firewood too wet

[branchbuzzer]

Here's another option that people don't often think of:

Trade your green/wet wood to someone with a large i.e multi-year supply of dry wood. If it's a friend, and you do the labor of moving it around, they might be willing to help you out. They're not really losing anything in the long run because it will be dry by the time they use it. Even a seller might be willing to do it for a nominal fee, I've done it a couple of times.

 

[lmbrman]

clothes dryer ?

 

[branchbuzzer]

clothes dryer ?

clothes dryer mercy kill - YouTube

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/165608.htm

 

[hoosier daddy]

clothes dryer ?

BAhahahaha!!! Can't wait to try this on the MRS. she says the thing makes too much noise durring CSI full of jeans let along firewood!!! CA THUNK, CA THUNK, CA THUNK...

 

[bluestem]

Any chance you could go out and find some standing dead elm to cut?

Sent from my Droid

 

[mayhem100]

Leave the fan on it for a couple weeks and you'll be in much better shape. Its not as good as time, sun and wind, but its a great alternative when you've got nothing else.

Stacking some by your stove is also very effective.

 

[Felman]

I stuff cardboard on top of the stove's load & get it to burn with paper, etc. Amazingly , the moisture from the wood comes up through the cardboard & slows down the fire & then I add more cardboard until the fire looks good.

 

[Encore]

I think this is something we've all run into a little bit this year. At least in the midwest. In my area we are over 30" over the previous rainfall record. The humidity level has been a real pain

I keep my wood that is for this year covered with tarps, but when I get to the lower sticks, the surface of it's going to be a little damp, so what I've been doing is stacking it in the garage until it's about 4' high. Then I have a 42" barrel fan that I leave on low for about 4 days and it drys that stuff out perfectly.

Unless your wood has been split and stacked for about a year, it's going to be a bit more wet than usual this winter. In fact it's raining here right now lol and we are supposed to get another inch or so of rain.

If you stack it up inside, run a dehumidifier and have the exhaust pointed at the wood. You'd be surprised how much it'll help.

But like the others, I say burn the ash first. That stuff is very dry to begin with.

 

[Kensterfly]

Scrounge up some pallets. Use them to get a good hot fire roaring then start adding your green wood. Keep lots of air flowing into the fire and it should burn okay once started. Not ideal but it should work.

You might consider buying a pallet of bio bricks to burn and mix with the green wood. Start now to build up your supply for next year... and the NEXT one.

 

[howellhandmade]

Im hoping i dont half too!

No, that's good advice -- green ash will do better than half-dry cherry. I've burned cherry after one summer seasoning, but it was cut in the spring. Yeah, it burned, but was definitely better the next year.

 

[greendohn]

Wet in the hoosier state this year. If you want dry firewood it better have some sort of protection from the rain. Those that say tarps hold in moisture should come and check my woodpiles. I've got tarps from the grain elevator that they cover piles of corn and throw away in the spring. I don't know what they're made of they are black on one side and white on the other and must have a UV treatment of some kind. I think mine are 5+ years old and still going strong. The china tarps they sell everywhere are pure junk and not worth a rats rear.

i've discovered the very same tarps :biggrin: they are the best !! those boys at the local co-op are almost happy to give it away ... given lots of it to my wood cuttin' buddies,, and your rite,, it has been a wet one around here

 

[CTYank]

For $10 you can get a moisture meter from Harbor Freight, then you can manage your fuelwood on a factual basis. Vice guesswork.

It's all about drying and MC (moisture content.)

 

[logbutcher]

Gather

No, I'm not opinionated: those so-called "moisture meters" are a male t*t for firewood. Just saying. Pins read maybe 1/8" !!! Fine for playing with.

For unseasoned or wet wood build a hot fire under the sticks. Not so difficult: every region has builders, cabinetmakers, furniture manufacturers. They all have hardwood or softwood scraps that they are happy to give away. Quick hot fires to boil off those wet/unseasoned blues. Get it. Easy.

Also: hardwood pallets are a commodity. Try the big box stores such as WalMart, Depot, Lowes. Pallets are a PITA to break down butt easier than sizzling firewood. They give them away....gladly.

Common sense isn't common. otstir:

JMNSHO

 

[madman39]

I wasnt the wood, the dang rain cap was clogged after only two months of burning. The manuel said for pipes over 20ft, it needs to be cleaned ever two months. Its working fine now!

 

[Kensterfly]

Well.... those caps don't get clogged by themselves. If it was clogged after only two months of use... I would Look at your wood!! But, you may be able to get through this winter okay with wet wood. Wet wood needs lots of air. You know now to check your cap often. I'd look it at it least every other week to head off problems. And, again, consider adding something like bio bricks or pallets to the mix.

