As some of you may have read from one of my earlier posts I was a bit disappointed in my wood at the start of the season. I noticed it was sluggish and had some sizzle upon startup. Alot of this wood had signs of powder post beetles so this year I decided to buy a deck box to put inside the house to store abut a weeks worth at a time. Previously I had a rack. Well I decided to bring the rack back in and what a difference it has made. With this wood being exposed to the heat of the fire and low humidity it's working wonders instead of being sealed up in the box. Now hopefully my house doesn't get turned into powder!
I wouldn't worry about powder post beatles. I have never seen them do anything to dry wood. They are quite plentiful in our unseasoned wood though. We have a 2 section rack by the stove you fill one and burn from the other then switch I call it a finishing rack. Big difference in wood that is left to "finnish" a couple days in the warmth.
I've had powder post beetles in floor joists over the basement. I have two or three joists with so many shot holes I've been tempted to sister another joist to them. I don't leave maple with the tell-tale signs in the house for long without burning it.
I noticed this from the beginning because I was scrounging any wood I could get. After the wood was brought inside near the stove it would start cracking and snapping very loud as it warmed up. In a couple days I noticed how much faster the wood started to flame and how much faster the fire would come up to temp. And of course, how much sooner I could start to shut the draft down.
No, there was a coal stove for heat at the time as far as I know. There's a possibility they were in (some of ) the lumber when it was built approx 80-100 years ago. The basement at one time had bigger windows which would have put them much below the current landscaping grade. This house also may have been a seasonal cabin and the basement was dug out later like the house next door was . I really don't worry about bringing wood in even for several days as the odds of a male and female bug thinking it is Spring and getting it on in a short period of time is pretty slim. A couple cords inside is a different story.
