Mid summer check

[Woodsplitter67]

My first decent stash for first year of burning. I posted it in another thread. Surprisingly a lot of it is about 18-22% on the end or side of the split

VCS
taking readings on the end is really not worth it. The readings it gives you are way off. Just go from the center of a frash split with the grain . I take an average split for the stack and use that for a guide for that wood. Last time i checked my stacks were july 4th. Next check will be mid September. That will give me a better idea if where i am.

I am doing an experment on different ways to season wood and i will be sharing my results with you guys when it is complete.


Were getting so close to burning season i cant wait for the cool down

 

[Ctwoodtick]

+1 about the need for fresh split, I missed that.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

VCS
taking readings on the end is really not worth it. The readings it gives you are way off. Just go from the center of a frash split with the grain . I take an average split for the stack and use that for a guide for that wood.

Ya, I agree. I planned to fresh split a couple closer to the season. I'm just wondering if there is a way to predict the MC inside based on any external measurements. Like, for 2x2x16", a MC of 15% on the outside for 6 mo means the inside is at 20%, where a 3x3x16 at 15% for 6mo means the inside is 25%. There are probably several variables to consider. I assume under some similar circumstances (probably has to be covered), the moisture gradient must be somewhat predictable.

It's just not really easy for me to random sample 3-4 splits from each species and divide up 2x2 pieces every month or two. Pulling out an accessible split and doing an ext measurement is "free" data in a sense.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I don't think it has to be that involved. Like was mentioned above, take an average split from a stack, split it and measure. Done. Getting involved with all the variables like relative humidity will just lead to inaccurate estimates, IMHO

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I don't think it has to be that involved. Like was mentioned above, take an average split from a stack, split it and measure. Done. Getting involved with all the variables like relative humidity will just lead to inaccurate estimates, IMHO

+1 with this.. Your getting an idea of where your at.. i dont know anyone who pulles each species or checks 3-4. What i do is pull my toughest like oak. I know if my oak is 25% the cherry is in the high teens. Just getting an idea. No need to check it more that 2/3 times a year. Last year i only checked once to see where i was at. This year will be 2 to 3×s only due to me seeing what is working well and what works the best.
VCS when do you start burning..

 

[Ctwoodtick]

VCS, with when you split your wood (late spring), you may find your wood being on the wet side. Not a tragedy, but if that is the case, search the threads on this site about using wood that on the marginal side. But first things first, take a reading on fresh splits.

 

[Fuut Master]

I think I am a little behind on my kindling. How long does it usually take for everyone's kindling to season? I am working on hard and softwood kindling. If I split it now will it be ready this winter?

 

[Ctwoodtick]

If you have firewood that's ready or close to it, you can just split kindling from that. I prefer to split kindling as I go during the winter. I tried stacking kindling outside before and found it made for tippy stacks.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

In my experience, pine kindling will dry very quick. However, its best to use moisture meter to check out your results

 

[Fuut Master]

I have plenty seasoned firewood ready to go but, I have a lot more that needs another summer. I was wanting to use the less seasoned wood for kindling because I thought it would dry pretty quick being split so small.


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[Ctwoodtick]

Will depend on wood species density. The softwood probably ok, stuff like ok probably not. Test it out in a fire pit or with moisture meter before using.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

It must not be that difficult to predict based on outer MC reading. Probably considering a piece out of the rain: density, x-sectional area, initial MC, and time c/s/s should give and idea of the MC gradient. As long as those are consistent you should have pretty repeatible inner MC vs outer MC.

So I just found a larger splitable piece in each stack which I split and checked. My top covered pieces all measured around 20-22% unsplit except the beech.
N Maple: 31%, 36%; about -2%/mo
W Oak: 31% ; about -2.5%/mo
Ash: 30%; about -2.8%/mo
Beech: 36%; about -2%/mo

My shed covered wood is doing much better. I took the newest biggest ash piece. 17% out, 23% inside. I have a 1/4 cord of stuff in there mostly from last year.

So my plan is to get a stove in August, start burning around November until the 1/4 cord is out, then wait until any of my large stash is burnable or I'm done for the season.

I don't have acres of open farmland to dry and store 10+ cords of wood, so I'll have to live with what I have. I'm planning to start collecting for 2018 this fall.

 

[FuzzyOne]

Can you guys educate me in moisture meters? Been splitting my own wood for 16 yrs. and never used one. I see various ones on Amazon, some of which have a choice for wood type. Is that necessary?
Also, to get a true reading, don't you have to test a freshly split piece?
Thanks...

