Not What I Expected But This Makes Perfect Sense

Testing out the difference between kiln dried, seasoned and green firewood
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[@cd4683]

30 minutes extra over the course of an entire winter adds up. Great content!

[@radamh]

I appreciate the rigor you put in this video.

[@wwgbert]

One variable that will not change is where the dog will be laying at all times during this test. Haha

[@weijingburr2392]

I think they call that a Constant Spaniel.

[@davelindgren5245]

My wife and I were just talking about that the other night. We were talking about how that probably goes back to the cave man days when or whenever dogs were first being domesticated. Man, do they love sitting near the fire. Our dog and cat fight for the best spot in front of the fireplace.

[@420jessw]

@@davelindgren5245 The domestication of dogs only dates back 32,000 years and humans had already moved out of caves and in to purpose constructed buildings.

[@alanj7306]

I have a little cocktail (bird) who loves to go sit on the dog bed by the gas fireplace during winter. No wonder his name is Snuggles!

[@TheDriftlessHomestead]

Very interesting results. Now consider the cost of resources for the seasoned vs. Kiln dried. Seasoned took time which is free. Kiln dried took costly equipment and extra energy/ money.

[@edsmith4414]

Which is why most people won't go there.

[@kenbrown2808]

my dad has a big half-empty greenhouse, so he generally puts a few cords of wood in there to get a sort of half and half in between traditionally seasoned and kiln dried.

[@bortonfamilyfarms6094]

Wouldn’t be cost effective if you are making firewood for yourself. But if you are selling the wood you can charge a premium for the kiln dried plus you can get your product to market faster which is extremely important in order to capitalizes on fleeting opportunities. I think kiln dried is the way to go for businesses

[@fowledevolution1710]

I would of thought seasoned wood would be a lot better than the green one... that changes some things tho...

[@kenbrown2808]

@@fowledevolution1710 the fact he put it in a stove that was at full operating temperature, already, made a significant difference. there are a lot of other reasons not to burn green wood if you can avoid it.

[@CairnCreek]

I’m impressed with the graph making skills! Good video bud.

[@rickh2468]

I like that you incorporate the science and various marketability components in your videos...it makes it very interesting. I guess you are the Alton Brown of firewood 😀.

[@justinproctor1427]

I've been burning wood for the last 15 years, it is pleasant to find more information to burn more efficiently. Thank you.

[@alkaufmann2039]

Adam, again a no nonsense video. You went from city boy to firewood geek in a very short time. I appreciate that while you gain knowledge you help all of us gain knowledge as well. Thank you!

[@GeoffPSU]

The better test, would be to take kiln dried wood, and place it next to wood that you are seasoning. Check moisture when you rack it up, then let it sit and check it again in August or September. Chances are high that it will act as a sponge and soak up moisture, and will be the same as seasoned wood. I’ve always believed that kiln dried wood is only beneficial if you burn it within a month or two of it being dried. Letting it season in the weather as you would with your other firewood, will cause the kiln dried wood to climatize to the environment and it was a waste of money at that point. You have to burn kiln dried wood the same winter that you buy it.

[@thechumpsbeendumped.7797]

That would be an interesting test to see if the wood does acclimatize to the same moisture level as the seasoned wood or if it retains some advantage over an entire year. I would guess that if covered or stored inside it would but not so much if stacked outside, uncovered.

[@jimmyd7369]

Interesting video, I spent the last 35 years in the fireplace/woodstove industry (now retired) and I've never seen a test like this. Well done.

[@MPH-iq5md]

Hi Adam, great insight into the different wood “stages”. I’m interested to know if there’s a difference in price between kiln dried and seasoned, and how much energy has to be put into the kiln process?

[@orcoastgreenman]

Solar wood kilns are a great way to make that energy input requirement negligible. Biomass debris fueled heating from the “waste” of the firewood production process would be second best.

[@donlowe9125]

Very interesting observation... I like these kind of videos... good job

[@jeanvaljohn3921]

Very enlightening indeed. Good production ,good presentation, None of the other woodyard channel That I've been watching have done anything like this.

[@michaela1655]

About 30% of the energy stored in firewood, is released as gases as the wood is heated. If those gases reach a high enough temperature, the gases are burned in the stove, and the heat is recovered. If there is a high moisture content in the logs, the water turns to steam and the steam temperature of 212 degrees F, keeps those volatile gases too cool to be burned. And Voila! you get creosote forming in the chimney.

