Cured wood?

[TonyG]

Is six months long enough for cut wood, not split, to be classified as "cured".

With this CB2300, needing cured wood to keep it's stack opacity down, should I just buy a few dried cords? Or will the wood that I cut now be ready for November?
I have a small property where this unit is going, and I want it as clean as it can possibly get.

 

[Nailsbeats]

I wouldn't call that cured or seasoned. Everybody's definition of dry wood is different. I use a woodstove in my house and put all of my wood in a woodshed. I don't burn anything less than 2 years split and dried, and prefer 3 or more. Hardwoods like white oak and red oak take a long time to get to where they will put out maximum btu's with minimum creosote.

In short, it depends on the type of wood, size of wood, split or not, drying conditions, and stove to be used.

Looks like you are using a central boiler. I have never used them and know that it's a whole different game than how I heat. Wood is bigger and usually a higher moisture content can be used, also you don't have to worry about creosote in the flu or chimney much.

 

[Rookie1]

I think it depends on the type of wood. I just split some sycamore and maple last week. I can see the sycamore has alot more moisture than the maple. Plus where its stacked makes a big difference too.

 

[Locoweed]

Climate is a factor. Hot dry climates will dry wood much faster than humid areas. Out here, 6 months of summer is plenty long enough for stuff that is less than 12" in diameter. Your area will take much longer.

 

[Austin1]

Climate is a factor. Hot dry climates will dry wood much faster than humid areas. Out here, 6 months of summer is plenty long enough for stuff that is less than 12" in diameter. Your area will take much longer.

+1 on climate! I live in a very dry area except this last few day's lol. I find I can burn pine once split into firewood size in about 6 Months, although I prefer longer as the bark seems to hold a bit of resin.
I have a friend that is from Newfoundland or as I say a Newfe, when he comes to visit he always say's dam my snot has dried up it is so dry here.

 

[Mike Van]

What you buy now or this fall as 'dry or seasoned' may well have been just cut this year & thrown in some huge pile. A lot depends on the seller. If you can stack someplace where it's in the sun all day, up off the ground, cover just the top, and do it in single rows, double rows at the most, you'll have some pretty dry wood when the season starts. A lot of 'ifs', I know, but, every day you lose now is a day it isn't drying. Once you get into late Sept. here in New England, not much dries. The days are shorter & the warm ones are pretty much gone. Ash has less moisture content than the oaks do, if you can find it, it'll dry better.

 

[blackdogon57]

Get a moisture meter

In my opinion its not a question of how long the wood has been seasoned rather how dry the wood is when it comes time to burn. If you use a good quality meter there is no quess work. If your spending 10K on a boiler why not spend 50 bucks on a meter and you wil know for sure. If you can get the wood down to 15-17% you will not have problems with smoke.

Where and how you store the wood is just as important as the amount of time that is has to dry. Find the windiest area of your property, get it off the ground (pallets are excellent), dont stack rows too closley, cover the tops of the rows if you can and you should have no problem with cutting in the Spring for next winters wood.

That being said if you go the 2-3 year route and store the wood properly you will be guaranteed to have dry wood - no guess work there. The problem there is finding the time and $$ to get yourself that far ahead !!

Good luck with your CB. I have a 6048 and and happy with but it burns a lot of wood (15-20 cord for 2800' house and 1200' out building)

 

[TonyG]

blackdog,

any recommendations on a quality moisture meter?

 

[ray benson]

We have been burning wood since the 70's. Most years the wood is cut and split in the spring and summer. Then used from October to May. Any wood left over at the end of the burning season is used first the next season. The woodpile gets tarped in late September after a prolonged dry spell.

 

[blackdogon57]

Moisture Meter

any recommendations on a quality moisture meter?

Bought mine here:

www.electrophysics.on.ca

Mine is MT700. They have many different types. Have had it for 2 years - very rugged and reliable . I keep it in my truck when making firewood deliveries. If a customer questions the dryness of my wood I can show them exactly how dry it is on the spot.

 

[woodbooga]

This is a timely thread for me, as I'm splitting and stacking now.

While I don't have much land for an ideal stack for the 5-6 cords we'll need, the location we have dries wood real fast - faces south (maximum sun) and gets a nice summer breeze, so even newly split oak (I split to about 3"-5" for our wood cookstove, which prefers small wood) seasons in 6 months.

A family member who's been burning for about 60 years tells me that I needn't stack and cover in the sun and then move my pile into our barn in the fall. He maintains that, once split, with the barn door and a few windows open, our greenwood will season just fine for this winter's burning. To be sure, there is decent airflow, but zero sun. Thoughts?