Measuring firewood

[joespruce]

Hello,
This will be my first season heating with wood and I would like some help to make sure I get what I am paying for with regards to firewood.

First of all the person I am buying from says it has seasoned for at least 6 months but is splitting it just prior to delivery.  Is that right?  Will the wood properly season when it is unsplit?

Also how will I know that it is the right amount?  I think he will just dump it on the lawn and I will have to stack it.  Is there a way of ensuring that he delivers the right amount prior to paying?  I don't expect he'll just wait around while I stack it.

Thanks,
Joe

[Warbird]

Hi.  This is just my opinion.  Wood seasons better when it is split but it still seasons in 'log form'.  It just goes a bit slower.  It seasons even slower if left in long logs.  6 months in logs bucked to size isn't bad.  6 months in split form would be pretty good.

One possible way to determine how much he delivers is to be there when he drops it off and view it in the truck before he unloads it.  Depending on the size of the bed, whether he stacked it in the truck or just mounded it in, and by determining how high the mound/stack goes, you can make a quick guestimate on the amount of wood that is there. 

*edit* You could also just ask him how he delivers it and how he measures a cord, before you ask him to deliver.  Might save you some heartache.

Hope this helps.

[DouginUtah]

There seems to be a lot of interest in Firewood Processors...

This is the second email I have received asking if I sell them.  :D

"Hello Greeting to you and  the company well my name is Scott Willson and  i will like to Know if you sell some Firewood Processor  and  If you do email me with the  price range on them  so that i will let you know the quantity that  i am interested in purchasing thank you"

8)

[beenthere]

joespruce
I won't burn it until it has been split and under cover for at least a year, and preferably two years. A big difference in the heat output from wood that has dried two years.

But many people try to use it the first year. Depending on the species, you might get some heat from it. Just takes more wood to get the heat, as much of the energy goes into boiling off the moisture, making steam.

But try to get some cut and split this year for the winter a year from now. That will help you a lot.

Keep warm.  ;D

[Warbird]

What kind of wood do you burn, BT?  Does the type of wood make that big of a difference in how long it should be seasoned?

We burn mainly Alaskan spruce and birch.  I have heard the "2+ years seasoned while split" theory before but my problem with that is in how fast the wood burns.  Even with our nice wood stove where I can control the burn, I get much shorter burn times out of wood seasoned 2+ years.  This is just my experience but 6 - 8 months seasoning while split, especially for spruce, seems to be best for us.

My theory has been that the 2+ years thing was mainly to reduce creosote buildup.  Any truth in that?  I sweep my own chimneys and the first year we burnt mostly green wood.  Had a *huge* amount of creosote.  The last 2 years we've burned wood that was seasoned 6 - 12 months (some of that time being 'winter seasoning').  We still had some creosote but it was drastically less.

[beenthere]

I burn only hardwoods...mainly white oak, red oak, hickory, elm, and white ash.
Won't bother with pine, aspen, or basswood.
Have some soft maple available, but haven't tried burning any...it is lighter weight than the other hardwoods I have available.

I go more by the heat output vs the volume loaded, so that is prolly where you go through the spruce and birch pretty fast if real dry. I don't get near the heat out of the woods split less than two years. And that is split and stacked under cover from rain/snow.

Gotta burn what you have available. 

[Warbird]

I'd love to be able to burn hickory or oak that wasn't suitable for anything else.  I've heard stories of how nice it heats.  Yup, gotta burn what you have available.

[submarinesailor]

You guys should try locust.  SOme of the old timers around here have been known to call it "poor mans coal".  Seasoned, it burns hot and long with little creosote build up.

Bruce

[tyb525]

Apple burns real good too.

[mike_van]

When buying firewood, the word 'seasoned' should be banned - It's got to be subject to more mis-information than a political campaign.  Is it dry enough to burn or is it wet?  In the lower 48, unless you're in some semi arid climate, there is no wood that drys 'in the log' I've never sawn up a log that wasn't wet inside.  When that wood comes Joe, look to see if all the ends are weathered, or only a few. If only a few, it's not dry at all, not in my opinion.  You may get some of it to burn, but you'll get no where near the heat you should out of it.

[joespruce]

Thanks for all the input.  So other than weathered ends are there other reliable ways to check for moisture content?

Thanks again,

Joe

[Tom]

Split a piece with a hatchet. See what is inside. 

[beenthere]

Joe
You can check the moisture very accurately by having a good scale to weigh a piece, like a 2" cube. Then dry it in the oven (or carefully in the microwave). Divide the dry weight into the difference between the wet and dry weight, multiply by 100 for the percent.

Take some samples within the split pieces, away from the ends or surface.

Some people say they can drop a piece on a hard surface like a rock, and tell if it is dry by the "ring" sound it makes. I can't do that.  

A postage scale, or something similar should work pretty good.

This is the best procedure to check kiln samples and to check the accuracy of moisture meters too.  

[rebocardo]

> Will the wood properly season when it is unsplit?

If it is cut into <18" lengths, yes.

> Also how will I know that it is the right amount? 
> he delivers the right amount prior to paying?

