Why you MUST test your Firewood with a Moisture Meter

We had a load of firewood delivered, which the supplier said met the Woodsure ‘ready to burn’ standard.
Expect when I tested it, I found it didn’t. Instead of being 20% moisture, it was 30%.
Unless you trust them, don’t believe what suppliers tell you, test your wood on delivery and reject it if it doesn’t meet the standards they say they supply to.
My Tavool moisture meter measures firewood and domestic moisture and can be bought from Amazon here:
amzn.to/3yY8oHh
#woodsure #readytoburn #woodburner #woodburningstove #firewood #stovebuddy #tavool #woodmoisturemeter

[@MadamTime]

I really like your videos, post them often.

[@earle4370]

Green wood can be a major risk of a chimney fire which could spread to your house. I burnt wood that was not fully cured for the past two winters (I didn't have a choice) and found an awful creosote mess in my woodstove, stovepipe and chimney. I'm trying to get my firewood into a rotation where any newly delivered firewood gets put onto pallets outside to fully cure for a few months or more, and the wood that has sat outside form any amount of time gets moved into the woodshed to be ready to burn. A lot of moving it around, but better burn results and safer too. Great video!

[@Himoutdoors]

Thanks for your comment. I have large piles of wood, but unless it’s dry, it’s not going anywhere near my Woodburner. There’s little point putting in all the effort to cut, split stack, move, stack again and move again only to have it burn in a lacklustre way. When I burn wood, I want it to give off heat, and lots of it, given the effort to get it into my grate. If it’s not ready, I’m waiting until it is, even if that means buying in dry firewood, as much as it peeves me to pay for fuel when I have so much in my garden. I’m planning to build a shelter to store the wood when dry. I will season it outdoors with a plastic sheeting cover, and once dry in the autumn, I’ll be putting them in the woodstore. I see these log stores which open faced and cost about the same as a shed. Why not buy a shed.

[@StephenOverthrow]

That's exactly what I've been doing for the last 15-20 years. Works well and I've never had a problem. Chimney sweep comes once a year, and he's usually done in 10 minutes. Never gets more than the equivalent of a saucepan full of debris from the liner.

[@rosewoodsteel6656]

All the firewood dealer's around here sell "seasoned" firewood. It's seasoned on the trip halfway around the beltway.

[@Himoutdoors]

I get it. Thing is we have a standard called Woodsure, which is supposed to be 20% moisture or less. A lot of wood sellers sell 30% (like the chump who sold mine) and rely on their ‘loyal customers’ not going anywhere else so having no idea what seasoned firewood is like. The difference in heat output is substantial. I don’t mind buying wet wood, i can season it myself. I just don’t appreciate it being advertised as ready to burn, when it’s early not…..

[@rogerknight2267]

South Mississippi here. The drought experienced during the 2023 summer really put my drying time in the fast lane. I have racks of both oak and pecan, all metering at 10% or less. Curious to note, the oak dried and seasoned quicker than the pecan. Not sure why, but I thought it would be just the opposite. Thanks for your post. Very informative.

[@outdoorsinthe608]

Yes lots of people have no clue buyers and sellers about how dry the wood should be. Great explanation👍 Is that length of the log normal for you? Normal here is 16”

[@Himoutdoors]

Thanks. Here in the UK most log burners are 5kW and pretty shallow, just for keeping the sitting room cost rather than heating the whole house, so a 10” log is pretty standard. Mine are a mixture depending on what the tree guys chopped up 🤭. I try to be more consistent when cutting as it helps with stacking. Whereabouts are you based?

[@outdoorsinthe608]

@@Himoutdoors I’m in Wisconsin

[@Himoutdoors]

@@outdoorsinthe608 looks like you have a similar climate to the UK…. It’s -2C here at the moment but it’s normally not this cold thanks to the jet stream. I’ve subscribed to your channel too! Have a Good Friday!

