#248
How Dry Should Firewood Be? How Wet is Too Wet? How to season firewood. Indoor Wood burner. What Moisture Content? How to use a moisture meter. R&D Moisture meter. Oak, Cherry, Maple, Hickory. #purplecollarlife
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Published September 19, 2021
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0:00 - Intro
Пікірлер: 86
Check out our moisture meter comparison and review here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/amxqs9WiYs_Zd7A.html
Great finally a sensible comparison with pinned and pinless which shows that the pinless is no use for firewood but likely great with flat cabinet work. Thanks for splitting the wood and measuring the centre with the pinned meter it confirmed that the pinless reading of 11% was no use and the pinned gave a true reading of 18% In UK it is now illegal to burn unseasoned wood or sell unseasoned wood.
Great vid! Really nice to see the variety of meters out there and the pros and cons. Nice job!
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks WST!
Thanks for explaining how to use the meter. Great job!
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome video. I personally find it unnecessary and annoying that these moisture meters feel the need to beep like a cardiac monitor at me. I can read the numbers, I don’t need it to scream at me when the level is high lol
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Good information, thanks for passing it along.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
No problem 👍
Great video , thanks for sharing ! ... hope you are having a lovely winter :)
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you! We appreciate you watching and commenting. It's been a pretty mild winter so far here in northwest PA. My wife prefers that - but I'm ready for some snow!
Good tips and comparison between the moisture meters.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Cool demonstrations Chad thanks!
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Today's gadgets are amazing. I remember it seems like not that long ago I was still clunking wood together to see how it sounded to determine if it was dry enough. ;)
That buck was thinking hey buddy get your firewood of my land! Great video with lots of good info. Much appreciated this will be my first year using wood for heat.
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Glad to hear you enjoyed the video! We really like wood heat. Plus, we enjoy the process of cutting and splitting the wood.
@semiprofessional8470
Жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife it's been a lot of fun so far. Good exercise and fresh air with good reward. Take care friend.
Useful info!
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Sam!
Exactly. Some of us have a catalyst therein. Nice work Sir
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Thanks!
Great video. It would be neat to see a comparison of outdoor fires with the three different types of wood.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Great suggestion! We can do that in a future video. Probably a Spring or summer video. ;)
waw beautiful place
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Yes, thank you
Every 10 degrees below room temp adds 1% to the average reading. If you're splitting dry logs in the middle of winter, say 10 degrees out. Yours going to get a 25% reading when it's actually 19% if it was in your house at room temp. Just something to remember.
@PurpleCollarLife
5 ай бұрын
Very interesting!
I'd say when you just dump the wood into cages it is a bit of an eye sore. Well stacked wood is beautiful
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
We usually stack the wood in the IBC totes. But it doesn't look as nice as a perfectly stacked row of firewood. I'm just horrible at making those nice looking rows! I need the firewood totes for containment. :)
I use to get van loads of fireweood every day for years all for free from funiture manufacture all hard woods cut to size
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Nice! Thanks for watching.
I just checked some ash that I cut split and stacked outside under a covered roof 1-1/2 years ago with a pinned meter that measured 9% on the outside and 16% when I cut it in half and checked the center of the wood
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Mike. That's good info!
Hi, enjoyed the simplicity of your video. I live in a higher elevation area with a lot of wind. Split some wood a couple of months ago from a tree that was downed. It's already reading 10-15% on the meter. However, bark is still intact so it's clearly not seasoned. I'm confused because there's so much talk about wood having to be seasoned for a year but then people say 20% or less is good. If it was recently cut and is reading below 20% is it okay to burn this winter?
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
In my experience, the bark does not always fall off entirely. If you make a fresh split and the moisture level is 10-15%, it sounds like it's seasoned. Wind definitely helps remove the moisture faster. I did a video about how wood even dries in the winter due to the dry air. kzread.info/dash/bejne/qGSFrZVmicbSnJM.html
@bnellaniyah
Жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife Very helpful. Thanks!
General with pin is what i bought for firewood. I guess pins give close to accurate reading on something small and uneven like firewood for pizza oven.
@PurpleCollarLife
11 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Seasoning does NOT indicate (water) dryness. I suggest we measure moisture with a percentage moisture meter and use that meter as per the directions. SEASONING is a a term for makers of furniture or musical instruments in which the pitchiness may take 10 years or more to harden. There are tables on line showing the energy of dry North American tree samples. eg --Cottonwood is one of the worst, Douglas Fir is one of the good ones
@PurpleCollarLife
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching! I agree- testing firewood with a moisture meter is very important. Here's a recent video where I talk about the % moisture content that I find acceptable. kzread.info/dash/bejne/kap_19V-dcvTiKw.html
I need one to check stumps. I think it would help me better estimate how much time a stump will take me rather than just measuring the diameter.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
That's a great idea! It's certainly a use I hadn't thought of.
Crazy on your cherry. It takes 90 -120 days for split cherry to drop to 20% for me. From fresh cut
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
I think part of my issue is that I don’t have much area with lots of great airflow. We live in a valley. And all my firewood “hiding places” don’t get as much sunshine as I’d like. Thanks for watching!
Dry, Seasoned, and Ready to burn - that's the ticket - cheers
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! It's great to have firewood ready before it gets cold. I haven't heard any winter predictions for our area yet, but I'm hoping for lots of snow!