[@boerbol9422]

Great explanation

[@tomrecny6437]

Michael great point. There’s a lot of energy in those wood gases. And even if you’re able to burn them in a wood stove with a catalytic feature the challenge is to capture the heat before it goes up the chimney as a 400-500F exhaust. A little over 20 yrs ago I built a masonry contraflow heater in our home. The design and principle goes back several hundred years. Long story short, the wood gases burn in a secondary chamber where time, turbulence and temperature allow them to burn completely and then they have to travel downward thru considerable masonry channels where the heat gets more fully absorbed. The flue gases going up the chimney are 250F. The damper is closed when the fire dies down and the heat captured by the massive thermal mass will weep that heat out gently over the next 24 to 36 hours. I’ve read where the efficiency is upwards of 80-85%. With these stoves the idea is to burn hot and fast to achieve complete combustion. My firebox will register between 900-1000F during the peak burn with dry wood. Green won’t begin to approach that. There’s something primal and incredibly satisfying about heating with wood that folks in Florida and warm climates will never know. Take care.

[@joe1071]

Nerd alert

[@aaronmcelhinney1436]

Very interesting & informative! Thank you!

[@DanKlein_1]

wow, that took commitment. Awesome test. It is neat to see actual mapped results put to the rumors to see what is best. I would never have guessed that the end of the curve, the 3 types of wood would be so close. Also, I would have guessed the kiln dried to burn out quicker. I am surprised it was just a half hour shorter burn time. Can't beat mother nature for drying wood from a cost perspective and end results.

[@sherrym5556]

As an older chick who man's her own firewood, getting it,hauling, stacking shlepping etc, its a full time job in the cold months in North Carolina, in a historical home. Wood is my main heat source now that my HVAC system broke and can't afford a new one, or propane at this point. I got an insert last year, should have got it years ago. Definitely learned much about wood over the last 30 years. I do wish I had a dollar for every man that sold me wet ( green) wood saying is was seasoned. Saying " ITL BURN" no Bubba it won't if you're not starting with hot coals. It will just sizzle n steam and piss you off. Plus the ceroset build up can cause chimney fires over time. On top of blacking out my insert windows. UGH!!! I'm more mad at myself for not learning this sooner ( thanks boomer) I say to myself. Now I have a wood moisture meter,a fan, and thermometers on my insert. I'm also trying to get wood well in advance now, and tarps so to allow for dry time, uncovering on sunny days, etc. I'm tired...but thanks for the vid. Do a video on starting a fire with no hot coals, using fresh cut oak....lol ssssssssssss

[@JOEZEP54]

A little late but if you do not have kindling ( sticks, small branches, that need to be cleaned off the lawn ) & do not want to split logs for kindling try using some pallet wood. I also have an insert & do not burn pallet wood for fuel supply but do use the scraps I get from pallet projects. It starts very fast & burns very hot. Stay warm & safe, Joe Z

[@brucea550]

I had no idea North Carolina got cold enough to require much heating. You’d really have a story to tell if you lived up north! I burn 4 full cords a year (cut/split/stacked in the woodshed by April).

[@joejoe-lb6bw]

@@JOEZEP54 Doesn't pallet wood have harmful chemicals in it?

[@JOEZEP54]

@@joejoe-lb6bw I just use pallets stamped HT ( heat treated ). Instead of using chemicals to treat for insects they are heat treated. Still have to know if possible what they were used to transport to be safe.

[@dvasymmetry9696]

Great science experiment. Note that the area under the curve is giving you a value of the heat (BTUs or calories or joules; pick your poison) that you are getting out of the wood. The moisture takes part of the heat to be liberated and to dry the wood. there's where you 'lose' out on the wet wood. Also note that you have to use energy to kiln dry, so there's trade-offs with all that. Keep up the good work.

[@marclauzon1882]

10-4 on the trade-offs. That’s true in lots of our daily lives. One glaring example is ethanol for vehicles- sure it burns cleaner(less co2 emissions) but the trade off is during fermentation (making the alcohol) the co2 is released and it takes energy to ferment. Anyway thanks for your great video on this subject.

