Had delivery of wood and it is quite wet...

[carbs for arbs]

Hi all

 

I hadn't planned on buying any wood, as we've got plenty.  But having only just had a wood stove installed, and spending evenings assessing its performance, I wanted to be 100% sure I was burning decent seasoned wood.  So I bought a load and it was delivered today.  

 

Some of the logs are a bit wet and they don't look particularly grey and cracked on the whole.  I'm inexperienced, and haven't bought before, so it's hard to say whether these are not seasoned well, or seasoned but wet from being left out.  Either way, is it normal to receive wood that's damp / wet?  

 

I've got a cheap moisture meter but not sure how helpful it's being.  One log can sometimes vary wildly when stabbed in a couple of different spots.  But for the record, some of the wood is reading early 20s, whilst others were as high as 80.  And that was after splitting!  

 

I know there's not much to go on but any thoughts? 

 

Cheers

[rapalaman]

I wouldn’t be burning any of that till it’s been properly dried ready for next winter.

if you put a location someone on here maybe able to supply some decent dry logs or know iof someone who may have a little stock left (bit of a shortage now as so many people at home burning during lockdown)

[Dbikeguy]

So you had a delivery of ‘dry’ wood but it wasn’t split?

[Stere]

 

 

Never had a reading any where as high as of 80% with a moisture meter   something odd there unless wood is underwater or meter  is faulty?

 

 

 

 

Maybe wood is part rotten and & like a sponge absorbed water check the structure of the end grain. See pic of this spruce as an example. Certain woods  go rotten fast it turns to mush and you can see it at the cut ends of the logs

 

Often rubbish firwood sellers keep roundwood outside to long then  log it up only just before delivery.

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Stere

[gdh]

It will always be wetter after splitting because it's harder to dry the middle but it sounds like yours are too damp either way. Getting different readings is normal but anything over 40 is probably inaccurate as the meters aren't designed for it. Anything under 25 should be fine to burn though.

 

If they're slightly damp they should be ok after a few days stacked by the fire but if they're really bad I would get them swapped (assuming they didn't get wet after delivery).

 

[Mik the Miller]

38 to 40% is green, wet wood, 80% sounds wrong, a meter failure/fault ?

Buy a new meter, they are not expensive and worth every penny.

 

Split and check the inside of the wood with your meter, 25% or less is good to go.

Any more than mid twenties and you should probably call the bloke who sold it to you and ask him what he thinks.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Mik the Miller

[Witterings]

Don't mean to be harsh but those readings sound like you've bought from the cheapest guy around .... who's probably not the person to buy from and it's probably not seasoned properly.

 

You've not had your new burner installed that long, find a decent seller, buy some more from them (properly seasoned) and enjoy it with the rest of the cold season which will only be a few more weeks, you've not lost money as the others will be seasoned for next year.

[skyhuck]

5 hours ago, Witterings said:

Don't mean to be harsh but those readings sound like you've bought from the cheapest guy around .... who's probably not the person to buy from and it's probably not seasoned properly.

 

You've not had your new burner installed that long, find a decent seller, buy some more from them (properly seasoned) and enjoy it with the rest of the cold season which will only be a few more weeks, you've not lost money as the others will be seasoned for next year.

Where in his post did you get the idea he had bought from the cheapest guy around?

[Paddy1000111]

If you're getting readings as high as 80 is that from the middle of a freshly split piece or the end grain? If it's been left out in the rain it will show very high on the ends. Still too wet to burn but will dry an awful lot quicker than if you were getting high readings in the centre of freshly split? 

[Witterings]

3 hours ago, skyhuck said:

Where in his post did you get the idea he had bought from the cheapest guy around?

 

Really ?? ...... So did he buy it from the person who only sells properly seasoned hardwood that's kept under cover and can charge a premium because of the quality.

Re read what I wrote ..... "sounds like" .... it's just flagging a possibility.