My firewood moisture readings... And fresh cut dead white oak

[UpOnTheHill]

So I finally bought a moisture meter and checked some of my splits this afternoon. I re-split to get a good reading. I also bucked a standing dead oak (white oak?) that I dropped yesterday. I split a little of the oak and read that too just to see where it's at. The hard maple is a little concerning but I don't have very much of it and its mixed into my stacks evenly. The white oak limbs look almost ready to burn but the trunk wood is a little high. Wondering if I should c/s/s the oak and burn it later into the winter? Or do i save it for next year? I need some opinions. I'm just finishing my stacks this year with dead standing. Not quite done yet.

White oak limb wood
White oak trunk wood ash looks ready black locust looks superb and this is what I have the most of by far hard maple is a little high. I only have a very small amount of this this is what my hens gave me today. About 28% moisture content. Too high to burn yet. And my favorite tools. 350 and 365 special BB

 

[zogger]

Nice!

If you can hold out, that oak will be in the teens for 2015-16 season, but it will burn this winter.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

I think I'll get it c/s/s in its own row. If I'm getting low toward the end of winter I'll try to burn some if needed. Otherwise it will be used for 15/16.

 

[Marshy]

I think you have the right idea, save it if you can burn it if you must. How big of a bar do you have on your 365?

 

[NYCountry]

The longer you wait the better it will burn, but if you have no choice throw it in and stay warm...

 

[svk]

It's always interesting to see actual MM readings versus what you think the wood is at. I know the wood I cut this year is drying much slower than normal due to cool, wet summer.

PS love fresh eggs!

 

[stihly dan]

Those white oak look a lot like red.

 

[Philbo]

Gotta love locust! I have the same moisture meter (from lowes, I think) and it has surprised me on more than one occasion. Standing dead locust, freshly felled and split I have seen around 15-16% before with that meter. Downed (for years) white oak limb, freshly split has measured upwards of 30%. I've got some white pine and locust in the stacks now that's near 12-13%. Hopefully it won't burn too fast!

 

[CRThomas]

I also have one of those meters it has save me with arguments over customers saying my wood is not dry.

 

[Whitespider]

opcorn:
*

 

[CTYank]

There's no magic associated with 20% MC. Except for the open-burning crowd, drier is better. 20% MC is a good start. IMO.

Stacking near the stove for a while drives it down very nicely, thanks.

 

[haveawoody]

I think the MM is ready to burn now LOL

 

[UpOnTheHill]

I think you have the right idea, save it if you can burn it if you must. How big of a bar do you have on your 365?

Its a 28 inch power match and it does surprisingly well with it. The saw has an aftermarket 76cc top end that had the ports cleaned up, base gasket eliminated and a MM. I run it on 91 octane non-E with Stihl Ultra HP as with all my saws. It throws some chips.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

Those white oak look a lot like red.

It very well could be. I googled pictures of white and red oak and according to what I saw, it looked like white.

 

[blacklocst]

Definitely White Oak.

 

[esshup]

I split some red oak today that was cut to 16" lengths and stored bark on up off the ground for about 2 years. Outside 1"-2" was turning punky. Moisture inside showed 20%. I also split some 16" long red oak that was cut in January and the tree split in half lengthwise when it hit the ground. The tree was roughly 36" dia. so the chunks were 36"x18". again the pieces had bark on and were up off the ground. Same moisture reading, even down to 15% near the split side of the piece.

Yeah, it probably doesn't mean much if the meter hasn't been calibrated.... Gotta see if I can find a way to calibrate it. I'll check some more pieces this weekend after they're split that are in contact with the ground to see what they read.

 

[Marshy]

It would be interesting to ask everyone that is attending a GTG that has moisture meter to bring theirs and compare each other on the same split.

 

[JeffHK454]

I was given one of the cheapo HF units and have never had any confidence in it. When I tinkered with it I would get a different reading every time I used it in the same split with only seconds between tests.

How consistent is the unit in the picture?

 

[UpOnTheHill]

I think a moisture meter is like just about everything else. There are some junk ones and better ones that can cost a lot of dollars. The fairly cheap ones wood burners use essentially give you an idea of where the wood is at, not very scientific at all. In any case, the meter can only be as consistent as the wood. The readings you get throughout the wood will vary somewhat no matter the meter. I believe different species will have different consistency within the same piece also. For example, my black locust seems fairly consistent, but my ash is not.

 

[v8titan]

I was given one of the cheapo HF units and have never had any confidence in it. When I tinkered with it I would get a different reading every time I used it in the same split with only seconds between tests.

How consistent is the unit in the picture?

I also have a cheap HF meter. I recall reading the spec's saying that it was accurate to within +- 2%. That's good enough for checking how things are progressing during the seasoning process IMO. I use the meter to help determine which stack to pic from first. I have wood all over my property so I'm always checking come burning season. I don't have a good area that gets full sun all day so I get variability from stack to stack depending on airflow and sun exposure. Might be a little anal measuring so much, but I'm an engineer so I have an excuse.