[@outdoorsinthe608]

@@Himoutdoors it’s been really cold here this week! Awesome thank you👍👍

[@lolme7033]

Creosote problem is waaay over-dramatized. If your stove is a fast burning high efficiency stove (that is it must have a fire grate) then the moisture doesn't matter. I used to burn freshly cut wood quite often and if the fire is already fiercely burning there's no problem in feeding it with even soaking wet firewood. You just have to use dry wood from time to time for really hot "cleaning" fire (aspen is very good for this "cleaning" burn) and clean the pipe somewhat more often. It's a different story if your stove is a slow burning stove (sometimes called "pyrolysis" stove) - without the fire grate (so the fresh air can't "feed" the fire from below the wood). They are inefficient (in purely physical terms) and emit much more CO to the atmosphere but who cares if they keep you warm 2-3 longer than efficient grate-equipped stoves (with the same amount of wood). Yes you can add the wet wood if the stove is already hot but those stoves are known to clog up the pipes quite quickly so... just clean the chimney more often. You have to do it anyway even with the hottest of the stoves and driest of the firewoods.

[@Himoutdoors]

Thanks for your comment. Good to hear these issues are overstated. I’ve certainly not worried about it. I only want to burn dry wood because burning wet wood seems like such a waste of effort, when half the energy in the log goes up the chimney as steam…. All that moving, chopping, stacking, moving, moving and finally burning….if it doesn’t yield a lot of heat quite frankly you may as well not have bothered!

[@StephenOverthrow]

Don't agree with that at all. Anyone with knowledge of woodburners, especially the manufacturers, will tell you not to burn wet, even damp wood. For one, it emmits far far more harmful particulates, which the UK government here are trying to ban. Any woodburner, especially the latest more efficient ones, will perform better with proper seasoned wood.

[@lolme7033]

@@StephenOverthrow The only difference between properly dried wood and the wettest of the woods is - surprisingly - the moisture content. It takes energy and time to evaporate the water before the actual burn starts. But on a practical side it's just another method of prolonging the burn. Like using the "pyrolysis" (smouldering combustion) stove or simply (almost) closing the air intake on ANY type of stove. Why we do this? To achieve the same effect - the prolonged burn. Is it physically effective? Of course not. With slow low-temp fire (smouldering, really) you are literally throwing a part of the fuel wood-gases to the atmosphere. You also need to clean the chimney more often. And it is also less safe, because of the CO emission. And in some places it is also illegal. However it's not a disaster but a trade-off. The benefits are clear. The same amount of wood burns several times longer which means we don't have to wake up several times every night to add more wood to our simple metal box of a stove. The only possibility to have such luxury with a fast burn stove is a thermal mass heater - with it we quickly burn the perfectly dry wood with a lot of oxygen but we still don't have to wake up in the night because the thermal mass absorbs all that heat and realeases it slowly later when the burn has already finished. Technically speaking this is the correct way of heating a house. But slow smouldering combustion is also an option, and in some cases it's the only option. Again, it doesn't matter which method we use to achieve the slow "inefficient" (but sometimes very convinient!) burn - using wet / green wood, chocking the air intake, reducing the temperature of the burn by taking the heat from the combustion chamber via the water heat exchanger or something else.

[@loueckert4970]

29%. Give it a year

[@tbo2120]

Great video. How much did you pay for the firewood and what is the quantity?

[@Himoutdoors]

I think it was £160 for 1.2m3. £80 after refund.

[@annaaron3510]

B.S. If you like devices, fine. Experience for those using firewood seriously means one learns to season. Here's what one does: Splits will check on ends. The logs split will be lighter than when green. Many wood species will grey over time seasoning. Banging two splits together will often "ring" like baseball bats. And, in the wood stove unseasoned logs will sizzle. The moisture meters are not accurate for firewood. They do break. JMNSHO from decades heating with self harvested firewood.

