Where to buy splits for stick burner?

Also check the Yellow Pages for listings for firewood, tree trimmers, and landscapers. The landscapers may not have any any but may know more tree trimmers and wood suppliers than are listed in the yellow pages. Check fireplace and patio shops for leads too. If there are any fruit orchards or pecan groves in the area they are good to check on.

Face cords(aka ricks) are not necessarily 1/3 a cord. I've always heard it is any length of wood(stick) x 4ft x 8ft, so beware of measurements unless stated in fractions of a cord or explicitly stated in feet and inches. A cord is a *volume* measurement that is 4ft x 4ft x 8ft. BTW a level full standard length wide bed pickup bed is just shy of a rick of ~16" long wood.

Get yourself a inexpensive wood moisture meter because not all wood sold is well seasoned - especially the small volume stuff from the gas station, grocer, or big box stores. Likewise firewood doesn't need to be as well seasoned as cooking wood.

You will need to pick a stick and split it again so you can check in the middle of the stick on the newly split surface to get a reliable reading. Fully seasoned is ~15-20%.

Learn the sound of well seasoned wood to minimise the need for the moisture meter. It will ring/crack like two wooden bats tapped together.

Be careful with Facebook and Craigslist ads. Whether it is intentional or not, many sellers do not know what a "face cord" is versus a "full cord".

I have had many sellers wanting $300 for a 'full cord' only to discover what they had was a 'face cord' (or less) and when I asked about it, they either played dumb or were actually dumb enough to blindly copy someone else's ad with no understanding.

I'm in Lantana and understand your problem. I've been lucky and had a few friends cutting down Australian Pines and they make for some great local free hard wood. Burns a little hot but a nice clean mild flavor. Have you tried Bass Pro shops in Dania Beach. I've seen some logs occasionally.

Academy usually has "mini-logs" that work great..... however, the last time I checked you were paying about $1,200.00 per cord. Still, if you need some wood for a single cook in a hurry you do what ya' gotta do.

rovster said:

Great info everyone I’m learning so much.

While we’re on topic I had a question. Will wood season properly in such a humid environment that we have here in South Florida? I wouldn’t mind putting a pile of wood to season in my garage or attic but it’s muggy as can be in there. Thoughts on this?

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I'm north of you and on the West Coast just S of Tampa. I built a wood shed to store wood while I was waiting on my Shirley and bought what was advertised as a face cord of Oak...turned out to be more. Here's a photo of the shed before I started cooking.

The oak had been cut for about 5 months and split. I resplit the front course so it fits my Shirley. It was in the 25% moisture range when first delivered but now is around 15-18%. Burns great. So to answer your question, Yes, it will season even here in humid FL, but you will need to keep it somewhat out of the weather and provide good airflow.

Sorry.....didn't realize the photo would load upside down, but you get the idea.

The framing is all 2x6 PT Pine. Side walls and underlayment of the metal roof are all PT Decking (cheaper than the 1x6 I was going to use), the floor is leftover Trex decking from a dock we put in last year. Roof is corrugated metal roofing. Joist and Truss hangers are galvanized and all Screws used as fasteners are Stainless, except the roof which are galvanized roofing screws with rubber washers.

We got about 4+" of rain here yesterday and I checked this AM and the front course of wood was completely dry.

cdhbrad said:

I'm north of you and on the West Coast just S of Tampa. I built a wood shed to store wood while I was waiting on my Shirley and bought what was advertised as a face cord of Oak...turned out to be more. Here's a photo of the shed before I started cooking.

The oak had been cut for about 5 months and split. I resplit the front course so it fits my Shirley. It was in the 25% moisture range when first delivered but now is around 15-18%. Burns great. So to answer your question, Yes, it will season even here in humid FL, but you will need to keep it somewhat out of the weather and provide good airflow.

Sorry.....didn't realize the photo would load upside down, but you get the idea.

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How did you measure the moisture?

What is ideal moisture range for oak?

I really feel like the oak I bought is old or too dry or something. It is a bear to burn. Definitely not new firewood, looks old.

Handheld moisture meter. I use a General Tools MMD4E Digital Moisture Meter that I picked up on Amazon for less than $30, Home Depot has them too.
I don't know about "ideal" but everything I've read says anything less than 20% is OK to burn. A lot of mine is getting to the 15% range.
My Shirley doesn't use large amounts of wood for the typical cooks I do. I bought a couple of plastic milk crates from HD and keep them filled with splits and stored in the garage to be sure I always have dry wood to cook with. A 5-6 hour cook uses less than one crate so I'm always ahead.

rovster said:

Thanks! Any pics of the build or a build thread somewhere?

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No, but I used the ideas I found at this link and adapted to my needs:https://myoutdoorplans.com/shed/firewood-shed-plans/ I made mine 7'6" wide overall x 3' deep and used 2x6 framing instead of 2x4. Adapted the foundation to the peers you see instead of concrete blocks. All SS fasteners instead of galvanized. Its probably overbuilt......but it isn't going to fall down either.

Here's another photo from the side view....sorry, still upside down.

cdhbrad said:

Handheld moisture meter. I use a General Tools MMD4E Digital Moisture Meter that I picked up on Amazon for less than $30, Home Depot has them too.
I don't know about "ideal" but everything I've read says anything less than 20% is OK to burn. A lot of mine is getting to the 15% range.
My Shirley doesn't use large amounts of wood for the typical cooks I do. I bought a couple of plastic milk crates from HD and keep them filled with splits and stored in the garage to be sure I always have dry wood to cook with. A 5-6 hour cook uses less than one crate so I'm always ahead.

Click to expand...

Just bought that very one of Amazon. Will be in my hands tomorrow. I've got some walls in the house I'd like to check as well so it will come in handy. Thanks for the recommendation!