Work Done 2024

[bigealta]

When i'm testing oak or the like i put pins in as deep as is safe to not bend them which can be not deep at all. Then i add 3 o 4 to my reading.
So a 16% means 20% moisture.

In freshly cut and split wet wood in the 30's and above adding 6-7 is more accurate.

Credit to Stoveliker for 1st pointing this "sink the pins" out a year or so ago.

 

[MRD1985]

A more correct reading would be gotten if you put the pins in farther, and parallel to the grain.

Ash is still sub 20%, even on 4x4 splits, cherry 16-17%. Maple is also sub 20% even on a 6x6 split. . Oak and hickory low to mid 20s.

 

[MRD1985]

A few more. I put the pins in as deep as it would allow, ended up breaking one.

 

[MRD1985]

I still have at least 4 months until I may need to use the wood so it has a bit to season

 

[stoveliker]

Yes, I see a bent pin. Bummer.
It's a tight game measuring as accurately as possible versus damaging the pins. Or guesstimating the error you make by not being as far in.

Funny that some don't see a big difference in data with pin orientation; I have seen a significant (3-4%) difference, although the difference goes down when the wood gets drier for me.

 

[bigealta]

So how much difference did u get from pins sunk deep vs just gently pushed in?

 

[MRD1985]

So how much difference did u get from pins sunk deep vs just gently pushed in?

Not much. Maybe a half to 1% max. Without breaking pins.

 

[clancey]

I had one of those moisture meters and always mistrusted it. Plus it was so hard to stick in and you had to split the wood to put in and this seems to me like another job to do and my question here is do not they have a better type of moisture meter that's a lot easier to use. clancey

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

I had one of those moisture meters and always mistrusted it. Plus it was so hard to stick in and you had to split the wood to put in and this seems to me like another job to do and my question here is do not they have a better type of moisture meter that's a lot easier to use. clancey

They do make pinless moisture meters, cant speak to their accuracy tho.

 

[clancey]

Thanks ws . I used one of those for kiln dry oat wood out of N.C. It registered 12% up to 18% on the same wood and I used my brand new wood burning stove only about five or six times and really was getting into for I enjoyed the warming heat it put out as well as the ambiance of it all. One piece of wood cause so much smoke in the stove that when I opened up the door to try to relight the small pieces of logs that I placed in and all I got was a black smoke that laid on my skin. Now I have boxes of pine mountain fire logs or environmental logs from the store. This year maybe I will get the courage to try my wood stove once again but it's been a few years after that episode. I gave all my wood to my tree trimmer and he trimmed my tree for me. Just waiting for the weather to get colder again and try my wood stove out with this new type of wood. I only have my stove for a emergency and I love my stove. But wood problems and splitting and sticking in those pins was a pain.

 

[stoveliker]

Not much. Maybe a half to 1% max. Without breaking pins.

Interesting (too); I see easily 3-5% difference going in 1 mm to going in all the way.

All this does is show that measuring moisture content is an experiment with large fluctuations due to variations in wood, temperature (they are calibrated for a soft wood species at 70 F), user approach (how strong, so how deep the pins are) etc. etc.

It is therefore hard to compare between different users.
I would suggest to keep using it (as you are doing here!), to track what is going on, and then to note how the burning goes and how dirty your chimney gets (or stays clean).
That will provide a qualitative internal calibration to what *you* need to see on *your wood* in *your stove* for it to function well.
And after that is done for two-three years or so, you'll know how long it takes for your wood to be good for your stove. At that point you won't need or use the moisture meter much anymore, unless you enjoy taking data and exploring (ahem) the varieties in a wood stack.

 

[bigealta]

I easy also see 3-5% difference in around 1 year plus split and stacked. Double that for fresh cut and split.
Just saw that 6-10% difference today after i cut a 2-3 year dead standing 18" dia. red oak. It was 29 light touching to high 30's when i got it almost as deep as i could get it.

 

[MRD1985]

Interesting (too); I see easily 3-5% difference going in 1 mm to going in all the way.

All this does is show that measuring moisture content is an experiment with large fluctuations due to variations in wood, temperature (they are calibrated for a soft wood species at 70 F), user approach (how strong, so how deep the pins are) etc. etc.