[@Himoutdoors]

Thanks for your experience, really helpful. I agree about the timbre of the wood when you knock it together. It resonates. I’m a relatively newcomer to seasoning and burning wood so always happy to learn more tricks. We have a 1 acre garden with plenty of trees which need work so always wood about to season and burn. The moisture meter may not be accurate, but it is more scientific than nothing. What I have found makes the biggest difference is covering the wood to protect from rain and snow. If you do this you can store wood outside and give it long enough and it will season. Thanks again!🙏

[@Spagyr]

@@Himoutdoors thank god you have that moisture meter.

[@mickbrown9021]

Look at that stone age axe and the stone age method of trying to split it !!!

[@Himoutdoors]

😂 Where’s my camera woman? One hand on the camera one hand on the tool. It’s actually a rusty old woodworking tool, now sprayed up and with a new handle, I got from my dad. It’s actually pretty good at making kindling….

[@Resologist]

Test the wood before you accept the delivery. It doesn't take very long to do. Everyone sells "seasoned" wood, (whether it is, or not). Caveat emptor. Never much impressed by folks who buy bags of campfire wood (at inflated prices) or cords of split wood, without testing it.

[@cnoshoes7049]

That's not the worst hatchet I've ever seen,close

[@Himoutdoors]

It’s actually a woodworking tool, gift of my father. 😂

[@johnsousa6708]

They turn gray with age

[@Himoutdoors]

The kiln dried stuff still looks ‘normal’ but I agree, if you season wood naturally, it changes colour from beige to grey.

[@bobikdylan]

No need to push the prongs in. You'll damage them.

[@Himoutdoors]

Maybe not too deep but you need to push it in a little. The prongs are very robust on this one, no fear of damage as long as you push it in straight and pull directly out.

[@Spagyr]

@@Himoutdoors Moisture reading on outside of wood is not same as inside. Did you take pierces randomly split them open and test the inside? Otherwise you will probably burn your house down while freezing to death.

[@Himoutdoors]

@@Spagyryeah, split a few at random and check the inside. The guy selling said he just checked the ends. That how I knew he was a 🤠!

[@HaroldShipley]

People got along without gadgets for 1000s of years. You do not have to test it, just season it thoroughly for adequate time. It will burn just fine.

[@Himoutdoors]

Indeed it will but if you’re buying seasoned firewood don’t you want to know that it is seasoned, and ready to burn? I do! You pay less for unseasoned wood for obvious reasons.

[@rossmac3084]

you have been ripped off my friend..

[@Himoutdoors]

Certainly was. I will not use the guy again, and I reported him to the standards company and told them they might want to do more testing of his product.

[@Spagyr]

Its true. For thousands of.years nobody could burn fiirewood right until the moisture meter was invented. Stupid title and stupid point.

[@Himoutdoors]

Don’t be silly. This is about knowing what you’re dealing with. I’ll give you the number of my dodgy supplier, you can buy unseasoned wood off him and then wait 12 months before you can burn it 🙄

[@Spagyr]

@ I’ve been splitting buying and burning wood my whole life and managed to survive without one. Right now it’s my only heat source. Somehow our pioneering forefathers managed to overcome many difficulties and survive without one. Burning wood does not require you to be dependent on technology to do so successfully. Sure if your passing out bad referrals Ill check your wood guy but I won’t need a moisture meter to know if I can burn the wood. It’s called organoleptics. Go ahead rely on the moisture meter hopefully you will survive if it breaks. Aww I bet you got a back up one so your all good.

[@chrisbrunette9495]

If you’re buying fired wood, you’re wasting money, it’s cheaper to use any other type of heat.. wood is only cheaper to heat with if you have your own wood… now your waisting even more good money 💴 n a moisture meter 🤦‍♂️

[@Himoutdoors]

You’re right. I have plenty of my own wood seasoning nicely, I just needed a bit to see me through the late winter / early spring. I don’t think wood is much more expensive than oil or gas heating, it’s just nice and cost to have a wood burner going in the winter.

[@bearlaceration8971]

Creosote is a big problem with unseasoned wood

[@LaRivoluzionaria]

Solo un gay userebbe così una scure!