How To know if your Firewood is dry - A quick test - BostonFirewood.com

When buying firewood it is hard to know if the wood is dry other than what the dealer of the firewood tells you. The amount of time it takes for split wood to be seasoned and dried to 12 to 20% moisture content is about 12 to 18 months. This requires a lot of space and expensive real estate. So often wood is sold as seasoned that is still pretty high in moisture content.

Best way to find out if the wood is dry is to watch the yard of your firewood wood supplier. If it is empty in May to June and then all of a sudden they have seasoned wood it is time to ask questions regarding the source. Large logs stacked up and not split do not dry well but they do start to rot from the break down of the wood.

Our kiln dried firewood is trucked in from Northern New England suppliers and stored indoors in a heated garage. This keeps the wood dry pests out and prevents mold from forming as it can do when stored outdoors even if covered.

Without a moisture tester, the best way to quickly check the wood is to take two similar size pieces and clap them together. If it has a sharp crack of the bat sound like you get at Fenway Park when a home run is hit then you have dry firewood.

A dull thud is an indication that the wood has water in it. The water acts as a muffler to the sound that the wood could make if it was dry. There is a lot of porosity of the wood so that the water held in the wood can double the weight of each piece of firewood.

Wetter wood just does not burn as well as kiln dried because the water has to be boiled off before the wood can burn well.

Other symptoms of wet wood are when it burns it is hard to light. Once it is burning you get a lot of hissing, smoking and it will not stay burning without adding kindling. You may have to clean the chimney a lot more and it is hard to hold a good draft up the chimney.

If you would like to try great burning firewood give us a call.

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50 Easton Avenue
Hyde Park, MA 02137
Paul Fulmore owner
Contact Phone 781-254-2773