Measure the truck/trailer bed in inches. (Width x Length x Height) / 1728 = cubic feet

> I get much shorter burn times out of wood seasoned 2+ years.

But, more heat per pound. It burns slower because you are basically wasting heat boiling water.

[Mooseherder]

Hello,
This will be my first season heating with wood and I would like some help to make sure I get what I am paying for with regards to firewood.

Also how will I know that it is the right amount?  I think he will just dump it on the lawn and I will have to stack it.  Is there a way of ensuring that he delivers the right amount prior to paying?  I don't expect he'll just wait around while I stack it.

Thanks,
Joe

You may need to take delivery and verify after.  Some Northern Firewood processers deliver a 6 cord or a ten cord load.  This would be very hard to verify for someone unless you have previous experience.  After you verify, you decide to do future business with them or not.
Some dealers now deliver on pallets.   2 pallets 4 foot high make a full cord.  Or a single run, 24 foot long and 4 ft. high.
Here is a picture of 2 cords.  Each stack is 24 feet long and 4 ft high. (These stacks may be a tad over 4ft high)

[RSteiner]

When buying firewood, the word 'seasoned' should be banned - It's got to be subject to more mis-information than a political campaign.  Is it dry enough to burn or is it wet?  In the lower 48, unless you're in some semi arid climate, there is no wood that drys 'in the log' I've never sawn up a log that wasn't wet inside.  When that wood comes Joe, look to see if all the ends are weathered, or only a few. If only a few, it's not dry at all, not in my opinion.  You may get some of it to burn, but you'll get no where near the heat you should out of it.

I totally agree that "seasoned wood" is a very misleading term.  It has been my experience burning wood to heat our home for over 30 years that logs left in a pile for 6 months then split and delievered is not going to be as dry as it should to give you maximum heat output.
Unless, the wood you are buying is ash or cherry. 

If the logs were on the bottom of the pile there is a good chance they are not dry at all.  One of several ways to tell how dry your wood is look at the ends of the wood after it has been in the stove burning for 10 or 15 minutes.  If you see moisture hissing out the end of the wood it is not dry.

Pile your split wood in single rows where the wind and the sun can get to it and keep the top of the pile dry.  You will be amased at the difference even a few weeks can make drying wood this time of the year.

The only way to tell if you got the full measure of what you were told is to stack the wood and measure the cubic volume of the pile, 128 cubic feet per stacked cord whic is lenght x width x height in feet.  I have learned that cord wood just dumped into a truck takes up more room than you think.  I would safely say a cord of dumped in wood is at least 180 cubic feet.

I would make a deal with the seller that if the piled volume of wood comes out short of what they said it should be that they make up the short fall.

Randy

[york]

Joe,

you should order your wood early-guys that are in the wood business,most of them split and deliver at the same time-they are loosing money if they stack it-when you stack it at your place,then you will know if ya got what you paid for..bert

[beenthere]

Hello,
This will be my first season heating with wood and I would like some help to make sure I get what I am paying for with regards to firewood.

First of all the person I am buying from says it has seasoned for at least 6 months but is splitting it just prior to delivery.  Is that right?  Will the wood properly season when it is unsplit?

Also how will I know that it is the right amount?  I think he will just dump it on the lawn and I will have to stack it.  Is there a way of ensuring that he delivers the right amount prior to paying?  I don't expect he'll just wait around while I stack it.

Thanks,
Joe

Joe
Have you been able to determine the moisture content of your firewood?
How is it doing?

[ADAMINMO]

DouginUtah,

  The way that letter is written it has "SCAM" written all over it! I would not even respond. We have been getting several scammer e-mails about equiptment and buying large quantities. I mean really , who buy 10 - $120,000.00 end dogging scragg mills , or 25 -      $60,000.00 firewood processors. Those people are crazy.

[joespruce]

Hi Guys,

The wood I had delivered would not burn even when added to a roaring fire it just sort of sizzles and smokes.  My guess is that it's totally green, but like I said I am green myself when it comes to wood burning.  The quantity also came up a bit short.  He was supposed to deliver 7 face cords which turned out when stacked to be only 6 and 1/3 face cords.  Needless to say I won't be purchasing the rest of the wood he was supposed to deliver.

I have now lined up another delivery of four full cords which they claim has been seasoning in split form since early summer and in log form for at least a year.  Fortunately he is delivering it in three loads on the same day, so I will stack it as it comes and deal with him if there is a problem when he gets back. 

I appreciate all the input here, hopefully this delivery works out as I need it for this winter.

Thanks,
Joe

[stonebroke]

If you want to burn the green wood a little quicker you could resplit it into smaller pieces. More surface area exposed the quicker it seasons.

Stonebroke

[Warbird]

Sorry to hear the first firewood delivered was totally green.  On the plus side, you've already got a start on next years firewood.

[Chuck White]

A cord of fire-wood is a stack 4' high 4' deep (front to back) and 8' long.  This is referred to as a "full cord".

A cord of fire-wood is a stack 4' high and 8' long and usually cut into 16-18 inch blocks.  This is referred to as a "face cord".

[rebocardo]

When burning green wood, sometimes it helps to have a grate or pan over the stove and putting the next fews pieces on to help dry them out before popping them in.