[@steves5160]

I love the fact that you are such a geek. A man after my own heart. This is completely something I would do.

[@vinquinn]

I am very impressed by all the time and effort you put into making this video. I was surprised also by the result, but once the moisture is gone it is all the same wood.

[@tonygough8713]

Great demonstration Adam.thank you.

[@hardtorn]

It would be good to cover other reasons to not burn green wood in your stove. Good info so far

[@garny3766]

Adam if you had a high efficiency gasification boiler the results are even more amplified being the secondary chambers get @1800-2000*f. Green wood quenches the air and gases and inhibit any sustained secondary combustion.

[@patrickforbes6745]

Now do this style of test with different sized wood. Will large pieces provide more heat over 4 hours than the same volume of smaller pieces? This will tell us if we need to split more or less.

[@birdhunter2754]

The bigger the better hot coals put in what fits in stove

[@patrickforbes6745]

But smaller pieces may give a higher temperature earlier to take the chill off the room. Then add fewer large pieces to maintain the temperature longer.

[@davidkymdell452]

Bigger pieces will burn slower, especially if you burn rounds vs edged timber.

[@FlatCreekOutdoors]

I like a good chart. Thanks for plotting that out to visualize what you witnessed during the test.

[@markforstrom2436]

Don't forget how much more creosote build up you will get with burning the green wood, and chimney fires!

[@glxxyz]

Also pollutants- selling green wood as firewood has been banned in the UK.

[@Ahch.]

I had to burn some green wood towards the end of the burning season. I didnt notice any difference in the burn times. Just the amount of ash and smoke. The creosote is the primary reason not use green or un-seasoned wood.

[@jayholloway7952]

I have always been interested in the difference in the three types of wood. Great video keep it up

[@midwestbd7144]

Unless you have a boiler. A lot of people use unseasoned wood in them.

[@tycox8704]

I could be mistaken, but I believe that the gases that create creosote are caused by higher combustion temperatures which, ironically, the kiln wood achieves.

[@jasonbridle7931]

I’m glad you conducted that experiment and equally glad I watched it. I can basically count on learning something useful from all your videos. Thanks Adam!

[@HometownAcres]

Thanks for watching

[@davidwestervelt6050]

Thanks Never would have guessed the results..

[@ohiowoodburner]

Other practical conclusions for unseasoned wood is 1. less emissions and creosote build up in the chimney and 2. more difficult starting fires.

[@Redneck_Ed]

More emissions and creosote for unseasonably, right? Not less. It looked like the fire bricks in the back were pretty black after that first unseasonably burn. I'd imagine that the chimney liner experienced a similar buildup of creosote during the unseasoned burn. Half an hour of low temp burn per load for the entire winter would really add up.

[@tlbfarm4473]

Pretty sure you mean MORE emissions and creosote. At least I hope that's what you meant.

[@billwolf3732]

I would like to see you test each type of wood starting with a cold stove for each type.I would think it would take much longer to bring the stove to operating temp with green wood.Thanks for a very informative video

[@HometownAcres]

Hometown Acres Amazon Store www.amazon.com/shop/hometownacres Link to Firewood Guy www.firewoodguyofpa.com/?gcli...​

[@JohnWCH]

fix the amazon link my dude. LETS GET THAT AFFILIATE MONEY!!

[@edsmith4414]

@@JohnWCH YEP....."PAGE NOT FOUND"

[@HometownAcres]

Fixed. Thanks for bringing to my attention

[@MyClarissa21]

I love your videos . You are so thorough! Thank you so much!!! You are the best!

[@edsmith4414]

The big advantage to kiln dried in addition to the moisture content is kiln drying also kills any bugs IN the wood.....meaning if selling to campers, and they take it with them to another location, they don't transport pests

[@timcahoon4911]

I was going to make the same comment as I think done outlets require it now. However there may be a difference between the time it takes between sanitizing the wood ( killing the bugs) and kiln drying it. Cost vs benefit choices.

[@briansilver9652]

My wife asked where that mosquito came from in the middle of the winter. Hiding in the wood I think. Add a few spiders , wood roaches and the odd ant just to make life interesting.

[@alanj7306]

Ed, good point.

[@exotictones1054]

You didn't tell people about all the creosote in green wood n how bad that is n dangerous for chimney fires.you must clean the chimney much more often.