@botabob
2 жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife - Hush!
I watched your other video on meters as well. What are the readings of the meters on the end grain? How close are the pinless to the pinned type in that scenario? I realize it isn't the best way to measure the MC of the wood I'm just curious about what they read in relation to each other. You did it with a few of the pin style but didn't show the pinless on the end grain.
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
The painless moisture meters do not read well on the grain end. They’re better on a straighter surface with the grain.
@jdboy9
Жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife yeah I agree. I ended up buying one myself to see how it worked. I'm sticking with the pins.
Good video! I’ve got a central boiler 6048 going on its 12th winter and it will burn whatever wood you put in it. However, the drier the wood the more BTUs you get and the less creosote build up you have. I’ve got a friend who also has a 6048 and he leaves his logs set all year then just chainsaws off chunks and burns it. I like to mix some split wood that’s dry and some big chunks that are somewhat seasoned. Seems to burn well. I do get creosote build up in the chimney. I just take the chimney down about every 2 years and burn it out. One of the benefits of the outdoor boiler, if the chimney catches on fire, oh well. It will burn out eventually.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! I appreciate you confirming my guesses - that you can burn any wood in those boilers (dry, seasoned, unseasoned, green, fresh cut, small pieces, large pieces. But I figured if it wasn't seasoned, you'd miss out on some BTUs and end up with significantly more creosote build up in the burning chamber and the pipe.
I guess she is right about the metal cages with the plastik roof being an eyesore,...
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Sometimes she is right. Though I don’t find the IBC totes an eyesore. I don’t think they make great landscaping - but I don’t think they look terrible.
Under 20% is good
@PurpleCollarLife
5 ай бұрын
Thanks!
did you mention how hot, dry (or moist) and long your dry season is?
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Great question! We are in northwest Pennsylvania. So we have all 4 seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). We are probably right in the middle as far as humidity. Obviously we're not as humid as the south east (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.). But we're also not as dry as the south west (socal, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.). The nice thing is that our winters are fairly low humidity. And firewood does season through the winter as long as there is dry airflow around it. I did a video about that here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/qGSFrZVmicbSnJM.html Thank you for watching and the great question!
if i do not know what type of wood i have ( mixed hardwood ),what setting should i set my moisture meter on a,b,c,d.?
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Hello - which moisture meter are you using?
@tommytippy4448
Жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife unbranded one off ebay,4 settings a,b,c,d
@tommytippy4448
Жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife kzread.info/dash/bejne/haF_qdGNqKbOc6w.html,this link shows the exact same
What is the humidity in your area?
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
It varies based on season and day. We’re in northwest Pennsylvania.
I have plenty times , burned green, wet wood just hours after taking the tree down. A good bed of hot coals will do it.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Mike. Are you working with an outdoor wood burner, an outside fire pit, or an indoor wood stove? I've found in our indoor stove, that no matter how hot the bed of coals, green/wet wood just doesn't burn well, and creates a lot of dangerous creosote in the burning chamber, the stove pipe, and the chimney. I look forward to hearing about your setup. Thanks!
@treeguyable
2 жыл бұрын
@@PurpleCollarLife Have done the hot coal thing , in a fireplace, never inspected the flue , to see if any residue was left. Definitly do it outside a lot. have a lot of oyster roasts, gatherings in the cold weather.
if you 'season' your wood, but stack directly on the ground and do not cover it....lol whatever
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
We're always improving our system. Those stacks were before we started using skids and IBC totes to store our wood. You're right - it's somewhat counterproductive to season your wood, but leave it on the ground and uncovered.
We usually seasoned ours about 2-3 years before burning. And we kept it elevated to prevent the termites from getting to it. Bad termite problem here. Thanks for the info, Chad! 👍🌲🪵
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, David. 2-3 years is a great seasoning time! We try to keep ours off the ground normally too. My stack of rounds is on the ground (poor planning), but the split wood is usually on skids or in IBC totes.
@treeguyable
2 жыл бұрын
Elevation alone is not the key. Moisture must be present for termites, no matter where it is. You can throw a handful of termites in your house. If the wood is dry, they will go elsewhere.
Dude it would be nice if you knew how to use these meters before you make a video. You need to test on wood at indoor temps for a couple days. Then you need to resplit each piece. Then you put the pins in the fresh split surface Parallel to the grain. The way you are doing it is giving you the wrong readings.
@PurpleCollarLife
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the tips. I actually made another video where I showed this in more detail (splitting right before testing, and testing the fresh split surface area.) kzread.info/dash/bejne/d2iV2LOQosbIfqw.html
'Women" making firewood harder since Christ was a cowboy.
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
Wait, so your wife controls everything and owns the house!?
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
I like to let her think so. Just kidding. We're a great team. We work together and I value her input.
Lol got your hands full with wife. She wouldn't like our province... Usually woman here are happy as long as it is neatly stack. I also don't really get the appeal of hardwoods.... I can burn softwoods in 3-6 months....
@PurpleCollarLife
5 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching! Hardwoods are what we have here in NW PA. Mostly Oak, Hickory, Maple, and Cherry.
Thinking maybe your wife should get priorities straight….just sayin
@PurpleCollarLife
Жыл бұрын
That's funny. But she's usually right.
@mattp9932
6 ай бұрын
Why you gotta rude