Help! First season burning wood!

[Genie82]

Hello! I have been reading several threads on this forum, and I think I have come to the right place for help! This is my first season using a wood stove as my primary source of heat. I was not prepared. We had assumed we would be using a kerosene heater as our primary, with the wood stove acting as a back-up/ambiance enhancement... Then we researched the price of kerosene. I know, I know... I'm a city girl living in the country for the first time, I am learning. BTW, I have loads of outdoor experience, but we always rough it - you know, burn what you find, cook on the fire. We have a propane stove for emergencies, but we never use it.

I digress (sorry, I'm a rambler). Anyway, when the kerosene ran dry, we bought some gas station bundles at a premium while I set to work finding a deal on cord wood. In December. In Southern Oregon. It's been a mild winter and wood is available, but it isn't particularly cheap. I did finally find some (quote)"seasoned"(unquote) madrone, split, delivered, and stacked for the price of the do-it-yourself stuff, which is nice because I don't have a truck or a saw (yet, working on it, folks!). And my guy works dawn to dusk, meaning I'd be stacking while attending to our YOUNG girls. Yeah.

I bet ya'll (who are still reading) want to know my point by now... Ok, ok. The wood. I can't tell how dry it is. I can't tell if it's burning correctly. I have read all that I can find on judging seasoned wood, but nothing is specific to madrone characteristics. Here's what I know about mine - it is all old growth dead fall, trees having been dead at least 18 months - some of this wood was split in June of '14 (7 months ago). It's dampish on the outside, but as I live in So. Oregon, EVERYTHING is dampish on the outside. The wood was left uncovered and properly stacked for seasoning.

I know the stuff from this year won't burn nearly as well as older seasoned wood - dead fall or not, but beggars/choosers. What I need to know is, how do I tell the well seasoned from the rest, and how should it burn? Being that the wood was dead fall and was split over half a year ago, will it be burnable now? I have two babies and pets in a REALLY OLD manufactured home, I can't risk a lot of creosote build-up. ALSO! I have maybe an 1/8 of a cord of some Douglas fir post cuttings from a lumber yard - seasoned and untreated - they burn quite well, but fast. I know I can use those as starters, but can I also use them periodically to burn a HOT fire for creosote clean out?

Finally - and laugh if you must - if I bring a few days worth of wood indoors to dry out before I need it, will I be dealing with a lot of uninvited guests (bugs)? I know madrone doesn't have a lot of bark, but this wood is dead from a fungus spread in the Siskiyous... And I'm pretty sure I see beetle tunnels on a few pieces. I generally dislike creepy-crawlies, but my three year old completely loses her mind over them. Believe me, this is one little girl you want to avoid that situation with!

I really would love any and all advice ya'll can offer regarding wood stove heating. There's no such thing as too much learning! Thank you in advance, and for suffering through my endless diatribe!

 

[aarolar]

Is there a lot of moisture cooking out the end of the logs on the fire? That is one sure fire way to determine if the wood is seasoned or not. Typically if its seasoned but wet from rain then it will dry out pretty fast in the stove and burn fine. Do you possibly have a porch you could dry the wood on vs bringing it into the house myself I prefer to go straight into the stove with whatever I bring in unless its real clean stuff.

Very good possibility a good Samaritan from the forum will be along with some wood to help you out I've seen it happen more than once...

 

[svk]

First of all, welcome to the site!

I don't know much about madrone except that it has a very high BTU value when seasoned. You may want to check it with a moisture meter (General brand is what most of use, about $20) to see what ballpark percentage the wood is. This would require resplitting and checking the middle of the fresh split. If they are reading low 20% or below they are fine to burn, otherwise wait. I would assume that as with other high end firewood, it will take a while to dry.

How long the wood has been dead is not as important as how long it has been cut to firewood length, split and stacked. Wood loses very little moisture when sitting in logs or in the woods.

Do not buy gas station bundles, they come out to somewhere about $400-800 per cord which makes oil cheaper to heat with.

Unfortunately if the wood isnt dry enough, you are either going to have to buy more wood that is seasoned or heat with oil for the rest of this winter and save that stuff for next year.

Lots of helpful folks on here, don't hesitate to ask any questions that you come up with.

 

[farmer steve]

welcome to AS.seriously pics of you wood will help.from what you say about the wood u have i wood think it should burn if allowed to dry by keeping it out of the rain.good luck.

 

[Ironworker]

Welcome to the site. Everyone's situation is different and like everything else there is a learning curve and you have to figure out what works best for you. The best thing you can do when heating with wood is being prepared and that means being at least a year ahead with your wood, in other words do what you can now but start preparing for next year, me personally have about two years worth of wood stacked and I am currently cutting wood for 2016-2017. You should be fine with what you have, good luck.

 

[flashhole]

Welcome. I think I actually gave you your first "Like". You are off to a good start here.

