Seasoned Firewood

[terrawombat]

This is my first house I have ever lived in with a working fireplace. My shop also has a wood stove, which works very well and I have been using a lot of old, leftover lumber (nothing treated, though) as my main source of fuel. It burns hot, but it burns very quick...likely because it is all kiln dried with a low moisture content. Anyway, my stack of old lumber has been getting low so I decided to get myself a half cord of firewood so I could have a toasty winter. A co-worker of mine sells firewood with his Dad on the weekends. He said he had ready to burn, seasoned oak from a tree they cut up 2 years ago that he would sell me for $100 for a half cord and he would even deliver and stack it for me too. Handed him the cash early in the week and came home this evening to find the wood neatly stacked on my outdoor rack. Got closer and noticed a distinct wood smell in the air - first sign. Got even closer and noticed the ends of the logs were not cracked and split - second sign. Noticed that some of the logs still had the bark on them and there was still green moss growing - third sign.

 

So it looks as though I got hosed. I'm a pretty trusting guy so I didn't think my own co-worker would try to pull one over on me, but it doesn't look like I'm going to be burning any of his firewood this year. I would guess it's in the 25-35% moisture content range. I can get the stuff to burn, but it requires a very hot bed of coals to get it going and even then, it basically just smolders and puts off little heat - complete waste. Going to order me a moisture content meter and find someone who has some real seasoned firewood.

 

Lesson learned. I'll be well equipped for next year, though!

[Comanche County]

Are they split logs? If not you might wanna split em to speed up the drying, depending on how small you're willing to make em.

[terrawombat]

Yep they're split

[Comanche County]

I did the same thing after I burned up all the beetle kill pine on the property and started burning the scrap ends of pine 4x4s that were left overs at the plant I worked at. They were nice and dry but burnt fast and the house would be cold in the morning. I went through at least 5-7 pallets like that in one winter.

 

I started keeping an eye out for old dead hard woods on empty lots or building sites, or anywhere construction was going on or about to happen. Often old trees are just bulldozed up into a pile and there can be good hardwood gems. If there's some forest nearby that you can take wood from then its worth a day out for a "nature hike" with the GF with axe in hand. Check the local regs before taking wood from state or federal lands, but most states allow it on a personal use basis and limit you to taking already fallen trees because it helps to reduce fire danger. You'd be surprised how fast a big log can be split without a spltting axe. Just start on the outside and work your way in. Turn the circle into a hex, then a square, a triangle, etc you get the point. Its back breaking always trying to split the a log right down the middle.

 

 

I was always thinking about ways to heat the home...found this idea too and its pretty nifty. Search for "solar heaters" on youtube, there's lots of ways to build one real cheap.

[glundblad]

I don't understand. I have downed trees that have been on the ground for years. They have moss growing on them. If they were cut up today, they could be burned today and would make great firewood?

[danbyrambler]

I no longer burn wood but when I did - - - 25-35% moisture ain't bad - esp here in SE Missouri where the humidity seldom drops below 40% & then not for very long - - - More important is when a tree is felled - - Should be winter when sap is in the roots - BIG dif, Oak needs a fair amount of air & when it smoulders it's sap makes for lots of creosote build up, only had one flue fire but it was a good one - - Pine & Fir burn hot because of their particular type of resin & fast because of larger cell structure - - Density is why commercial cord wood for fuel was sold by weight - Ash is about as good as it gets for heating, no matter when it's cut - Not real common around here - Oh, well - - Sure you got oak & not hickory?

[terrawombat]

I don't understand. I have downed trees that have been on the ground for years. They have moss growing on them. If they were cut up today, they could be burned today and would make great firewood?

 

Keyword: years. Sounds like you have some dry, seasoned firewood in those downed trees. What I got was moist wood from a tree that probably fell during Hurricane Sandy two months ago. It's simply too wet and doesn't burn hot. Just sizzles and smoulders. I could get my shop up to 80 degrees with the old lumber I was burning in my wood stove. Tried some of this new stuff last night and barely raised the temp 5 degrees in the place.

 

I no longer burn wood but when I did - - - 25-35% moisture ain't bad - esp here in SE Missouri where the humidity seldom drops below 40% & then not for very long - - - More important is when a tree is felled - - Should be winter when sap is in the roots - BIG dif, Oak needs a fair amount of air & when it smoulders it's sap makes for lots of creosote build up, only had one flue fire but it was a good one - - Pine & Fir burn hot because of their particular type of resin & fast because of larger cell structure - - Density is why commercial cord wood for fuel was sold by weight - Ash is about as good as it gets for heating, no matter when it's cut - Not real common around here - Oh, well - - Sure you got oak & not hickory?