[@IndianaDoug]

Good stuff. Let’s be honest here, who burns kiln died fire wood the entire season? I think a realistic approach might be to have some on hand to start, or maintain a good hot burn while mixing in seasoned wood. To add, a lot of Ash here in the Midwest isn’t like cherry. Most standing dead trees you can cut and burn same day. But, that’s the reason these experiments are so vital...the variables are great. Thanks for sharing👍🏻

[@davidbarrett7767]

Love your analytical approach 🥰

[@joewoznica9328]

When using a moisture meter I was under the impression that you are supposed to set the pins in the wood parallel to the grain.

[@DanielAtkinsFirewood]

Nice experiment there Adam.. Thanks for posting..

[@goodnatureification]

Excellent

[@chadbeimer3363]

Dry wood, wet wood, green wood, red wood, logs, pellets, lumps or briquettes... When it comes to heating your home, once you have that hot fire going, all that really matters is the energy content of whatever it is you want to burn. So, throw that stuff in your stove, open a cold one, and enjoy! Good video.

[@jackmclane1826]

For the feelgood factor, you are right. But dry wood heats better as the evaporation of water sucks up a lot of energy and blows it out of your chimney as steam. If you don't mind to toss a couple more logs in the fire... cheers! ;)

[@nathanhill6042]

True but green wood can also produce a ton more smoke and creasote or whatever so u will have to clean your chimney more often

[@TheTaff224]

Nice experiment. My thermodynamics is a little rusty but the other interesting area for comparison would be energy output. This is can be simplified as the area under the temp/time graph taking the x axis as the room temperature - so "fire temp - room temp" is the temperature value rather than the raw fire temp. If you compare thee value of energy output for each type of wood you'd probably see a similar ratio to the average temperature values you got but may be interesting to see. There is obviously lots of variables that will effect the actual energy output which would not be taken into account so an idealised system is assumed with constants which can be ignored.

[@PurpleCollarLife]

Great video. I love your charts and graphs for the experiment. I try to never burn any green wood in our wood stove - it creates so much creosote in the burn box, the catalytic combustion chamber, the pipe, and the chimney. It's just too dangerous. I've never burned kiln-dried wood. Great test.

[@Jackofalltradesmastersofnone]

They kiln dry to ship it so bugs can’t live in it.

[@joejoe-lb6bw]

That and a very slight easier burn start is why I buy kiln dried wood. The bugs. kiln dry in my area is very expensive.

[@Jackofalltradesmastersofnone]

@@joejoe-lb6bw I’m from the south the main people that buys firewood down here is Choctaw’s for burial purposes.

[@f.demascio1857]

I've got a very similar stove.. LOVE IT! I season all my own wood from trees I cull. Haven't had a fire yet this season, too damn mild.

[@jamescarrick2667]

Also the type of firewood hardwood vs softwood and the type of fire burning device (ie. firepit, woodburner, or a solostove. These variables also control the intensity and heat/energy produced.

[@KirbyZhang]

I suppose the dryer wood produced more heat because it ran at higher temperature more quickly, which allowed secondary burning of wood gas. the wetter wood released the gas without burning it. But I see you didn't adjust the air vents during the process. If you aggressively built up the temperature of wetter wood, would it get more secondary burn?

[@harveyroad6]

That kiln dried wood is a fire hazard. Keep that away from sources of heat. Dry wood burns 3/4" per hour, after its moisture is dried out. Larger pieces burn longer. Denser woods also burn longer than light. So to do an "experiment" you would need pieces of the same species, dimension, moisture and weight. Am thinking you would need a 3x3, a 4x4 and a 6x6 sawed up. Then seasoned, kiln dried and green. And it would start the fires from scratch with the same amount of kindling.

[@conkle26]

Great video thanks

[@kraigtabor1487]

Nice job, as an engineer I noticed the amount of base and volume of wood especially on the kiln dried was about 30-40 lower than the other woods. I believe this fact negates the conclusion on time burning. In addition what really matters is btu output. Did you take the stove temp when you loaded each type? Otherwise keep up the good work!

[@pearlrival3124]

the kiln dried had a lot more room to breathe. a weight test probably would have improved the results. the variance would have been insignificant between the differences in moisture, but it would have allowed the same amount of wood for each experiment. it looked as if 2 more sticks would have made it more accurate. the kiln was split smaller i think thats where the 5 stick rule failed.

