Definition of Dry Wood? Firing Your Oven Discuss Definition of Dry Wood? in the Oven Management forums; Originally Posted by dmun Just a random search turned this up: Firewood Identification I'm from the burn-anything-that's-not-pressure-treated camp, btw... Great ...

[WaWaZat]

Originally Posted by dmun

Just a random search turned this up:

Firewood Identification

I'm from the burn-anything-that's-not-pressure-treated camp, btw...

Great stuff! But basically it says that once wood is cut & seasoned, it's all about trusting your wood dealer because it gets tough to tell what's what.

[Neil2]

This table shows that, per ton, all wood is about the same (see right most column). 13 million BTUs per ton.

based on data from: U.S. Forest Products Laboratory

The first number is the weight of a seasoned cord in pounds, second number is heat produced per cord in million BTUs, last number is heat produced per ton in million BTUs.

Hardwoods
Black Ash 2992 19.1 12.8
White Ash 3689 23.6 12.8
Red Oak 3757 24.0 12.8
Beech 3757 24.0 12.8
Blue Beech 3890 26.8 13.8
White Oak 4012 25.7 12.8
White Birch 3179 20.3 12.8
Grey Birch 3179 20.3 12.8
YellowBirch 3689 23.6 12.8
Paper Birch 3179 20.3 12.8
Black Birch 3890 26.8 13.8
Hickory 4327 27.7 12.8
Red or 2924 18.7 12.8
Cherry 3120 20.0 12.8
BlackCherry 2880 19.9 13.8
White Elm 3052 19.5 12.8
AmericanElm 3052 19.5 12.8
Aspen 2295 14.7 12.8
Basswood 2108 13.5 12.8
Cottonwood 2108 13.5 12.8
Apple 4140 26.5 12.8
Hemlock 2482 15.9 12.8
BlackLocust 3890 26.8 13.8
Sugar Maple 3757 24.0 12.8
Eastern 4267 27.3 12.8
Hackberry 3247 20.8 12.8
Boxelder 2797 17.9 12.8
Butternut 2100 14.5 13.8
Softwoods
White Cedar 1913 12.2 12.8
Eastern 2236 14.3 12.8
Western 2236 14.3 12.8
Ponderosa 2380 15.2 12.8
Tamarack 3247 20.8 12.8
Spruce 2100 14.5 13.8
Black Spruce 2482 15.9 12.8
Jack Pine 2669 17.1 12.8
Norway Pine 2669 17.1 12.8
Pitch Pine 2669 17.1 12.8
Balsam Fir 2236 14.3 12.8
Willow 2100 14.5 13.8

If the wood is mixed, try to price it by the ton.

[WaWaZat]

Well, the problem is that wood is sold by volume and not by weight. So if I'm reading this correctly, actually... according to this list... Hickory at 27.7 million BTUs would be the most efficient per chord.

What figure tells us how long wood will burn? That would be a factor in figuring bang for the buck.

[RTflorida]

I love hickory.....burns long and hot (muvh hotter than oak). My problem is finding hickory that has not been eaten up by powder post beetles and dome othe big worny larvae.

RT

[dougrappe]

Hey WaWaZat, I am appreciating this thread, I started out burning kiln dried hardwood scrap from work and found that it made some very nasty black smoke, now i'm in the process of "un-drying" it. Have to get the moisture content back up from 7-8 to something like 15%, I guess some water is necessary for clean combustion especially during heat up of the oven. Anyway, I have tried just two of the local firewood vendors, and found that: surprise, you do get what you pay for. I'm interested to know which So. Side guy you talked to. I bought from A1 on Cermak road (at the expensive end) and the place on Kingsbury near Division street (inexpensive.)
No complaints with either, the more expensive was oak/walnut/cherry versus the cheap, a mix of Chicago street trees including some softwood. Considering trying some other sources until I can get my "free" wood situation sorted out.

Thanks,

Doug

[WaWaZat]

Originally Posted by dougrappe

Hey WaWaZat, I am appreciating this thread, I started out burning kiln dried hardwood scrap from work and found that it made some very nasty black smoke, now i'm in the process of "un-drying" it. Have to get the moisture content back up from 7-8 to something like 15%, I guess some water is necessary for clean combustion especially during heat up of the oven. Anyway, I have tried just two of the local firewood vendors, and found that: surprise, you do get what you pay for. I'm interested to know which So. Side guy you talked to. I bought from A1 on Cermak road (at the expensive end) and the place on Kingsbury near Division street (inexpensive.)
No complaints with either, the more expensive was oak/walnut/cherry versus the cheap, a mix of Chicago street trees including some softwood. Considering trying some other sources until I can get my "free" wood situation sorted out.

Thanks,

Doug

Good Wood in Chinatown is the guy that's really into his work yet on the high side of the price span.

Ez-Tree Recycling 71st & Dorchester was very inexpensive however they have their wood sitting in HUGE piles... not seasoned in stacks. They say their wood was cut in the Spring and right now is dry, but he told me in the winter, his supply would likely be more green.

I ended up finding a guy on Craig's List down in Manhattan IL. Got a generous 1/4 face of mixed, dry hardwoods for $30. He had all his wood off the ground in 4x8 stacks. Really nice guy & seems honest. Let me know if you'd like his #. So far so good.... however I don't have anything to compare it to.

All the above dealers claim to be selling only hardwood. The guy in Manhattan even showed me his pile of soft wood so I knew what to stay away from.

[MK1]

I've noticed open cell wood like cherry and walnut actually dry fairly quick, 2-3 months (if stacked in a fairly dry spot). White oak and osage orange amongst other closed cell species take at least a year.

Mark

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Originally Posted by dougrappe

Hey WaWaZat, I am appreciating this thread, I started out burning kiln dried hardwood scrap from work and found that it made some very nasty black smoke, now i'm in the process of "un-drying" it. Have to get the moisture content back up from 7-8 to something like 15%

hey doug, Im curious about this as i do have some access to kiln dried scraps, was it only a certain type of wood or was it all the kiln dried ?

Mark

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Originally Posted by WaWaZat

Here are pix of the stamps on 2 of my pallets. What do they mean?

Hey wawazat,
Im not sure if i said it in this thread dont like to repeat myself if i can help it, But from what I've been told, Pallets that are painted are made from hardwoods and they are painted to identify them for heavier loads... Unpainted pallets are usually made more cheaply and from soft woods,,

Hope this helps

Mark

[dougrappe]

Hey WaWaZat, thanks for sharing your research, next time I'm out in the "country" with my truck I will make a point to load up, as usual you pay a premium for stuff in the city, meanwhile I'm experimenting again with my scrap wood from work...

Mark, When I first started burning the kiln dried hardwood scrap, I tried to figure out if there was a particularly offensive species in the mix, at first I was sure I must have accidentally included something with a finish on it since the smoke was so acrid. But it turned out it was all making black smoke; cherry, walnut, poplar, maple, mahogany, oaks, ash, all of it. So after doing some reading, I decided to try to add some moisture, weighed a couple boxes of scrap and then added the appropriate amount of water to bring the moisture content up to where it would be, left it in a covered plastic drum for a couple of weeks. Last night I fired up the oven and was happy to find that the black smoke problem was pretty much gone, with the exception of Hard Maple. So I'm figuring the maple, since it is very dense/not so porous just needs more soaking. Actually I threw some of that on the fire once the oven was up to 750-800 degrees and it wasn't a problem. So I say if you can get some hardwood scrap, even if it's kiln dried, give it a try. You can at least use it once the oven is up at high temps, or go the re-moisturizing route which seems to be working ok for me.

Have fun,

Doug