Once you get a good supply of dry wood, that cap problem just might go away.

 

[greendohn]

not been able to cut any good dead falls/seasoned wood due to the woods and fields being too wet :frown: gettin' kind of skinny in the wood shed on well seasoned wood. the OWB will burn un-seasoned wood, but i try not to for a couple reasons...any who, i have scored some great wood here and there and got it split/stacked in the wood shed, but it's pretty wet wood,,like VERY WET,,cherry, ash, red elm, some walnut,,so i put a big squirrel cage fan on it and the air is movin' like a hurricane!! Thinkin' to myself, "self,,that sure is a bright idea"...and my good nephew, who's home from college, shows up,, I replace the head lite in his lil jap car and we gets to hangin' out, while giving him the dime tour of "Hill-Billy Uncle Dohns'" wood shak, I can see he notices the turbulant air flow and he ask,,"whats the fan for?" I sez to the boy,,"aint you learnin' nuthin' in school boy?",,it's about half rainin' and cool, damp and misty,, He says, "sure, but how do expect to dry that wood when the ambient humidity is 87%,,don't you need DRY air to blow around???",,,:msp_unsure:

 

[Streblerm]

No, I'm not opinionated: those so-called "moisture meters" are a male t*t for firewood. Just saying. Pins read maybe 1/8" !!! Fine for playing with.

For unseasoned or wet wood build a hot fire under the sticks. Not so difficult: every region has builders, cabinetmakers, furniture manufacturers. They all have hardwood or softwood scraps that they are happy to give away. Quick hot fires to boil off those wet/unseasoned blues. Get it. Easy.

Also: hardwood pallets are a commodity. Try the big box stores such as WalMart, Depot, Lowes. Pallets are a PITA to break down butt easier than sizzling firewood. They give them away....gladly.

Common sense isn't common. otstir:

JMNSHO

I respectfully disagree with you that they are useless. Of course if you want any kind of accurate reading you need to take a piece out of the pile and split it in half, then take the reading in the center of the piece that you just split. In my pile the lesser hardwoods are mixed in with the better stuff so there are different densities in play. This can make "dry by weight" determination difficult. I have found that wood below 30% mc has that "baseball bat sound" but the difference between 20 and 30% moisture content can be 2-300 degrees in my stove.

You may also find that the wood is very wet on the outside but dry as can be on the inside. In that case a week inside or some time next to the stove and you are good to go. Conversely you could find the wood is dry on the outside but still wet on the inside in which case a little time inside won't do much to help.

I'm not saying a moisture meter is absolulely necessary or the only way to tell if your wood is dry, but it is nice to have. It's about as useless as a tape measure. Sure you can build things with strings and story sticks and sometimes those methods work better than a tape measure, less room for error. Sometimes it is nice to know exactly how long something is.

 

[zogger]

not been able to cut any good dead falls/seasoned wood due to the woods and fields being too wet :frown: gettin' kind of skinny in the wood shed on well seasoned wood. the OWB will burn un-seasoned wood, but i try not to for a couple reasons...any who, i have scored some great wood here and there and got it split/stacked in the wood shed, but it's pretty wet wood,,like VERY WET,,cherry, ash, red elm, some walnut,,so i put a big squirrel cage fan on it and the air is movin' like a hurricane!! Thinkin' to myself, "self,,that sure is a bright idea"...and my good nephew, who's home from college, shows up,, I replace the head lite in his lil jap car and we gets to hangin' out, while giving him the dime tour of "Hill-Billy Uncle Dohns'" wood shak, I can see he notices the turbulant air flow and he ask,,"whats the fan for?" I sez to the boy,,"aint you learnin' nuthin' in school boy?",,it's about half rainin' and cool, damp and misty,, He says, "sure, but how do expect to dry that wood when the ambient humidity is 87%,,don't you need DRY air to blow around???",,,:msp_unsure:

Ha, he got ya! HAHAHAHAHA!

I was wondering how good a vacuum chamber might work for drying....no particular reason, just heard of everything else....

 

[logbutcher]

I respectfully disagree with you that they are useless. Of course if you want any kind of accurate reading you need to take a piece out of the pile and split it in half, then take the reading in the center of the piece that you just split. In my pile the lesser hardwoods are mixed in with the better stuff so there are different densities in play. This can make "dry by weight" determination difficult. I have found that wood below 30% mc has that "baseball bat sound" but the difference between 20 and 30% moisture content can be 2-300 degrees in my stove.

You may also find that the wood is very wet on the outside but dry as can be on the inside. In that case a week inside or some time next to the stove and you are good to go. Conversely you could find the wood is dry on the outside but still wet on the inside in which case a little time inside won't do much to help.