[@jasone9]

I think I understand what you are saying, but since firewood is sold by volume (cubic foot, face cord, cord, etc) rather than weight, then weight doesn't really matter. It's how many BTU's per cord that matters.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Wood that’s been dried to 10% is smaller because it has the water removed. Water takes up volume so there is more “wood” per cord with seasoned and kiln dried firewood because it’s measured by volume not weight. For an easier analogy there is more “beef” in a pound of jerky than there is a kilo of fresh “beef”. People have a hard time grasping this concept even those who’ve burnt wood all their lives. This is why these “experiments” are completely faulty because in effect this guy has put more wood in the fire although he is saying the splits are “same size”. To use the analogy again of course beef jerky has more calories per pound than fresh beef just like kiln dried wood has more BTU’s per cord for the same reason. The reason to burn seasoned wood is because it’s safer and gives heat off quickly which is the whole purpose of having a wood stove.

[@francisbalzer9324]

Well done demonstration. I have one comment about the seasoned vs. kiln dried. During the seasoning process, that firewood will eventually dry to your area’s “Equilibrium Moisture Content”. On the other hand the kiln dried firewood will eventually gain moisture back to that same EMC. To prove this, take your moisture meter and test the oldest standing barn beam that you can find. In the midwest our EMC will be approximately 16% to 18%. My point is that to kiln dry much below the EMC is possibly not necessary if the firewood will be stacked and stored for some time. I see the main advantage to kiln drying as the insect elimination. Given too much time, even they may return. Just something to think about.

[@edjackson8425]

True. Also the EMC for wood furniture inside your home is 8%. Firewood left inside your home long enough will all get to about 8%. (Not that you should store firewood inside.)

[@briansilver9652]

@@edjackson8425 Or stack it a few feet away from the woodstove to get it good and dry..never do that.;)

[@Brigantine2008]

Good video 🇺🇸

[@Bundysvideos]

I’ve never been told the drier the longer the burn... drier it is, the faster the burn.

[@jesseweiskel1264]

To a degree...yes and no. It takes a lot of energy to boil off the water...thats why you want your wood at least 24% but 18% is optimal.

[@Bundysvideos]

@@jesseweiskel1264 theres no condition that would cause wet wood to burn faster, unless it’s wet from like gasoline.

[@sawdustadikt979]

This was AWESOME! All of these things you measured, one against the other, is real information. The only info I’ve ever gotten was straight up conjecture. The only other thing that I could add is that after the effort it took to get a full year ahead on my firewood, all cut and split by me with a maul(aka lots of effort) . I burn about 7chord on a cold, long winter so I keep that as a minimum. When I got it all that ahead and super dry, there was way less creosote to clean up and I could run the damper near closed to boot, on top of it burning so clean. I burn ash, red and white oak, black cherry, and hickory when i can get it. I’ve noticed that when it comes to seasoning, I want to test how long does it really take for white oak, to dry, I’ve burned some that had been split and stacked for two years and still see moister sizzling on the end grain. Immabout2 drop one so I’m gunna record all I can and post it for anyone else that is curious. Great work! Follow your curiosity, it’s making great content!

[@cluerip]

I would have expected the green wood to burn the longest. To me the moisture would have slowed down the fire the whole way, because the fire has to get rid of all the moisture before the wood will burn. Interesting result none the less. Experimenting things that are 'known' and coming up with a different result is always interesting.

[@jasonhayes1016]

Great job. Good comparison

[@markw2266]

That was super informative, Thanks for putting this subject to bed. The only about kiln drying is it's like ethanol fuel, your using a lot of energy to create some sort of perceived energy savings.

[@biologistangler7901]

I've experienced the same results. I consider the seasoning of firewood as more of a factor in creosote buildup. Drier wood will produce less smoke/creosote when burning on a hot fire. I split and stack firewood as soon as I can, most of it averages 6-9 months of seasoning. At the tail end of winter/beginning of spring I'll burn some stuff that is only 4-5 months seasoned, and it never led to any significant creosote buildup. When the pipes are completely cleaned out after a whole season of burning, there is barely enough to fill two hands.

