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[Ridgekid]

BTW- Based on my current consumption rate I will forgo getting another truck load of wood now. We'll revisit this in the spring and determine if we would still need it.

[Bill G]

Ridge,

     Like myself, I know your truck load has lots of oak on it.  I have quite a bit for next year, already, but knowing oak takes lots longer to season well. So, I'll still get a truck load to have here and beable to work on it at my "leasure". 

     Just a thought, but I really want to stay ahead on the wood supply.

Bill

[Ridgekid]

Bill-

I agree about the seasoning. In fact I'm going to get a moisture checker this evening to see what I've been burning. (Thanks to another post stating Harbor Freight carries them).

Since I already have 2012-2013 winter wood drying, another truck load would secure the 2013-2014 season. So that's why I think waiting until spring for another truck load made more sense.

Also, Burning this winters stack will give me a place to stack the 2013-14 season.

[RSI]

When you check the moisture of the wood, split the piece in half and check the middle. Otherwise you will get a much lower than actual reading.

[Bill G]

Ridge,

     Your definately on the ball!!!  Didn't realize you have 12-13 covered!  Good for you...me, I'm gaining on it, especially with the great weather we've been having. 

     Will be at harbor freight tomorrow and we'll look for a meter also.  Thank's for reminder.

Bill

[martyinmi]

Ridgekid,
   I bought one of those meters a few days ago and I'm very impressed with the results. It is the third one I've used and so far the cheapest and most accurate. In the past, I've dried down fresh cut sawdust at work and tested the mc using the same formula we use to check the mc of our feed stocks. The other meters were usually off by several points, and the results were sometimes not repeatable within a few points. The other meters were bought at Graingers, and they are way more than the $12.99 HF gets for theirs. I ran 2 samples yesterday at work using a 100 gram sample of fresh cut sawdust from a six inch round(oak) cut just over a year ago. I got 2 consistent readings of 30%. Using the HF meter I got a 31% and a 32%. I was very impressed.
   The method we use for testing mc in firewood is as follows: Wet sample - dry sample = %mc. In my case, we always start out with a 100 gram sample, so it was: 100 - 70 = 30% mc.
   There are other methods out there for determining mc in wood, but they make very little sense to me if your species of wood is an inherently wet one. The most common one would be (using my results) :  100 -70 = 30 divided by 70 x 100 = 42.86% mc. Now suppose your 100 gram sample dried down to 45. I would say that sample has a 55% mc (100-45=55) The other method would be : 100 - 45 = 55 divided by 45 x 100 = 122.222%.  A good share of these articles are rated at the end, and there are apparently quite a few people out there that don't buy into their methodology either.   

[MTJAG]

Thanks to all for the input on the leaking black liquid.  I have gone to filling twice a day and the leaking has stopped.  Most of my wood is large (10-12") aspen rounds with some ponderosa pine and a little fir.  I have started splitting most of the large rounds and that seems to have helped a bit.  It will burn whatever you put in there, but it recovers faster with the split wood and I don't have the "black ooze".   It's 12 degrees here this morning, a little warmer than yesterday.  Looks like we are going to have a cold winter and I'm going through firewood like "turnip greens through a widow woman".  Problem I now have is that all the roads to the USFS are closed due to snow, so I can't access anymore firewood for now.

[oldchenowth]

I get the black liquid quite often when the wood is a little wet.  I used to be concerned about it, but it did not seem to affect anything last season except make me have to clean the damper gasket a little more.  I didn't do the paint much favor on the floor though.  I guess it will get a Krylon rebuild next spring.

[Ridgekid]

martyinmi-

While you were typing your comments I was putting batteries in mine. http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-mini-moisture-meter-67143.html

When I went out to restock the green dragon, I tested it on 6 pieces of wood. <.06% (highest reading) testing it on the butt end of a piece of wood. I think a more accurate test would be for me to cut a piece in half and retest.

And of course no trip to town can be complete without stopping at a Ollie's Discount Store. I found one of these: http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/EM100B.aspx I've seen these before for $50-$200. At Ollies it was $19.99. I'm still checking to see the accuracy of the unit. Might take a few days.

[Ridgekid]

MTJAG-

Sounds like your narrowing down the "fine tuning". The last few days my creosote built up due to little use. This morning, thanks to the cooler temperatures, and a couple of burns,  I have creosote pealing off the walls in dry pieces. During the next restock, I'll scrape the loose stuff off the walls, which seems to burn very well.

[Ridgekid]

Correction about my moisture content.

I don't know if the rain last night effected my reading, but this morning I'm showing <15%. Yes-My wood is covered. So I guess I'm ok.

Found this:

Seasoned Firewood has a moisture content less than 40% that will allow the wood to burn effectively and release the potential BTU's (heat). Wood that has been properly split and stored will promote the evaporation of water. In most areas of the country, especially the Northeast, it will take up to 12 months for split hardwood to be properly seasoned. Wood with more than 40% moisture content should not be burned for home heating. The minimum moisture content for optimal BTU's is no more than 20% to 30% moisture and as low as 10%. Below 10% the wood will burn too quickly.

[RSI]

How far in are you pushing prongs on the meter? You need to push pretty hard to get an accurate reading.
You need to measure inside the wood. If you split a piece in half and test from the edge towards the center you will see what I mean.

[Ridgekid]

I buried the prongs. I do need to split a piece to get accurate test.

[Ridgekid]

Ok- I like playing with spreadsheets. Here's the same report I started this thread with in a graph. If you like it I'll, update it monthly until the end of the season.

http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=media;in=160

NOTE: Avg daily temp (F) is based on my personal weather station report at Weather Underground.

[plumb bob]

Been heating with the 5036 for about six weeks now (including hot water). This is my first owb and its brand new. How much wood do you normally put in and how? Some say go in a pyramid style or just rack it in, and how deep do you go? Just curious because my burn times dont seem long enough.
Also, what about green wood mixed in. Thanks