 

He said it was oak. Guess it could be hickory. The bark that is left on some of the pieces looks like oak, but not sure if I could tell the difference between the two.

[86customanche]

if you need to dry wood quick, try building a holz hausen. My dad has strictly gone to them. Seems to dry wood faster than any other stacking technique.

[terrawombat]

Thanks for the link. I may give that a shot. Plus it looks pretty bada$$.

 

I lucked out with the firewood. Came back up to NJ and told my Dad the firewood story. He mentioned that he cut up some downed trees two years ago and kept them outside of my old shop on a concrete pad. Took a drive down there and found some great red oak firewood that is all split at the ends. Went out and bought myself an 8 pound maul and went to work:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wound up filling my MJ shortbed when all said and done. I estimate about 3/8 of a cord was cut and split and I left another 3/8 of a cord untouched. I'm going to be making two more trips to NJ to my parents place over the next month so I'll try to make time to split the rest and haul it down to MD. Maybe I'll teach my GF how to split wood so we can get it done faster :yes:

[ftpiercecracker1]

you fellas are getting pretty scientific with the stuff you burn. For us, so long as it isnt rotten or a type of wood that gives off a bad smell/ posinous it gets burnt. Hickory, Oak, Boxwood, Maple, Poplar, Locust, Sasafrass, Ash to name a few.

 

 

Oh and terrawombat, you call that a splitting maul? :shake: When i get back home from FL i will take a picture of what we call a splitting maul. :D

[Goose]

Gas fireplace here :-\

[terrawombat]

you fellas are getting pretty scientific with the stuff you burn. For us, so long as it isnt rotten or a type of wood that gives off a bad smell/ posinous it gets burnt. Hickory, Oak, Boxwood, Maple, Poplar, Locust, Sasafrass, Ash to name a few.

 

 

Oh and terrawombat, you call that a splitting maul? :shake: When i get back home from FL i will take a picture of what we call a splitting maul. :D

 

There is a science behind burning firewood. In places where fireplaces are the primary source of heat and you rely on the wood to keep you and your family warm during the winter, the quality of the stuff is absolutely essential. I can burn the original stuff that I got, but I'm going to waste a lot of energy converting the water in the wood to steam - energy I would rather use heating the house.

 

I was only able to find an 8lb maul at our local hardware store here. I didn't want to head to Home Depot or Lowes since it was Christmas Eve and I can only imagine how many people would be there doing last minute shopping. It served its purpose well and some of the bigger logs took a few more whacks, but I can't complain for $20.

[Comanche County]

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tools/msg1116323319589.html

[Eagle]

He said it was oak. Guess it could be hickory. The bark that is left on some of the pieces looks like oak, but not sure if I could tell the difference between the two.

 

I'm sneakin' up on 69 years old, I've gone through four or maybe five chain saws, and I don't think I've ever seen a hickory tree.

[JeepcoMJ]

we heat the shop with wood....don't ever have to split much though since we luck out with the properties we buy having seasoned wood already stacked.

 

when we run low, we will run whatever is laying around. but we don't heat hot enough to take off our sweatshirts. whats the point...comfortable either way.

[terrawombat]

Newly cut firewood is in the wood stove insert and burning nicely. House is toasty :thumbsup:

 

Only issue is that I can't seem to get enough oxygen to the fire with the doors closed on the wood stove insert. If I close the doors and open the intake vent wide open the fire will snuff out so I always need to crack the doors open some to keep the oxygen flowing. I'm thinking my chimney damper is open too much, but it's a real PITA since the wood stove insert covers the damper control. Going to have to fiddle with the dampers...hasn't been quite right since I had a guy come out and clean the flue.

[xjrev10]

I burn whatever I can find and is cheap. Once my garage stove is snorting pretty good, anything will burn.

[terrawombat]

I received my moisture tester last night and took some measurements on the first 1/2 cord I got - anywhere between 20%-30% moisture (not as bad as I thought). The new wood I cut up at my parent's place was anywhere from 18%-25%. Definitely on the drier side, but not much better.

 

I think I figured out the issue with my wood burning insert. The chimney was originally sized for the fireplace so when the insert was added, it effectively cut down the size the chimney needed to be. So, with the chimney damper wide open, the natural draught from the chimney was much higher than what the intake holes on the insert can flow, hence why I had to always leave the doors cracked to pull in more air. Fiddled with the chimney damper some and finally got it to a point where the fire seems to be at happy.

 

I think I'm going to wind up pulling the insert out. It's nice to have because it's supposedly more efficient and easier to clean, but my chimney just isn't set up for it, especially the damper location (which is inside of the chimney on a chain). You currently need to pull the whole insert out of the fireplace to get to the damper chain. We're only going to use the fireplace on the weekends when we're home all day and when we have company as it makes the house feel "cozier."