I'm too stupid for firewood (identification help)

[Fried Chicken]

What makes good firewood? What's the difference between dried, seasoned, and weathered?

I had some firewood that was seasoned, but the firewood rack was sprayed by a a sprinkler the whole time and that caused the wood to turn very lightweight and rot out... I think.

I took all those pieces and put them in the fire pit, thinking they were useless. Fortunately I didn't actually light the firepit, b/c when I took some of those and put them in the fireplace, I got some serious heat and happiness out of them.

Then I had some split logs/pieces.... those were more substantial in weight, but difficult to light and stank and crackled when burned. Those were what I thought were the "proper" pieces.

Then there were just the regular dry logs that had sat for ages and burned fine.

I can't believe I actually have to ask this... I feel like a *******.

 

[Anonym]

Sassafras is a wood that dries very light, burns hot, and the oils in the wood cause it to pop and crack a lot. Hard to tell without pictures or any other information.

 

[Fried Chicken]

It's definitely oak; I'm just concerned with distinguishing seasoned vs weathered vs dried.

These logs were felled ~6 months ago after dying of some oak disease; I came and split them about a month ago and put them in my rack.

 

[Chainsaw Pete]

I think some of what you are asking is semantics. Dried usually refers to kiln dried firewood - expensive and not something most folks who are burning wood for heat will pay the premium. Seasoned means air dried, buck the log, split the rounds, stack them and cover them to keep rain away while allowing air flow. Weathered to me, means the wood was tossed in a big pile and not covered, but my interpretation is not gospel.

Dried wood will have a moisture content down to single or low two digits, seasoned wood (aka air dried) stabilizes around 17 to 20% depending on your climate, and weathered wood will probably end up close to seasoned wood. The caveat of course will be your weather. Seasoned wood that has seen flooding or excessive rain can be anyone's guess.

How do you define best? Kiln dried will probably give the most btu's per pound of wood for the highest cost. Seasoned is what everyone burns. Weathered will probably include some wood that is rotting and would likely give the lowest btus/lb.

For me, the best firewood depends on the species...and availability. If you cannot get it (or afford it) the stuff is not going to heat your house.

 

[H-Ranch]

What's the difference between dried, seasoned, and weathered?

I don't think you'll find a meaningful, universal definition for each word that distinguishes the differences. Each one may be used to mean something else in various areas. There used to be a member here that would get upset when people referred to firewood as "seasoned", even when shown that there are several dictionaries that specifically define it as one of the uses of the word.

I see sellers all the time using seasoned in their description, but often that means cut and split within the previous 3 months. Usually that is not enough time even with the best conditions to have wood ready to burn properly. Maybe the correct way is to determine the percentage of moisture content (%MC). Some trees are naturally low (Ash) and some are naturally high (Willow). 15-20% should be the target, whether that takes 6 months or 3 years being split and stacked. Cheap moisture meters are available, though they should only be trusted to show directional, not absolute moisture content.

Split small, stacked loose in single rows off the ground in full sun and wind, maybe with the top covered is about as fast as it will naturally dry. Full logs/rounds, covered, piled directly on the ground will almost surely make a wet pile of moldy wood no matter how long it sits.

 

[H-Ranch]

I think some of what you are asking is semantics.

Yep, good post. You type faster than I do. LOL

 

[Michael E]

Get yourself a moisture meter, they are not expensive and give you accurate information.

Your drying times seem too short. Even if the tree died some time ago, it takes a whole trunk a long time to dry. Split wood has a bigger surface area and dries faster - a lot faster.

Keeping your stack wet with a sprinkler seems like a really - how do I put this? - unhelpful thing to do. Surface moisture like rain dries fast in comparison to the wood moisture inside the cells, but still.

About the weight of your logs: Wood has a certain amount of energy per weight. Some species have denser wood, some less dense. You need more logs to assemble the same weight, but the energy is the same. Like you already found out, "lighter" wood burns easier and hotter. Just not as long.

Again, get a moisture meter, stick it in the log and don't burn it unless the moisure content is less than 20%, better below 15%.

 

[Fried Chicken]

So the really light wood I think the fungus came and ate it.

I've heard that wood exposed to the elements (in the video referred to as seasoned: exposed to the four seasons) actually has the best heat and burning properties.

I think it was this one:


The sprinkler wood basically rotted out, but maybe that's desirable?

 

[Del_]

These are such difficult concepts!

YouTube is spyware.

 

[Chainsaw Pete]

Yep, good post. You type faster than I do. LOL

Thanks, but your first sentence nailed it.

 

[Chainsaw Pete]

Get yourself a moisture meter, they are not expensive and give you accurate information.

Again, get a moisture meter, stick it in the log and don't burn it unless the moisure content is less than 20%, better below 15%.

I have to wonder about this. Some years ago I started looking for a moisture meter to identify wood that was dry enough for furniture making. The good ones tended to be expensive and you had to drive the pins deeply into the wood. A cheap moisture meter is going to measure only a shallow depth into the chunk of wood. I'm thinking of most of the split firewood that i've seen, with chunks a good 4" across (and smaller, and also bigger). Even the good meters will not tell you the moisture in a chunk that thick. As @H-Ranch said, use the meter to indicate the wood is drying (direction) rather than the absolute moisture content.

For most of us, stacking the split wood, keeping rain off it (and sprinklers) and waiting for most of a year is sufficient. For those with OCD, grab a chunk, run it through a table saw cutting out a stick roughly 1" square. Weigh it carefully, toss it in your oven and cook it at say 200ºF for several hours, weigh it again. Now do the math and calculate the percentage of weight lost.