[@offroadlife05]

Very nice testing love it and shows what a good bed of coals can do. As far as kiln dried wood I find the cost difference, is not really worth it in my area. Thanks for the video!

[@natehb]

All wood has the same number of BTUs per pound. Moisture reduces that number. Stove efficiency reduces that number.

[@bjwrobel4107]

Are you sure your moisture meter is reading right how can you get 0 in a piece of wood lumber is kiln dried to 6 to 8 percent and will go up or down depending where you live and what time of year

[@ninja5672]

Nice work. The biggest difference between dry and wet wood is probably going to be chimney creosote build-up. The water vapor condenses and catches other particles and deposits on the chimney wall. I know that is a much harder test, but I think that is the biggest benefit of getting wood that is at least seasoned. And I would say some seasoned wood will be closer to 10% moisture.

[@markficarra8502]

Your videos always get my attention Adam, I also burn my wood in a insert and get obsessive about moisture content, that was a lot of good information!! Thank you very much appreciated

[@brettelmerelmer3061]

That was a great experiment, and I really enjoyed the graphics you put together for us. I am curious about one more thing, though. Feeding the stove with the fuel in a north/south orientation tends to burn much hotter and faster than feeding the fuel in an east/west orientation. I use the north/south with a cold stove, then switch to east/west for overnight. I suspect results would be similar for seasoned and kiln dried, but I would expect a longer burn time for the green. Don't know if that would be worth checking, but I have to wonder how that theory checks out.

[@HomesteadJay]

This was very satisfying to watch! Prob the best wood comparison on the internet!

[@budgetridesoff-road]

That is very interesting

[@bryanritts213]

Good information!

[@ian3580]

I'm curious about cost. Yes, the kiln dried had a higher average temp, but what is your local cost for a cord of green/seasoned/kiln dried? Is that premium for kiln dried worth it in terms of heating cost?

[@craigmilligan616]

I have heard from old timers that burned wood since their youth in the Depression days, that wood with high oil, (locust,cherry, and cedar) can be used after being split and left to dry for a week. I have seen these same old timers put a few pieces of green wood on top of their stove to bake the moisture out of the wood. (I would only do this with caution and a watching eye) Thank you for showing us your research.

[@kenbrown2808]

if my wood's on the damp side, I've dried wood on the stovetop, but I have a masonry heater, and I can literally rest my hand on the stove while I am loading it. I've seen bigger masonry heaters that have a woodbox built into the masonry.

[@briansilver9652]

The smell of a piece of maple drying out on top of the wood stove must be wonderful (or so I imagine)

[@kenbrown2808]

@@briansilver9652 not as much as some species of oak. alder is a good candidate, though. when you start feeling hungry for some smoked meat, it's ready to burn.

[@nitr0junki3]

So around 2 hours in, the green was actually burning hotter. It would really take some convincing to make me believe 0% moisture wood is the best to burn.

[@alanj7306]

Agreed. If I had limited seasoned wood. I’d mix it with green when loading the fireplace.

[@phillyjoejones5161]

Knowledge is power...thank you!

[@ShaneZettelmier]

Your kiln dried wood was a little smaller, the first two pretty much filled your stove up but the kiln dried wood you could’ve gotten a couple more pieces in so I don’t know if that would’ve made much of a difference or not. It’s also good to know that burning green wood will create a lot of creosote and mess inside your stove and chimney, The moisture isn’t just water really it’s also sap to some extent. Some types of wood will burn much hotter if they are green once they catch, woods with lots of oils in them like manzanita will burn extremely hot and can even damage a woodstove because they burn so hot. It looks to me like seasoned would be the way to go, and I don’t know why but that kind of makes me happy. Lol. Also you can build a solar kiln fairly easily, just make a big box, even the size of a shed and put plexi or glass at an angle on the south side so as it sits in the sun it will get very hot in there and then put a small electric fan to move the air, or a larger or multiple fans if you’re going to build a huge one. It doesn’t work quite as fast as a regular kiln but you can put wood in there Throughout the spring and it’ll be pretty much seasoned in a month or two. Also splitting Yearwood will obviously allow it to dry faster and stacking it loosely or in an area where air moves will help it to dry out faster as well. I’m guessing even if you got a metal shed and painted it a dark color it would get pretty hot inside and make a difference.

