Ran into a couple like that earlier today. I know this stuff is well over 2 years old and neither split was over about 4" on the wide side. Hmmmm.
I have some small splits that read 14% that have been in my shed split for 3 years and may me 4 yrs old. They get blowing rain when it blows but that's it. It is my only wood that hisses, but just a bit??? I have 18-29 month wood that does nothing, go figure?
What I find with the Oaks is even with a mc around 20% they can still let water out you can see visually. Even at 20% the wood has moisture that has to escape. I've convinced myself it has something to do with the way the fiber in oak is constructed. Probably the same reason it likes to hold on to moisture for so long. It always short lived if it happens to me when the wood is truly seasoned. Could be as simple as the ends wick a little moisture up from rain/snow that boils out quickly. Who knows, if it burns nice don't worry about it! I've had it happen with 3 year stuff stacked in single rows.
Not true did u read I am burning oak @20% with no moisture or hiss out of it yet I have some 2-3yr OLDER wood that reads 14% and it hisses??
I've had it happen on wood that was 3 wood reading 16-17 on the mm and stuff in the low 20's that didn't boil out. I have no logical way to explain it, best to sum it up as oak being a fickle wood that I have a love/hate relationship with.
It's an anomaly that is fairly short lived. Just takes a few extra minutes to get going. It's weird to see now, with most of the wood taking off before I can even get the stove loaded.
At 20% you still have a pound (or a pint) of water for every 5 pounds of wood. Some hiss is bound to happen. Especially as you load it onto a hot bed of coals where part of split interior might super heat, with the steam forcing out water that hasn't steamed yet
Looks like surface moisture to me. 'Wood is not a sponge', but it will soak up a little. I don't cover my stacks, so I see it often. Usually, the wood is in the garage for 1-2 weeks, then in a rack on the hearth overnight, but I still get a hisser. Seems like it is usually soft maple.
Is this right, even as a forester I am still not sure are we talking wet or dry base MC??? Cause there different. I had it for that class in college "wood technology" but don't remember it today? There two different methods but wiwill ld slightly different MC for same wood. It has been discusses somewhere else on the web before but just mentioning that there is two methods.
I'm doing dry basis. The way I think the % content out is: I always have 10 parts oven dry wood. % moisture/10 is the number of parts of water. So 20% means that you have 10 parts of oven dry wood and 2 parts water, or 5lbs wood for every pound of water.
I'm thinking one of the ways to do it you can have over 100% mc . I seen to remember this from school years ago.
Yes, on a dry basis you are expressing it as the weight of water vs. the weight of the oven dry wood. I imagine that Trees like weeping willow are probably over 100%
The sizzling can go on even with 4 and 5 year old oak but for sure once it gets 3 years it won't get much better.
