First, my tool usage methodology: cut a split in half and measure on the fresh face parallel to the grain pushing the pins of my meter as far as I can go. I believe this to be the correct method. My calibration checks out when tested. I am not hitting any buttons when testing other than on/off. I'm testing at 72F temperature. I've gone through about a face cord of hardwood (mostly ash) so far this year and I'm finding that I need to use wood that is below 15% on the meter to get a good burn in my stove. Has anybody else had this experience? If I put a 19% MC split into my stove it burns like wet (hissing, blackened glass etc). I know everyone says you need to be below 20% but I'm finding that I really need to be under 15% on the meter to get clean burns.
Sounds right to me. Im glad you mentioned that you are testing at 72f. I burn a lot of larch and find if it is at 20% mc that I dont get a very good burn and it seems to be to "wet" for my stove so I shoot for closer to 15% like you do.
Doesn’t the General MM have a hi/lo button? Which one is default at powering on? Or is there no difference between the two scalings at lower MC’s of what one might be jabbing?
Something seems wrong with the meter, below 20% shouldn't have any hissing or popping, maybe I'm wrong. Do you know which wood it does this with specifically? Or anything you burn?
I know my cat like less than 20% MC. 16 to 18 is standard here.. read 3 year plan.. some wood pops regardless of how dry.. my biggest culprit is elm
Yes, check your meter to make sure it's set correctly. This is where I like to have a second mm to verify it's reading right.
I mean, it's kinda all good because as long as I get <15% the wood is great. The meter is consistent, It's just weird how my experience seems to be 5%+ off or more compared to what others say.
These meters are cheap...+/- 2-3% (more?) most likely... JRHAWK9 found this to be true when comparing 2 meters recently...the 2 consistently read exactly 4% different.
A "face cord" already...................and in KY???? I'll bet I've not burned 1 full wheel barrow yet...................and I'm 400 miles North of you!!!
I found once I burned oak that was really nice and well seasoned I wasn't happy with "good enough" any more. Course, I can be a bit of a frugal Yankee, so there's that too.
The "3 year ahead" plan first posed and advocated by Backwoods Savage here...............and a prior place...................is the gold standard for burning both well and properly in a modern EPA wood stove.
I live further south and I’ve already burned more than 1/3 cord. Southerners are as cold intolerant as Yankees are of the heat.
I am 12ish miles from Canadian border or 45th parallel and have not had heat on yet and had white on grass
A couple factors in this: - We had a cold snap for a week last month that went down to 26 - I have a fancy new stove and wanted to use it - I have a fireplace that absolutely chews through wood. It will burn in 2 hours what the stove burns in a day. But yeah it's mid-70s now and all week.
