I wouldn't bother with a moisture meter. Stack your wood 2-3 years (i prefer 3-4 because i get 90% oak) and you'll be good to go. It's not rocket science.
x100000 If I can get any/most of the part off the dead oak I'm splitting I do. Makes a HUGE difference.
Moisture meters as said ( read the above ) are just another toy to play with FOR FIREWOOD. Used for dimension lumber, furniture, and finish carpenters as a needed tool. Want to know when your oaks are ready and dry in your stack ? Look at the ends. See splitting lines ? The wood turning gray ? Then done. Pick up a split. Lighter than when you split it ? Done. Remember, the MM pins only stick in a few mm to "read" moisture anyhow. You can be dead waiting for oak ( including those standing dead oaks ) to dry.
I disagree...neither checking or the color means that its dry...it will have cracks inside of a month most likely, and can turn gray after 6-12 months...oak is not generally ready to burn after 12 months. And as far as weight...the split will be "lighter" the next day after split...not ready to burn
And while I hate, hate, to agree with Brenda, he is correct about oak. Now other species such as ash are not the same as oaks, apple. or any dense wood. However, color, weight,and splitting on the ends after years of drying are how most judge dry firewood splits. Oak takes years to dry. It is never "light" the next day after splitting, or the next year. Now, maybe in Ohio.........
Why don't you just buy one on Amazon for $22.84? Even if it's not the accurate thing it will still be better than having none.
I've picked up plenty of splits (maples, oak, black locust, whatever) and initially thought "Oh this is dry and ready to burn"....... And then I'd stick the moisture meter on it after splitting it again to get tot the center and see 32% or something....... Just because you hear the "clink clink" or it's grey or it "feels" light or whatever.....doesn't mean it is ready for indoor burning. For $22.84 it seems like a small investment to me that takes most of the guessing away.
No. $22.84 is better invested in Geary's Ale. Who the H has the time ( if and only if you're heating 24/7, 100% with wood heat ) to check every split. Use your head, experience, the generations of firewood use to judge when and how to use wood for heat. You need to stick pins in your 1000's of splits to learn when to burn , fine. Stick away. Hey, there may even be an APP for you.
Who said anything about checking every split? Or thousands of splits? It's called spot checking. If you want to spend your $$$ on destroying your liver, be my guest! I'd rather have a rough estimate of how dry a split is using a moisture meter. Have a nice day!
This is why the proper way to do it is to take a split and split it again so you get a fresh slice of the middle of the split. You're not supposed to stick it in at the end of a split that's been drying for xxx amount of time.
Throw some splits in the truck and come on down. I have a MM to give you an idea. Plus lots of different wood here to give you an idea on MC on different types and ages of wood. Like others have said it's nothing set in stone but it takes out some of the guesswork. I use mine mainly for checking my selling wood.
I like having a moisture meter. It's fun to be able to check the wood moisture level if there's ever a question. Ironically, I find myself using it more for wet wood vs dried. As others have mentioned, the longer it's stacked, the better it dries. From experience, the split size I use along with the stack location and length of time gives me burnable wood after a year. The other side of that coin is when I get a bunch of rounds and split them. I then check and see what I'm up against regarding moisture content. On my most recent haul of a few different varieties, the moisture content ranged from 30% to 37%. And to state the obvious: Those rounds had been in log form for about 6 months. So hardly "seasoned".
Ok. I have some red oak that was CSS'd, 3 years ago, that I was planning to burn this heating season. The rack has a fairly sunny location and the ends all greyed out. I know it's there for 3yrs, due to my highly sophisticated dating method, when css'd I took a split and split it again. Moisture meter says : I should be good to go.
That and you take a reading from the inside, where any moisture will be. This is one reason I like MM's. Truth will out.
I'll agree with Dumf that a 12er of Geary's is a great way to spend a few bucks, but having a nice beer or 12 has nothing to do with making sure your fuel is good to go for actually heating your home. However, everything else I'll agree with LordOfTheFlies . I like to have good beer AND dry firewood. No reason you can't have both of you want both. The firewood being dry takes effort and time.
