log burner ignorance

[Joy Yeomans]

yes sorry thats the place i think

[Dean Lofthouse]

What moisture content were the logs you sold ??

 

 

The reason I ask is I ran out of undercover seasoned logs even for myself.

 

But luckily (or so I thought) I had the forthought at the end of summer to sheet over a huge pile of bone dry rings to keep dry as a backup supply.

 

The other day I went down, pulled the sheet from over them to revealwhat looked like still bone dry logs

 

I split them and was happy they were dry but on testing they were 25%, I took them home and have been using them but my stove is performing very poorly with them.

 

I have to stack them at the side of the stove for 24 hours to get them to anything like a decent moisture content to burn efficiently.

 

In my veiw, logs stacked outside with no open side cover over them will never be "properly seasoned" then only logs that work in my stove (smokeless recirculating stove) is 20% and below moisture content

[Kev P]

Our advice to people is get tomorrows logs by the stove today it makes a difference.

[Saw-sick Steve]

What moisture content were the logs you sold ??

 

 

The reason I ask is I ran out of undercover seasoned logs even for myself.

 

But luckily (or so I thought) I had the forthought at the end of summer to sheet over a huge pile of bone dry rings to keep dry as a backup supply

 

 

 

In my veiw, logs stacked outside with no open side cover over them will never be "properly seasoned" then only logs that work in my stove (smokeless recirculating stove) is 20% and below moisture content

If you put a tarp over timber, any moisture evaporating from the ground will be unable to escape and will be absorbed by the wood.

Hardwood in particular will do well stored with no side cover, providing they've got top cover they will be fine, but it's vital to allow air to circulate through the stack.

[Dean Lofthouse]

If you put a tarp over timber, any moisture evaporating from the ground will be unable to escape and will be absorbed by the wood.

Hardwood in particular will do well stored with no side cover, providing they've got top cover they will be fine, but it's vital to allow air to circulate through the stack.

 

They still felt really dry Steve and were around 25% but the was a huge difference between those and my 18% logs in terms of btu output

[woodrascal]

What stove have you got Dean?

[Pine Marten]

In a word WD40.......but obviously don't try this at home....

[Dave Martin]

I just put two firelighters in my stove and chuck the logs on and away it goes. No need for any kindling ...... but then again these are my own logs that I have seasoned

[Dean Lofthouse]

What stove have you got Dean?

 

This one Rascal

 

 

stoves, highlander 3,5,7 stoves and yorkshire stove

[Saw-sick Steve]

They still felt really dry Steve and were around 25% but the was a huge difference between those and my 18% logs in terms of btu output

Getting wood to 25%, or there abouts, is relatively easy. It's that last 5% that's the difficult bit. If they're air dried they'll still stay at the ambient moisture level.

As Kev p says above, its a good idea to get tomorrows wood in today. I've recently built an 'indoor' log store to stack 3-4 nights supply near the woodburner. That extra 48hrs or so in a warm,dry environment makes all the difference.