[@briansilver9652]

Kiln-dried also has to be sealed to prevent absorbing ambient moisture like a sponge. It appears to be energy and material intensive as opposed to seasoned. Very enlightening, especially moisture testing the inside of the kiln-dried. I imagine that the moisture level would even out if it was stored in a sealed bundle and make no difference in the performance, just interesting.

[@Hi-levels]

Nylon would easily cover stacks of kiln dried wood from moisture

[@thesmallwoodlot433]

Should try the same thing with soft woods, then do a comparison of soft to hard woods!

[@bavondale]

So, maybe a mix of the green and kiln dried?

[@beerbeforebreakfast]

I wouldn't ever pony up for kiln but i do find mixing woods in a stove that has secondary burn, to be very efficient. Wierdly it seems more efficient than using purely full extremely dry seasoned. They do recommend 11 to 20 percent moisture content. Id bet a catalytic stove would do really well with super dry stuff.

[@grandpaslakehouse-homestea6113]

Very surprised by the 21% moisture content in the kiln dried center. I am curios the cost difference per cord between kiln and seasoned.

[@reesegary]

Good video Adam 👍🇺🇸

[@alantompkins5070]

I like your fireplace insert. what brand is it if you don't mind sharing?

[@AdamsMom921]

Enviro Boston 1700... sadly the company stopped making them last year. They have pellet stoves but not wood. You can find a leftover stock one if you are lucky... take care

[@uberuser1999]

Great post. I think the best all around approach is to burn a mix starting with Kiln dried, then seasoned, and if necessary, unseasoned once it is red hot. I try to keep well seasoned wood in a two-year out supply and always use that to start my fires and then go to less seasoned wood once things are roaring. But never fully unseasoned wood due to the creosote and chimney fire issues (indoor fireplace of course). But I burn “wet” wood outside all the time once I get things up to temp. It drys out pretty quickly once it is tossed in. I base that on the hissing and popping which usually goes away within 10 minutes of tossing a wet split into the fire.

[@classicamericanoldman1091]

As a finance guy...these tests are fun to watch... Great information..

[@elmo4vt1]

As an Engineer that likes seeing numbers, I appreciate this post of yours more than most. Also, this goes a long way to making up for the money you've made me spend. :o)

[@bobbj177]

You could sanity check your results using the specific heat of water and the heat of vaporization of water. Essentially calculate the amount of water, then calculate how much energy it takes to bring it to the boiling point and then to convert it all to steam.

[@watkinstreefarm6880]

That was pretty cool & very well done. This has been something I have wondered also. With the Polar Vortex I got into some of my green supply & noticed a big difference also. Thanks man!!

[@brianfonsen1878]

U do a good job on these videos. I live in northern California. I work in log yards and have access to endless wood at moment. Ive hauled a bunch of madrone home. Over 30 cords. I have sold bunch of cords thru out my life. I will b processing a bunch this spring. Going to do some of my own vids on the cord wood game.. Ben looking at the Easton splitters now thanks to ur videos. I normally split a lot by hand but the wood i have is drying out so i will need a machine. Any ways thanks for ur knowledge on processing and selling cord wood.

[@gothicel]

I really appreciate this experience, the nerd in me love the data.

[@cattigereyes1]

Interesting

[@jamesmclennan3618]

I wonder how the test would go with bigger sizes

[@katiegentene4089]

What kind of insert do you have?

[@thomasgreene5750]

