Those who sell seasoned oak/other hard woods and say they run out.........

Interesting, I didn’t know that the state listed a percentage. I’ve lived in NH, burned fire wood and been around many that burned wood my whole life. Until I started poking around here I had never heard the term moisture content or knew there was a tool to measure it. It’s pretty much impossible to buy dry wood around here and from my experience the term seasoned is meaningless. My parents bought cut and split wood when I was growing up. When he got sick of wet wood he started to buy enough to keep one year ahead, another thing that is pretty much unheard of around here.

 

Bingo!
Now If I'm ordering dinner, different story, I want it to be well seasoned

 

30% seasoned is insane
30% oak will boil, hiss, and steam before BTu’s are available

imho

 

That's not an opinion, that's a fact!

 

It means something from us here on FHC. But until you have a number to quantify what seasoned or dry is, then it's all meaningless. Otherwise, it's only as good as your word.

 

I was referring to the word "seasoned" as it applies (or not!) to firewood...what does it mean? Nothing!
If you ask 100 different people on the street you'll get 100 different answers.
To me its meaningless...

 

It sure gets thrown around a lot!

 

Interesting in Vermont literally across the river; for some one who gets heating assistance from government, wood has to be 20% or below moisture content.

 

From the EPA's website: "Wood burns best at a moisture content of less than 20 percent." This is the figure I see frequently when reading about firewood being seasoned. I will take a few larger piece from a new row I intend to sell and split it open. Can be 5-10% difference from testing the outside or ends from testing the middle of a freshly split pieces. Your customers will be very pleased with 15% or less moisture and that is what I aim for. 8-10% is the lowest I have ever found after 2 years in my stacks and doesn't go any lower.

 

Seasoned, dry, weathered; whatever adjective is used....it's all relative and useless unless a value is given to it.

 

Suspiciously low considering your climate.

https://www.fpl.fs.usda.gov/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf



Not much different than us here (I'm 45 minutes from Madison, between Madison and La Crosse). Winter is where the larger discrepancy lies:

 

Yeah middle of a fresh split at room temperature; I live next to 6th biggest lake in US 15-18 about as low as I can get it.. I don’t see much oak

 

When stating the lowest moisture levels I've ever seen I should have prefaced during a hot low humidity day in the summer. 12-15% is my normal selling range. I can see 2-3% higher on humid days. This is why I shake my head when people purchase kiln dried firewood and then stack it outside. Sort of defeats the purpose. Proof is always in the pudding. If the firewood ignites readily and produces little smoke, it is dry. If you have over a hundred repeat customers that purchase face cords for $280 and cords for $840 and tip you on top of that and pass your name onto their friends and neighbors, you might be selling dry firewood.

 

I frequently watch "In the Woodyard" with Chris and "Ohio Wood burner" with Joe. Their firewood is usually covered in snow most of the winter and high temps of the day are frequently below freezing. They still manage to sell hundreds of cords and keep their customers happy. Granted, they avoid very dense hardwoods because they like quick turnover. I love that people try to sell freshly cut firewood at cheap prices. This is what drives my business and customer loyalty. When I try a new IPA or whiskey that is on sale and I can't swallow it, I pour it out and go back to the good stuff.

 

Had a guy who viewed my ad and contacted me last evening about cutting on his property that is being timbered. He actually wanted to charge me some unspecified amount for the pleasure of cleaning up his mess. I have frequently thought landowners should be paying me on top of the free wood I remove. What does a heavy equipment operator charge per hour? The current cleanup operation I am conducting on my neighbors property I cleared a hundred yards around his house (many trees logged within 100' of his house) and re-opened his roads and trails. Half my cutting is just removing limbs and then throwing them into a burn pile. Very hard on the body doing that type of work. In my opinion, wood that can't be sold to a mill or used for heating a home is worthless. It is the value of the land, taxes, labor, fuel, equipment and time that make firewood worth something. I would have laughed at him, but we were texting back and forth.

 

I was referring to the same thing.

 

Send him a link to a nearby saw dealer then…

tell him he’s welcome to go purchase his own tools.

 

That's what I call seasoned. 20% or less MC. That's how the EPA deems that term as a quantified number.

I'm a huge proponent of a moisture meter, because that is the only way to know what MC of the wood is. Anything else is a guess, even if it's highly educated/ based on experience guess.

 

My moisture meter is in my delivery truck at all times; along with a tape measure. I have only had about 3 to 4 customers break out their personal meters upon arrival. I love that they do this since it tells them they have the good stuff. Other customers that have been burned I tell them to go on Amazon and buy a meter for $30 or so. If not below 20%, tell them to go away! I provide a free 1 CuFt bundle of kindling and splitting debris wood chips with each purchase. I always get from new customers "is it dry?" Thinking in the future to give them the kindling and chips and then tell them to go build a fire with a few sticks before I unload.

 

By any chance, did the neighborhood crackhead with a truckload of firewood and water dripping out the rear tailgate recently get elected to public office? Just curious