Welcome, Sam. I have a meter but I'm getting pretty good at judging by the heft (depending on specie.) Meter is good to have though, only $16 at Harbor Fright. I've found sound to be hit or miss, can depend on the shape and size of the split etc, but if they "ring like a bell" they are pretty darned dry.
I'm going to have to look for that HF moisture meter. I'm headed to our local outlet this month for xmas presents so maybe the wife will let me slip that purchase in there too! That's exactly what I meant about sound as well, the dull thud just isn't going to cut it! More pictures to come, it's getting tougher to get good ones during the week though, with the shorter days!
Good to have you here Sam. Would like to see anything to do with your wood burning process. Stove/furnace, equipment, stacks, tools, etc.
Jordan on 169. Know that route well as that's how I drive to NW Wisconsin or Duluth when I go. Welcome aboard....but as I said before, the new guy buys the beer!
Welcome to the forum Sam. Don't feel bad about not having a moisture meter. We've been burning well over 50 years and have not only never owned one but could not see any use for one around here. We have pretty good wood drying time. For example, we'll be burning the last of the 2008-2009 wood this fall then the 2009-2010. One exception is some oak we got from a neighbor. That stuff was cut 12 or more years ago. We split and stacked it (did have to cut some) 2 years ago and we'll probably burn most of that this winter. There is a cord of that. The rest is mostly white ash with a few elm and cherry mixed in. On the drying, we've always considered wind to be much more important than sunshine. We even sometimes stack where there will be no sun and the wood does fine. But then, we also try to make sure the wood we're burning has been split and stacked for 3 years. On that dead stuff, we normally burn a lot of dead elm. We've found if we leave it until the bark is mostly off the tree, the top 2/3 will be ready to burn right away but that bottom third is best to leave another year. Same with the ash or usually most any standing dead tree. For other information on wood and burning wood, here is a good link: http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/resources/primer-on-woodburning-by-backwoods-savage.6/ Just click on the "Download now" button and you'll have a few pages of information.
Regarding the wood you burned in the shop, if you tossed it on a hot coal bed and water didn't bubble out the ends, maybe only hissed a bit for 10 min. or so, I wouldn't be surprised if it was under 25%.
Sounds like a road trip! Of course Highway 60 is almost all four lane now....drops off at least a half hour getting to the Cities.
There was no hissing or fuss to speak of and that was tossed in on a full coal bed. Most of the pieces I tried were what I call full round one-handers; an un-split piece that I can pick up with one hand from the end. That's the gauge I use as to whether or not I need to split them at least once. Anyway, I threw those in there along with a few split pieces and she just kept chugging along unabated. Like Backwoods Savage said, I think the tops of these standing dead elms and ash are pretty dang dry since the bark has pretty nearly fallen completely off them. I do find some rot in the center down within 20-60" of the stump but that ain't bad for wood this dry. The only downside I see is that they are fairly "ashy". Not as bad as box elder but way more than straight oak.
I'm finally just getting ahead of the wood situation this year. It's hard to imagine that before we moved up to this area in 2010 (from only an hour away) I never even owned a thermostat! My last 2 years on the farm I had a cheap pellet stove that did the bulk of the work and supplemented with a wood stove when it got nasty. At any rate when we moved I lost my wood lot and I've had trouble finding areas to cut up here because everyone is worried about either someone else making a buck on them or a lawsuit. The dead standing, and even some of the already down trees have really been a saviour for me these past few years as most people don't even know what they have and are willing to let them go. Thanks for the link. That's a lot of great information.
Welcome Sam! Great looking truck and load.. can't wait to see more! Just out of curiosity, how do you like those tires? I've been thinking about a set of those when the michelins on my super duty are shot but was concerned about tread ware. How are they treating you?
Welcome Sam. That is some impressive truck. Stick around, keep posting pics. Nice family site here. No politics. Lots of good stuff to pick up on. Good family,food and pet stories.
+1 WS! was thinking the same thing. The MM is cheap enough and peace of mind when it comes to creosote buildup. The only species I know for sure without testing is Ash, everything else gets a resplit and a check. Welcome to FHC Sam , really like the ride you have in your first pic.
Seems like the denser the wood, the harder it is to "heft" 'em. Red Oak and hard Maple, no problem but White Oak, Dogwood, Hickory and BL feel heavy, wet or dry.
Welcome to the club, always nice to see another Ford man climb aboard, and another F350 for the club to boot.
