moisture level! But even that might not be adequate testing.

I see numerous threads where ONE piece of wood is tested with a moisture meter. Statistical sampling suggests that several pieces of wood should be selected at random for testing, including from the center of a delivery.

I make poor purchase decisions sometimes, too. Sorry this didn't work out as well as you had hoped. Next time, I bet you you are out there with an axe and a moisture meter!

 

[wooduser]

So how do our experienced wood burning Xperts buy firewood, if they buy it at all?

I see a good many posts where people recommend against buying firewood, and doing the jub of cutting, splitting and seasoning yourself.

Other buy firewood, but don't expect it to be dry enough to burn without being dried for a year or two.

Many people with new stoves don't have those luxuries, and don't have experience in buying wood they need to use right away, the same year they have bought their new prize stove!

So what steps should such people take to insure that they get wood that is suitably dry to burn in their stove right away, when they know little or nothing about buying wood?

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

So how do our experienced wood burning Xperts buy firewood, if they buy it at all?

I see a good many posts where people recommend against buying firewood, and doing the jub of cutting, splitting and seasoning yourself.

Other buy firewood, but don't expect it to be dry enough to burn without being dried for a year or two.

Many people with new stoves don't have those luxuries, and don't have experience in buying wood they need to use right away, the same year they have bought their new prize stove!

So what steps should such people take to insure that they get wood that is suitably dry to burn in their stove right away, when they have little or nothing about buying wood?

Since I drive a pick-up truck I try to scrounge as much as I can. I search CL for free wood. If I think I will end up under 5-6 cords, I buy. I managed to buy real seasoned wood only once. I try to buy in April/May/June. If the MC is in the low 20's it goes into the wood shed. Anything higher will go on racks under the solar kiln (started one this year with remarkable results).

 

[wooduser]

Since I drive a pick-up truck I try to scrounge as much as I can. I search CL for free wood. If I think I will end up under 5-6 cords, I buy. I managed to buy real seasoned wood only once. I try to buy in April/May/June. If the MC is in the low 20's it goes into the wood shed. Anything higher will go on racks under the solar kiln (started one this year with remarkable results).

Do you have a post or posts on your kiln and how it's worked for you? I'd be glad to see a link to that.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Do you have a post or posts on your kiln and how it's worked for you? I'd be glad to see a link to that.

Nope. Look for the posts from woodsplitter67 and poindexter. They have a lot more experience with it.

 

[weatherguy]

I feel bad for the OP not getting "seasoned wood" but there isn't a universal meaning for seasoned. We mean it to be under 20% but to many wood sellers it means something different. The only way to protect yourself is to ask the seller if it's under 20%, better yet take a ride to their lot and measure with a moisture meter. If they assure you over the phone it's under 20% measure before they unload it on your lot. That's the only way to protect yourself, dont rely on the sellers meaning of seasoned.

 

[elasticman]

just ordered a pallet of overnight (sawdust) logs and bio bricks for the winter. And taking a chainsaw to some pallets I have laying around. This wet wood will be for next year. Live and learn.

BTW the seller never replied to phone or FB messages.

 

[maple1]

There should be some kind of headline sticky one post thread thing, that tells everyone they should assume that buying truly seasoned wood is at least a rare occurrence if not an impossibility.

And then the next line would be, any & all chance of non-seasoned wood issues would go away with assuming it is all green from the get-go & just seasoning it yourself.

We have the power!

 

[wooduser]

There should be some kind of headline sticky one post thread thing, that tells everyone they should assume that buying truly seasoned wood is at least a rare occurrence if not an impossibility.

It's especially sad to see so many people get new wood stoves and then discover they don't work very well because the wood they have isn't adequate. What a disappointment!

I suppose stove shops are too busy taking people's money to ask about the wood supply that will be going into it.

I expect it's a hard lesson for people to learn that they need to cut, stack and split wood for THREE YEARS USE before they can expect to start their wood burning!

It seems that the wood people use is perhaps more important than the stove they burn it in.

I must say that this board is an education on these subjects, if people can find it and take the time to read it.

 

[elasticman]

I must say that this board is an education on these subjects, if people can find it and take the time to read it.

Amen!

funny thing is, I have been burning wood for over 20 years! I really have never had a problem until now. I've always gotten wood from good people I guess.

 

[jatoxico]

Amen! funny thing is, I have been burning wood for over 20 years! I really have never had a problem until now. I've always gotten wood from good people I guess.

Older stoves were more forgiving. I bought 1/4 cord of kiln dried several years ago. Came bagged. It was legit stuff and their biggest customers are apparently restaurants. I was sitting on 7-8 cords of CSS wood but not much of it was ready. The wood was better than what I probably would have gotten from a local fire wood dealer but not as good as 2-3 yr CSS wood.

As far as getting by this year unless they're 36% you can throw in some of the better sticks of cord wood you have once the fire is established with your pallets and bricks. I never had great results burning bricks alone and one or two splits (depending on size) at a time on a good coal bed helped out a lot.