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[Ctwoodtick]

If you can dry wood for a couple yrs plus after splitting and stacking then you do not need a moisture meter. They come in handy when you have a shorter time to dry your wood and you want to see what of your wood is dry enough to burn. Yes, test on fresh splits for accuracy

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Can you guys educate me in moisture meters? Been splitting my own wood for 16 yrs. and never used one. I see various ones on Amazon, some of which have a choice for wood type. Is that necessary?
Also, to get a true reading, don't you have to test a freshly split piece?
Thanks...
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All you need is a basic MM 2 pin for like 20 bucks
You can use it on any wood, freshly split or seasoned. You split it open and mesure with the grane in the center of the split.. if you want post a pic or link of the one your looking at

 

[HisTreeNut]

Can you guys educate me in moisture meters? Been splitting my own wood for 16 yrs. and never used one. I see various ones on Amazon, some of which have a choice for wood type. Is that necessary?
Also, to get a true reading, don't you have to test a freshly split piece?
Thanks...

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This is the moisture meter the wifey picked up for me at the local Hardware store. (broken link removed to http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3890605&KPID=6882250&cid=CAPLA:G:Shopping_-_Precision_Tools&pla=pla_6882250&k_clickid=6d01dd4f-f38a-49d7-ad40-529c554cd92b)
It is pretty simple to use, easy to read, and is fairly accurate. When testing wood, you want to split a piece, and on the freshly cut side, test it at either end & the center, then average the readings. I live in a humid area so it helpful for me to gauge how "seasoned" my wood is.
Hope that helps a bit.

 

[FuzzyOne]

Thank you. I guess I'll order one....

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[Woodsplitter67]

Thank you. I guess I'll order one....

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Even if your wood is 2 years old you still want to check with a MM. Some of the large splits will struggle to season. Where you have your stacks, and species will have alot to do with drying. Some of the large splits like 6" and over will barely be where you need them, its best to check and make shore and not hope or think they are seasoned enough.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Just checked my 3 different stacks yesterday (thought I would uncover everything for the eclipse to see if it has any special wood drying powers). Red Oak cut and split last fall is at about 25% MC, not bad.

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

Just checked my 3 different stacks yesterday (thought I would uncover everything for the eclipse to see if it has any special wood drying powers). Red Oak cut and split last fall is at about 25% MC, not bad.

Damn moon is blocking the sun from my wood!

 

[iceman2424]

Just took the moisture meter to my stacks. The sugar maple was c/s/s in March/April, and is progressing nicely. Tested about 3 or 4 splits and am looking at 16%-18% on average.

The Mulberry, on the other hand...yikes. It was c/s/s in late spring, and the moisture ranged anywhere from 30% to 45%. Somebody probably tossed it all in a pond when I wasn't looking. Or it's just oak-like when it comes to seasoning time.

 

[TJ1]

My youngest split oak will be almost 2 years old this fall when it is time to light the stove. It has been stored under a covered porch where it also receives about 7-8 hours of full sun.
It burnt "ok" last year, so this year it should be dang near prime.

 

[Dobish]

i took a 3/5 day off work yesterday and split some wood, rode my bike, and got rained on! I had 2 piles of elm that I needed to get through, 1 was stacked in the direct sun, on 4x4 w/ cinderblocks. The other stack was in the shade, directly on the ground, and covered in virginia creeper. Both were cut at the same time.

the pile in the sun was all <20% and split like a dream.
the pile in the shade was around 25% and was still pretty stringy.

I moved on to the pile of fruit wood that I still need to process (it had been stacked on a pallet, but in an effort to move it closer to the stacks, i just tossed it out of the truck. That was all <20% as well.

I tested 1 piece of maple and some pine that I randomly pulled from the stacks... Maple was 16%, pine was 18%.

The stuff I have for next year stacked by the house was coming in at 12%

This picture is not very good, as you can only see 1 pile, but there are 3 rows of pallets here. Total of 9 cord here (including the pile of elm on the right) + the 1/2 cord of fruit trees (on the left in the grass) that needs to be processed. No idea what I'm going to do with the giant pile of elm bark....

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

No idea what I'm going to do with the giant pile of elm bark....

I would compost it. Some bark makes good fuel but elm bark is one of the worst because it has a very high ash content/btu (and lower btu/lb than almost all other species).

 

[Diabel]

Any wood that will be burnt this season was CSS before 2014. No need to use any electronic devices there.