# Can wood be too dry?



## OJ Rallye (Aug 4, 2005)

My stepdaughter bought property that has lots of cut/split wood in an open but roofed machine shed. She said it might be too old and dry and would burn up too fast.
Can this be?
We have an outdoor woodburner heating our house and shop.

Thanks
David


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## Beef11 (Feb 2, 2006)

????? to dry??? Sounds weird to me. The dryer the wood will ave an effect on how quickly it burns. The type of wood would have more of an effect than that i would think. BURN IT. If it burns to quickly mix it with other wood.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

It's free and ready to use. What does it matter how fast it burns.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

It'll still burn. Mix it with something else if it burns too fast, you'll still have to feed it more often but sounds like burning it is your best way to get it out of the way anyway.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

No it can't be "too dry". You control the speed of burning by controlling the air to the fire.


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## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

Hello OJ
The reason she thinks that way is that new green wood contains so much moisture that all the water has to be evaporated away first before the wood itself can be consumed. That's why it lasts longer. But this is not a good thing! Lots of the BTU's in the wood are being used to evaporate the water instead of heating the house, and also encourages the buildup of creosote which is NEVER good. WisJim is correct, the proper way to control the rate of burning is by controlling the air intake. Bone dry wood that has turned grey with age is about as good as it gets. Do you know what species it is, ie: oak, pine, fir, or whatever? If it's dried oak, you'd better buy a gun to protect it; it's that valuable!
Michael


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