One difference in heat output between stoves using wet and dry wood will be the energy needed to heat the water to the boiling point and then evaporate it. That energy disappears up the chimney with the combustion gasses and is lost. It takes about 1 BTU to warm a pound of water one degree Fahrenheit. It takes about 970 BTUs to convert a pound of water to steam. Therefore, the total energy used up to drive off a pound of water is (1 BTU/lb)*[(212-70)+970 BTU/b] = 1112 BTU/lb. Hardwoods have a heat of combustion of about 8600 BTU per pound of dry (0% moisture) wood matter. Your seasoned wood had a moisture content of 18% . Therefore, a piece of wood weighing 1.18 lbs would contain 1 lb of dry wood matter and 0.18 lb of water (% moisture is the pounds of water per 100 pounds of dry wood ). The heat used up to drive off the moisture is therefore 0.18 lb x 1112 BTU/lb = 200 BTU. The wood matter will release 1lb x 8600 BTU/lb = 8600 BTU when combusted. The percentage heat lost due to moisture evaporation is therefore (200/8600) x 100 = 2.3%. For the unseasoned wood at 35% moisture, a stick of wood weighing 1.35 lb would contain 1 lb of dry wood matter and 0.35 lb of water. The heat used to drive off moisture is 0.35 lb x 1112 BTU/lb = 389 BTU. The percentage heat lost to drive off the moisture in this case is (389/8600) x 100 = 4.5%. The heat losses due to water evaporation seem pretty small. It seems to me that the main issues with burning unseasoned wood are : (1) the difficulty in getting the fire to start from a cold condition, (2) incomplete combustion of some of the wood gasses if the fire-box temperatures are too low early in the burn, and (3) the creosote formed in the chimney, I suspect that the results of your time vs. temperature tests would have shown more divergence had each test started with a cold stove: the large bed of coals at the start of each of your tests kept up the fire-box temperature, likely accelerating the dry-out of the wood and burning up more of the early wood gasses. Perhaps a second round of tests, each starting with a cold stove, when you have some foul weather and need a good excuse not to be outdoors in it?

[@thomasgreene5750]

First formula should read (1 BTU/lb/F)*(212 F-70 F) + 970 BTU/lb = 1112 BTU/lb

[@howtogetoutofbabylon8978]

Smalll er pieces on much less coals in second burn of seasoned wood. Suggest weighing total charge loads.

[@ianh9696]

Unfortunately that wouldn't work. Even if you had 3 completely identical pieces of wood, shape size and species, they would all weigh differently because of the moisture content. The unseasoned one would weigh more than the seasoned and the kiln dried would weigh the least.

[@marcuswhite3628]

Blown away with your analytics! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole video! Thank you! Marcus from Chesapeake VA.

[@beebob1279]

Kiln dried isn't cheap. Splitting your own is a good work out. My next door neighbor is from Poland and uses a maul to split all the firewood. He built a firewood shed which is fantastic. He's in his early 80's and still swings away. Glad you also burned green wood in the video. Not sure if you forgot to mention the amount of creosote that green wood emits. I clean my flu every cord and a half. That's the recommendation of the wood burner manufacturer that produced my stove. I follow that rule to the letter. It's also a lot easier than

[@RB66_]

Interesting results. Adam, could you do a video on stove maintenance and cleaning out the ash, please. Not sure if you have an ash pan so just wondering how you do it. Thanks

[@smoothlandin]

Excellent video, very informative, well put together, love the 7th grade science project testing style.

[@borealwoodman]

Very nice test, thanks! I'm burning seasoned wood most of the time (with the occasional bit of unseasoned ash). Won't the paying the premium that kiln-dried wood fetches, but it really is wonderful stuff as you can see in your results

[@georgehower8180]

Interesting experiment, although not all was exactly equal. The coal beds for each varied somewhat and the load of kiln dried wood was visual different from the other two as the wood pieces did not fill your stove equally. I realize that it would be difficult to have them be exactly the same as the amount of coals at the start is a subjective variable as are the sizes of the wood splits. Thanks for sharing, it was an interesting comparison.

[@donaldmatthies6026]

That's was very straight forward explanation! I found it interesting. Thank you for taking the time to film and post this video.

[@DerDekan]

Hej Adam, thanks for evaluating. Very interesting indeed. But there is one thing I think had to be adressed: the seasoned firewood is dependant on the weather and season (no pun intended ;) ). Normally, you get the best (lowest) moisture from seasoned wood at the end of the summer or better: after a long period of dry weather. If you got the seasoned wood right from a place in the snow, that's may a reason for a higher moisture. I normally prefer to get all firewood for the winter in a dry shelter before the autumn rain starts and then getting it into the warm house 3 to 7 days before burning. With that I normally get a moisture of approx. 15%. Don't know if that would make a big difference in the average temperature... (disclaimer: I don't have cherry, I only use birch)

[@haroldanderson2781]

Great job with that experiment. I’m surprised that duration was comparable.

[@lordrichard8184]

I would try to store the firewood near the stove. This way as the stove gets super hot it basically acts like a. Kiln and helps dry out the firewood right next to it that you’re getting ready to burn.