Moisture meter vs. hissing wood

Nothing is wrong with 19% wood. For some reason people seem to think 19% isn't good enough. 19% on a meter is a dry basis reading, the EPA test fuel is wet basis. 19% dry basis is about 16% wet basis which is perfect for any wood stove. 25% on a meter is about 20% wet basis which is still fine for any modern EPA stove. 19-25% dry basis is what an EPA stove is tested with!

Here is a clip out of the EPA test method 28 pdf. "7.1.2 Fuel Moisture. The test fuel shall have a moisture content range between 16 to 20 percent on a wet basis (19 to 25 percent dry basis). Addition of moisture to previously dried wood is not allowed. It is recommended that the test fuel be stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled room"

So there you have it 19% on the meter is about PERFECT fuel, actually on the low end of the test fuel range.

 

Didn't realize that subtle but significant fact about the regs. Thanks.

 

If you have a UL listed chimney, these days most of us do, you want nothing within 2 inches of it. You should even have a barrier already there to keep insulation off of your chimney where it penetrates the ceiling.

 

Hi Wild West. No, the batteries are good.

I think the problem was that I was not able to stick the MM into the wood far enough because it's very, very hard. I took another reading last night and saw 18%.

 

Hi HDRock,

I think I figured it out. I have tested it on some freshly split tulip poplar that was cut last year and stacked as logs. The logs were about 18" long and about 12-16" in diameter. I split them into 4-5 splits each. The wood just under the back was almost wet. The wood on the inside was reading about 35%. I have stacked it and will split and test again in the fall just out of curiosity.

The wood that I had that was hissing still measures about 18%. I was told it was oak and that it was seasoned for 2 years. Don't know how it was seasoned though. It could have been covered completely. It may have only been seasoned for one year.

Sean

 

Yes, thanks for that info rdust. So, my 18% reading should mean that I have perfectly good wood. The question is why does it hiss and why are the ends seeping moisture.

This wood is being burned in a fireplace and not a stove/insert. Maybe that makes a difference.

 

I highly doubt that, could it be from some surface moisture it picked up, other wise you are still getting readings that are not correct.

 

At 18% on your moisture meter a piece of firewood will be about 85% bone dry wood and 15% water. That is still a lot of water. A piece of firewood weighing in at little more than 12 pounds will have a quart of water in it. You are probably right that the water you see coming out the ends is because of how it is being burned. With a stove you are typically burning uniformly across your piece of wood, the escaping water gets evaporated at the surface.. In a fireplace burn you are burning from the center out, thus the contained moisture is leaving the ends before they are engulfed and you see it steaming or hissing out.

 

My suggestion is pitch the moisture meter in the garbage and season the wood for a year + or two and you won't ever need to worry about it. I bought a moisture meter just yesterday as curiosity got the best of me and my impression was less than steller. Fresh cut live ash from yesterday tested in several spots on the end in the middle was reading 14-18%. Bs too I could see the water coming out of the splits when the splitting. If it's hissing it's wet regardless of what the meter says. just my thoughts

 

Thanks Paul. That make a lot of sense. This wood will burn down to almost no ash if I keep tending it. Puts out a lot of heat for an open fireplace too.

 

Makes no sense to me as 18% wood should not sizzle, sizzling usually starts at about 28 to 30%.
Dont care how you burn it.

 

I aint no xpert but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once so here goes. I'm thinking that no matter how dry you get wood it is still going to have moisture in it right? I mean, if it didn't it would be dust. And I would bet that under a micro scope even dust would have moisture in it. I have some small splits that are 2 inches or less that have been in a controlled environment for over 3 years and in the wood stove they still sizzle and pizz a little. It may be, and I am only speculating at this, that in an open fire place as opposed to an enclosed EPA stove, you are seeing more of the moisture being boiled out since it is not in an enclosed metal box with an internal temp like you get in a far box of a stove.? The real question to me would be this. 1; are you getting heat outta the wood? 2; Is it causing a bad creosote problem in yer chimney? If 1 is yes and 2 is no I guess I wouldn't worry about it to much.

 

Could be but my dry fire wood does not sizzle in my fire pit.

 

Well then I would have to wunder iffn the Op doesn't have some of the most sought after farwood known to man kind. The almost unobtainable T-Bone or Pork chop infused laying dead in a rendering works yard type of wood? I am joking of coarse since it really is a moot point as to sizzle or not. If it makes flame and smoke it is going to make heat and isn't that the whole point to all the work we put into this venture after all? How some go about making heat may or may not be how others do it but it who's to say whats right or wrong.

 

The fact that it seems to work fine has me scratching my head but like I said I have never seen any sizzling of my dry fire wood in my wood burning thingie outside.
All the articles about wood sizzling (the ones from good sources) just talk about too much moisture in the wood.

 

You can solve all the questions by slicing a chunk out of the middle and ends, weigh them, bake the moisture out in the microwave on low heat until they stop losing weight then weigh them again. Easy peasy besides the family looking at you like you're crazy.