 

[J D]

So the really light wood I think the fungus came and ate it.

I've heard that wood exposed to the elements (in the video referred to as seasoned: exposed to the four seasons) actually has the best heat and burning properties.

I think it was this one:


The sprinkler wood basically rotted out, but maybe that's desirable?

It's more relative to the wood species... lots split better dry/seasoned, but others like gum or poplar not so much. The time it takes for the wood to dry or "season" is again going to be dependant on species, density, cut size, & drying conditions. With some denser woods getting a bit wet occasionally doesn't matter (& may even help) but a lot of lighter woods will soak up any available moisture like a sponge & then rot.
Then there's the bugs & fungi to think about too & what impact they might have depending on the wood & the environment

 

[J D]

I have to wonder about this. Some years ago I started looking for a moisture meter to identify wood that was dry enough for furniture making. The good ones tended to be expensive and you had to drive the pins deeply into the wood. A cheap moisture meter is going to measure only a shallow depth into the chunk of wood. I'm thinking of most of the split firewood that i've seen, with chunks a good 4" across (and smaller, and also bigger). Even the good meters will not tell you the moisture in a chunk that thick. As @H-Ranch said, use the meter to indicate the wood is drying (direction) rather than the absolute moisture content.

For most of us, stacking the split wood, keeping rain off it (and sprinklers) and waiting for most of a year is sufficient. For those with OCD, grab a chunk, run it through a table saw cutting out a stick roughly 1" square. Weigh it carefully, toss it in your oven and cook it at say 200ºF for several hours, weigh it again. Now do the math and calculate the percentage of weight lost.

Or just take a couple of average pieces of wood from the pile, split them, & measure the moisture content in the center

 

[capetrees]

Just split whatever wood you have green now and stack it. It will be good to burn in 8 months to 1 year if stacked correctlly where the air can get to it. As far as it getting wet, don't put your firewood pile in a place where the sprinklers will get it wet continuously. And if it does get wet by sprinler or rain once it's seasoned, remember, wet wood burns, green wood doesn't.

 

[J D]

remember, wet wood burns, green wood doesn't.

Anyone foolish enough to keep deepheat in the same draw as the ky will know that wet wood can indeed burn... been many years since I had "green wood", but I'd say that'd definitely burn too!

 

[Michael E]

The sprinkler wood basically rotted out, but maybe that's desirable?

No.

 

[Greg Tracy]

A real easy test of good firewood smack 2 pieces together. A really loud cluck wood is ready any dull sound wood is wet green or rotten. Green wood when burned will sizzle sap hard to light and produce not much heat. Anymore to identify a plant I got a free app on my phone to do this job.

 

[Hermio]

What makes good firewood? What's the difference between dried, seasoned, and weathered?

I had some firewood that was seasoned, but the firewood rack was sprayed by a a sprinkler the whole time and that caused the wood to turn very lightweight and rot out... I think.

I took all those pieces and put them in the fire pit, thinking they were useless. Fortunately I didn't actually light the firepit, b/c when I took some of those and put them in the fireplace, I got some serious heat and happiness out of them.

Then I had some split logs/pieces.... those were more substantial in weight, but difficult to light and stank and crackled when burned. Those were what I thought were the "proper" pieces.

Then there were just the regular dry logs that had sat for ages and burned fine.

I can't believe I actually have to ask this... I feel like a *******.

There is really no difference, from a practical standpoint, between seasoned and dried. Usually, seasoned means allowed to dry over several years, which makes the wood develop cracks which make it easier to split, especially by hand. But it does not burn any better than wood which has been dried fully. The key is moisture content. The goal is to get the wood to 15% moisture or below. This usually requires storage under a covering. Moisture content can be measured with a moisture meter, which can be had for less than $100. In terms of species, the key is density. All woods have pretty much the same BTU content on a dry mass basis, but density varies greatly. For example, basswood has a dry density less than half of hickory, and yields about the same BTU/ton dry basis. However, wood is sold by the cord, and a cord of basswood thus delivers less than half the heating value of a cord of hickory. Another factor is burn rate. In general, the less dense woods burn faster than the denser woods. So, if you want to get some quick heat, choose a light wood. If you want sustained heat over a longer period, use a denser wood. You can find a table of wood density here: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-density-d_40.html
Heating values and weight per cord can be found here: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-combustion-heat-d_372.html

 

[echomeister]

This one works fine for me
https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-mini-moisture-meter-67143.html

 

[Stihlproincky]

As a firewood processor.. I'll tell you what's our protocol is and what the locals expect from these terms.

Seasoned:
Seasoned means the sap has dried out of it, doesn't mean it's dry and ready to burn. Wood is typically considered seasoned if it's been cut/dead 3-9 months- 1 year depending on species. Seasoned wood can be wet still from laying on the ground or rain (or sprinklers )

Dry wood/dried:
Dried wood can mean kiln dried but in our terms it's been stored in the dry, (barn, shed or under a tarp) until the moisture content reaches an average of 20%, depending on how seasoned the wood was when stored it could take a week to a month for wood to dry. Also depends on weather (moisture in the air) one tip would be split your wood and leave it in the sun for a day or two.

Now as far as weathered, as long as it's not rotted it's fine. We sell to some who don't like weathered wood cuz it's (dirty) by the looks. Burns fine as long as it's dry. As others said, a moisture meter will help. A good mix of wood would be some drier for starting or keeping small fires and some with more moisture to hold and burn longer, per say that mix would range from 15-25% moisture content.

I hope this helps.