I'm not saying a moisture meter is absolulely necessary or the only way to tell if your wood is dry, but it is nice to have. It's about as useless as a tape measure. Sure you can build things with strings and story sticks and sometimes those methods work better than a tape measure, less room for error. Sometimes it is nice to know exactly how long something is.

Sorry, I don't agree. Not respectfully.

A tape is NECESSARY to build, to measure accurately. Not just a "nice to know". A tool such as the M² is a true "nice to have", a play tool for firewood. Definitely NOT accurate as you say for FIREWOOD.

If you use wood for heating, you use experience, common sense, and acquired skills to judge seasoned firewood. We just don't have the time or desire to stick pins in every stick we use. It's enough to fell, limb, clear brush, skid, hump, buck, stack, split, stack, lug into wood rack, load stove, drink.......your effort and order will vary.

Repeating the peer-reviewed techniques used all or some, all or some of the time :
1. Look at the color of the splits--usually a grayish, weathered tint for many hardwoods if seasoned.
2. The ends will usually ( remember, "usually" ) show cracks.
3. Knock 2 of the splits for a "baseball bat" ringing sound. Wet or unseasoned wood will sound hollow--a thud.
4. The sizzle: if the splits sizzle in the furnace, OWB, wood stove, or fireplace, you have wet or unseasoned wood.
5. Weight: if one harvests their own firewood one knows how much the wood weighs before splitting and stacking, and following. Heft the damn splits in your hand.
One gets to know. Who one ?:hmm3grin2orange:

The above is not rocket science. NOW AS FOR WHETHER OR NOT TO STORE WITH BARK UP OR DOWN, THAT IS A SERIOUS QUESTION!:msp_ohmy:

If you have the time or mill lumber, the M² can be useful. But analogous to a tape measure ? Not.:msp_confused:

Now, for the price of your tool, one can enjoy their favorite beverage.....or not.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

[Streblerm]

Sorry, I don't agree. Not respectfully.

A tape is NECESSARY to build, to measure accurately. Not just a "nice to know". A tool such as the M² is a true "nice to have", a play tool for firewood. Definitely NOT accurate as you say for FIREWOOD.

If you use wood for heating, you use experience, common sense, and acquired skills to judge seasoned firewood. We just don't have the time or desire to stick pins in every stick we use. It's enough to fell, limb, clear brush, skid, hump, buck, stack, split, stack, lug into wood rack, load stove, drink.......your effort and order will vary.

Repeating the peer-reviewed techniques used all or some, all or some of the time :
1. Look at the color of the splits--usually a grayish, weathered tint for many hardwoods if seasoned.
2. The ends will usually ( remember, "usually" ) show cracks.
3. Knock 2 of the splits for a "baseball bat" ringing sound. Wet or unseasoned wood will sound hollow--a thud.
4. The sizzle: if the splits sizzle in the furnace, OWB, wood stove, or fireplace, you have wet or unseasoned wood.
5. Weight: if one harvests their own firewood one knows how much the wood weighs before splitting and stacking, and following. Heft the damn splits in your hand.
One gets to know. Who one ?:hmm3grin2orange:

The above is not rocket science. NOW AS FOR WHETHER OR NOT TO STORE WITH BARK UP OR DOWN, THAT IS A SERIOUS QUESTION!:msp_ohmy:

If you have the time or mill lumber, the M² can be useful. But analogous to a tape measure ? Not.:msp_confused:

Now, for the price of your tool, one can enjoy their favorite beverage.....or not.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

My analogy is perfectly accurate. There are many impressive structures still standing that were built not only without a tape measure, but without standardized measurements. A tape measure is a convenient tool that allows multiple different people at different locations to quantify a distance in the same way. Much the way a moisture meter allows people to do the same thing with a piece of wood and its moisture content.

Your methods for determining how dry a piece of wood are not standardized. Im not saying they dont work, but they don't work 100% of the time and are not necessarily repeatable across a wide range of people.

Color? what about pieces shielded in the center of a pile or dried in a woodshed. The color changes very little.

Cracks? lots of wood cracks within weeks of being split, doesn't mean its dry.

Sound? from measuring several species of wood some will ring when they are green off the stump. I've heard bowling pin ring from wood with 30% MC

Weight? I defy you to tell the difference betyween a piece of wood at 20%mc vs 25%mc. My stove can tell the difference to the tune of a 200 degree temperature difference

Sizzling wood? right, that's like trying to find a witch by drowning a person.

Use a moisture meter or don't, it makes no difference to me. It has helped me understand how and why my stove behaves the way it does. I firmly believe that the first step to understanding anything is measuring it.