It is therefore hard to compare between different users.
I would suggest to keep using it (as you are doing here!), to track what is going on, and then to note how the burning goes and how dirty your chimney gets (or stays clean).
That will provide a qualitative internal calibration to what *you* need to see on *your wood* in *your stove* for it to function well.
And after that is done for two-three years or so, you'll know how long it takes for your wood to be good for your stove. At that point you won't need or use the moisture meter much anymore, unless you enjoy taking data and exploring (ahem) the varieties in a wood stack.

I plan on checking again in a few months or so if I need to use it. The ash, maple and cherry (cherry is driest) at this point seems good to go for when I need it after the first of the year

 

[MRD1985]

I easy also see 3-5% difference in around 1 year plus split and stacked. Double that for fresh cut and split.
Just saw that 6-10% difference today after i cut a 2-3 year dead standing 18" dia. red oak. It was 29 light touching to high 30's when i got it almost as deep as i could get it.

Let me clarify. On the drier stuff I didn’t see a significant difference. But the oak and hickory was about 3-4%

 

[heavy hammer]

It was already cut down, just needs to be cut to stove size and should be ready to go its very dry.

 

[clancey]

My work has been compiling a "make believe graph" here about the weather forecast of the hurricane., and I am looking at the lines on the weather station graph and I believe this storm is going to "stall" and then move west in the gulf only because of the wind circulation coming up from south of the gulf and its going in a circle with the emphasis on moving something more west. The weather station does not say this for now but I am trying to graph this thing ahead and this is hard work for me as well as "make believe suggested theory" that I propose here. Gosh I had to get out my magnifying glass and move more light to my graphing and this is hard work for me. I love watching the weather station in the morning and this is work done. This is not true at this moment and just my silly theories at work here but this is what I am thinking at the moment. Fun watching your thread and posting here and have a real nice day and stay safe....clancey

 

[stoveliker]

It's not going to stall and going west. It's going to go north east. And quickly.

Tropical Tidbits

Tropical weather and Atlantic hurricane information, analysis, and forecasts by Levi Cowan.

www.tropicaltidbits.com

 

[clancey]

You right on sl but since I am trying to learn about the different weather patterns in my "old age", I think it will move a little west once it stalls in the gulf and it will veer a little west instead of east like the weather stations are predicting. My forecasts are just "make believe" and just fun to do in the morning filling out my little different graphs that I make...Its just something to do for fun and if I was in a young age again I might have liked to study the weather and be a forecaster. Right now it seems the weather people as you posted say its going to hit the west coast of Florida and move up north causing a lot of flooding.. I'm watching and saying some prayers for the people in the area...clancey

 

[bigealta]

Let me clarify. On the drier stuff I didn’t see a significant difference. But the oak and hickory was about 3-4%

So i just got some dead fallen Red Oak branches i think. It's the "petrified" branches that the bark is long gone and only the inner hardwood is left. No rot. It was 15 1/2-17% moisture in fresh splits of 4"-6" Dia. branches.

I found, like you, that even pressing in as deep as i could only changed the readings by about 1%.

So seems like the drier the the splits less the difference in deep pins vs not deep pins.

 

[clancey]

I have a lot of work to do and I am sitting here watching this hurricane on the weather channel. Its a large storm over 300 miles on each side and I was hoping for the jet stream to lower somewhat and push some "drier air" towards it but that does not seem to be the case for it is staying on course and the hurricane planes say it has a lift and I do not know if that is good or bad... This storm really looks bad and if the forecast remains there are going to be a lot of trees down..Lots of work for the tree people and lots of wood too. It's picking up some more strength and they feel it will come in after dark and at that time I believe it will be "high tide" as well and this makes even more problems. my family owned two cottages on the Delaware Bay when I was about 15 and they both got destroyed in 1958 and 1959 --the large house went first for it was on stilts and the porch blew over and the small house came off its foundation and ended up a half of block down the road. They eventually made our two lots into a sort of bird sanctuary as well as sea turtles..How ironic for I love my birdies and turtles...If anybody is directly involved with these storms I am saying my prays for you and hope everything goes okay as I keep watching it with lots of work that I should be doing but I am just relaxing today keeping an eye on this situation.. I remember one time off the Delaware Bay I watched it go from "low" tide to "high tide" with the wind in less than one hour of time.. So scary...clancey