Can wood gain moisture in a owb?

[blkcloud]

This morning I filled my owb with some 18-20% moisture content hackberry... I also put in a chunk of 30% moisture white oak on top. Tonight I took out the white oak chunk and split it to check the moisture.. After sitting in the heater for 15 hours it checked 50%.... Now how in the heck can this be??? I was expecting it to be 20 maybe 25... But 50????

 

[svk]

Are you checking a freshly split side, or the end?

The end is going to read more dry than the rest of the wood before you throw it in and much higher later as the moisture cooks out of the ends.

 

[blkcloud]

Dead center of the freshly split side

 

[svk]

Was the wood frozen before you threw it in? That will throw off the basic MM's.

 

[NSMaple1]

Did you check it on a fresh split surface when you got the 30 also?

I think once you get into above that much MC, meter readings aren't very reliable. Can't see how it could possibly pick up any moisture, let alone go from 30 to 50. Can't see that happening even sitting outside in a rain storm.

So the wood spent 15 hours in the OWB and it didn't burn?

 

[Whitespider]

Magic‼ Friggin' magic, I tell ya'‼

Your moisture meter measures the electrical conductance between the two pins... more moisture, more conductance.

First of all, the fiber saturation point of wood is approximately 30%. As moisture content in wood approaches fiber saturation point the relationship between electrical conductance and moisture content correlates poorly. Meaning any readings over about 25% from an inexpensive moisture meter are flat meaningless. Even readings from the best and most sophisticated meters are questionable at moisture levels much over 30%.

Second, temperature has a significant effect on electrical conductance in wood... your inexpensive moisture meter does not do temperature correction calculations.

Third, the electrical conductance of wood changes with species... at any given moisture level the conductance will be different in Hackberry and White Oak. For example, at 80°, if the measured resistance is 1 million ohms in Hackberry that's around 18% moisture... but 1 million ohms in White Oak is closer to 21% moisture. Your moisture meter does not know what species of wood it's testing, and it don't know what the temperature of the wood is, it only know that it's seeing 1 million ohms... so what value do you suppose it displays??

I'll tell you what it displays... it displays the moisture content of the species it's calibrated for, at the temperature it's calibrated for...
And if I had to guess how it's calibrated... pine and fir construction lumber at 70°... so 1 million ohms will cause it to display 23% moisture. And the error is not linear... meaning as the wood gets dryer the the error factor increases. At 15% moisture the Hackberry value would be about 4 million ohms... but White Oak at 15% moisture would be nearly 13 million ohms, over 3 times higher‼

There ain't no friggin' magic... your 18-20% Hackberry reading is wrong, your 30% White Oak reading was wrong (likely way, way, way wrong), and your 50% reading is just flat bogus.
*

 

[blkcloud]

Did you check it on a fresh split surface when you got the 30 also?

I think once you get into above that much MC, meter readings aren't very reliable. Can't see how it could possibly pick up any moisture, let alone go from 30 to 50. Can't see that happening even sitting outside in a rain storm.

So the wood spent 15 hours in the OWB and it didn't burn?

Yes 15 hours.. It was one of the last pieces I loaded into the stove.. It's not real cold here now so it wasn't really doing much as far as heating.. It was chared on the outside..

 

[blkcloud]

Was the wood frozen before you threw it in? That will throw off the basic MM's.

No

 

[svk]

How hot was the split when you tested it the second time? Something is throwing off your reading.

I have never seen wood higher than 48% MC with my meter, talking early summer cut wood that is literally dripping wet.

 

[blkcloud]

It was right out of the heater.. Smoldering.. I wondered if heat affected moisture content reading .. Apparently so.. I'm going to pull another one out and let it cool before checking

 

[Pruning@trunk]

Since it had some moisture to begin with in it, the moisture from inside is cooking out of it and coming out from the ends of the wood giving it a higher reading--that is if you checked it on the ends both times.

 

[blkcloud]

Since it had some moisture to begin with in it, the moisture from inside is cooking out of it and coming out from the ends of the wood giving it a higher reading--that is if you checked it on the ends both times.

No, I split the piece and checked in the center of the split.. Not the ends..

 

[mohick]

Yeah we been pretty dry here I been putting wood in O W B and putting bucket under door and watering garden , chicken, calves and such wish I would have known about this sooner!!!!!!!!

 

[blkcloud]

I took out a piece that had the ends cracked and charred, split it and let it cool.. checked the MC.. still 28-30..this was after it sat inside the heater on top of a bunch of other wood for 8 hours..

 

[mohick]

sounds like your water maker is working pretty well !!!!!!!!!!!hahahahahahahhahhaha

 

[mohick]

Man I would like to quit burning for the year, but is still dry and I need the water the O W B makes out of the wood !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mohick]

Going to go to Toys Are Us tonight and buy a moisture meter so I can see how much moisture is in all this water my O W B is making out of wood might be "Wet Water" maybe a market here hahahahahahahha

 

[StihlKicking]

Why would anyone check the moisture content of a half burned piece of wood? [emoji1]

 

[mohick]

cause they got a tinker toy and think they have to use it !! I hear some people use them to check their dogs turds to see if dog is dehydrated???

 

[absrio]

cause they got a tinker toy and think they have to use it !! I hear some people use them to check their dogs turds to see if dog is dehydrated???

how else would you know if its dehydrated?? pssshhh!!! what do you use?? your hands?!?!?!