There is a big difference between surface moisture and moisture content of unseasoned wood. Surface moisture will dry off in a week or so under cover even if you are in rainy conditions. Here in NY I rotate a face cord with the main uncovered stack on my covered front porch. The porch provides more than adequate shelter for the wood to dry off before it goes in the fireplace.

If you can bring stuff indoors that's even better. For as many decades as I have been burning wood I have never had a creepy crawler emerge from the indoor wood pile. I will keep a day or two indoors ready to go in the stove.

Being prepared and keeping a supply of wood is a year-round project. You said you buy wood. You may consider buying a saw and cutting/splitting your own. Any top shelter works for seasoning, tarps, roofing material ... anything. I used to live in Vancouver, WA so I know what you are up against with the constant dampness. In the summer uncover whatever wood you have stacked. I keep my wood exposed to the elements until a couple of weeks before I use it. It's hard to get ahead of the game if you aren't dedicated to the task.

This is how I keep my wood. It doesn't get any simpler than this.

 

[wood4heat]

Hey Flashhole, enjoy a little rep from Camas WA!

 

[gary s]

It helps if people know what brand & model stove you got.

 

[flashhole]

Wood4heat - Thanks, where do you live in relation to the paper mill?

I actually lived in La Center, WA about 16 miles north of Vancouver. I worked in Vancouver. Beautiful area.

 

[wood4heat]

Wood4heat - Thanks, where do you live in relation to the paper mill?

I actually lived in La Center, WA about 16 miles north of Vancouver. I worked in Vancouver. Beautiful area.

North. I'm not actually in the city limits, just have a Camas address. Are you familiar with Livingston Mtn? It's the sister mtn. to Larch on the Vancouver side.

 

[Genie82]

I will post pictures when I can sneak outside to get them, lol. I've lived in Vancouver and Camas! I have delivery lined up for a couple cords of "seasoned" madrone and oak that we will stack for next winter, then this summer we'll pick up a couple more. I wasn't planning on being a full time wood burner, but it just makes more sense than kerosene. We don't have a truck, and we have very little free time, so cutting our own isn't an option right now. Maybe next year.

My stove is an Avalon 990/945 Rainier Wood Stove. It was manufactured in 1990.

Thanks! Be back with pictures momentarily.

 

[flashhole]

I know the area, are you far enough north not to have the funky odor of the mill?

 

[wood4heat]

I know the area, are you far enough north not to have the funky odor of the mill?

Nope! For the most part Camas is clear of the funk, it all drifts down the river into Vancouver!

This is home:

2388 by wood4heat on Arboristsite.com

 

[Higgs]

I have the same stove. I love it.

 

[Genie82]

I have the same stove. I love it.

It's the stove the place came with, but I have no complaints! I wish I could somehow vent the heat more effectively to the back of the house... some gets there, but we still end up running the backup heater at night.

 

[olyman]

It's the stove the place came with, but I have no complaints! I wish I could somehow vent the heat more effectively to the back of the house... some gets there, but we still end up running the backup heater at night.

put a ordinary box fan on the floor,,and blow it back there. they require very little electricity...id think,, from what you say,, you could burn the wood your buying now....like svk says,, get a moisture meter, split a piece,, and see what the moisture meter says...

 

[zogger]

Throw in a piece of that dry fir, and some splits of the madrone on top. When burnt down, do it again


Stack some inside, a few days worth, near the heater and rotate it.

if you are going to live in the country, lil miss princess is gonna have to get used to bugs..although I wouldn't worry about it. I bring in some rather questionable wood sometimes myself. I check for black widows or their egg cases and flick em off outside, that's it, anything else is BTUs...

 

[grapplermi]

Welcome to the site! We will fill you with more info than you ever wished for. Nice looking homestead. As far as your picture, is that your firewood you're talking about behind the car? If so, you or your husband should split it from rounds. It will dry exponentially faster. Grab a Fiskers, X25 or X27 from your local Ace hardware or the like and go to town. Will be the last ax you ever buy. a good way to tell if your wood is nice and seasoned too, is the smoke coming out of your chimney. When the stove is cracking away pretty good, there should be virtually no smoke. Only when you start it and reload, for a few minutes. Best of luck!

 

[firebrick43]

If it's wet don't try to burn out the creosote. Get a brush and some chimney rods and clean it out often. Depending on your stove and the wood you may need to do it every couple of weeks or so. Have hubby get up there and check it.

Also you may want to get a lighter hard wood such as ash to mix with the madrone and oak. Both are pretty dense and have issues when you choke them down for shoulder season heat. Mix in some other faster burning wood and it helps. Soft woods are really to fast, which won't hurt anything except to be throwing pieces on more frequently.

 

[pennsywoodburnr]

Welcome to the site Genie82. Without sounding like I'm trying too hard to toot the A.S. horn here, I can say you've probably reached the pinnacle of woodburning knowledge by reading the posts on this forum. We have a lot of smart people on here who really know their stuff. Get yourself a saw that you can safely handle and start learning to cut. Wood becomes exponentially cheaper when you process it up yourself. You'll learn different species for different temps as you go along as well. Any questions? Just ask.