Buying Firewood in New Jersey

The rules behind a firewood sale

New Jersey's weights and measures rule for wood used as fuel, N.J.A.C. 13:47C-3.1, ties advertising and method of sale to the national handbook published through NIST (Handbook 130). It also adds state requirements of its own:

• A numbered ticket. The delivery ticket or sales invoice must include a serial number.
• Records the seller keeps. Copies of delivery tickets and invoices must be kept for at least six months and be available to weights and measures officers.
• Remeasuring. Cordwood, firewood, fireplace wood and stove wood can be inspected by a weights and measures officer in transit, at delivery or at any reasonable time afterward.

The NIST consumer guide on firewood covers the units: a cord equals 128 cubic feet, sales must be in cords or fractions of a cord, and words like truckload, face cord, rack or pile carry no legal definition. Our firewood guide shows how to measure a stacked delivery and do the arithmetic, so it is not repeated here.

Kindling has its own line in the same chapter. N.J.A.C. 13:47C-3.17 says kindling sold by weight is measured by net weight, unless it is sold by the bushel or half bushel, and the container must state the quantity.

Before you order: settle five things

Most firewood disappointments trace back to something that was never said out loud on the phone. Pin these down first and write the answers next to the seller's name.

1. The amount, in cordsAsk for the price of a full cord, a half cord or another fraction. If the seller quotes a face cord, a rack or a truckload, ask what that is in cubic feet or fractions of a cord.
2. The woodAsk which species are in the load. A mixed load is fine as long as you know what is in it.
3. The historyAsk when the trees were cut and when the wood was split. Splitting time matters more than cutting time, because split wood dries far faster than rounds.
4. Delivery and stackingAsk whether the wood is dumped or stacked. Ocean County's Office of Weights and Measures suggests asking the seller to stack it and notes there may be an extra fee.
5. The paperworkConfirm you will get a ticket or invoice at delivery. Ocean County lists the seller's contact details, the price, the quantity and the type of wood as what the receipt should show.

Ocean County's office also cautions that a cheap cash deal is not always good value. A low price for an undefined pile tells you little about what you are buying.

Seasoned, kiln-dried and heat-treated

Three words appear on firewood ads and bags, and they mean very different things.

• Seasoned. A seller's description of wood that has been left to dry. It has no measured threshold on the ad, so test it. EPA uses about 20 percent moisture as the target for burning, and the firewood guide explains how to check a delivery with a meter.
• Kiln-dried. Wood dried in a kiln. Don't Move Firewood, a public education program that USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service points people to, describes kiln-dried as a term without a firm definition and with no legal standing, since times and temperatures vary. It may burn well, but the label alone says nothing about pests.
• Certified heat-treated. Wood treated under a compliance agreement to reach a set core temperature for a set time. The same program notes that the most common U.S. standard is 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for 60 minutes, and that the label should carry a seal from USDA APHIS or a state agency with regulatory authority.

For burning, the question is moisture. For moving wood, the question is pests. A bundle can pass one test and fail the other.

The pest side: New Jersey's quarantine

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture states that all counties in the state are under quarantine for the spotted lanternfly, and it lists firewood of any species among the regulated articles. Members of the public who move regulated items can do so after completing a compliance checklist confirming they inspected the items and found no living lanternflies. The insect lays egg masses of 30 to 50 eggs on flat surfaces, and bark on stacked firewood is one of those surfaces.

Federal rules changed for a different pest. USDA APHIS removed its domestic emerald ash borer quarantine on January 14, 2021, and no longer regulates the movement of hardwood firewood for that insect. APHIS notes that other federal or state quarantines may still apply, and it continues to encourage people to buy or gather firewood where they burn it or to use certified heat-treated firewood.

• Buy from a seller near where you will burn the wood.
• Do not bring wood home from a trip, a vacation house or a relative's property in another area.
• Look over each delivery for egg masses and live insects before you stack it near the house.

Delivery day, step by step

1. Be there if you canOcean County's office suggests measuring the wood before using it and even measuring it on the truck before it is dropped. If the wood is delivered, write down the license number of the delivery vehicle.
2. Look at the loadCheck for rot, mold, painted or treated pieces, pallet slats and construction offcuts. EPA lists painted, treated and moldy wood among the things not to burn, so they do not belong in the pile you paid for.
3. Get the ticketUnder New Jersey's rule it should carry a serial number. Check that it shows the amount in cords or a fraction of a cord.
4. Stack and measureStack the wood neatly before you measure it, then compare with the ticket. The method is in the firewood guide.
5. Test a sampleSplit a handful of pieces taken from around the pile and check each fresh face with a moisture meter. Keep wet wood in its own row to dry.

Bundles from the store

Small shrink-wrapped bundles from grocery and hardware stores are convenient for a few fires or a fire pit. They make sense for occasional use and little storage space. Read the label for the quantity and for a heat-treatment certification if you plan to carry the wood anywhere. Compare what you would pay per bundle with a fraction of a cord before using bundles to heat with all winter.

Store bundles off the ground and outdoors like any other wood. A bundle that feels heavy for its size or shows mold on the cut ends deserves a meter reading before it goes in the firebox.

If the delivery comes up short

The NIST guide's advice is to contact the seller first and, if the seller will not correct a shortage, to contact your state or local weights and measures authority before you burn any of the wood. Burning the evidence makes a complaint hard to support.

• Photograph the stacked wood with a tape measure in view. Ocean County's office suggests taking a picture whenever you think there is a discrepancy.
• Keep the ticket and note the vehicle's license number.
• Contact your county or state office of weights and measures. Ocean County, for example, lists its own office as the contact when a problem cannot be resolved with the seller.

Wood that turns out to be wet is a different problem. It is still worth raising with the seller, but the practical fix is time: stack it separately and let it dry. Burning wet wood builds creosote quickly, as creosote: stages, risk and removal explains.

Questions homeowners ask

Sources

1. N.J.A.C. 13:47C-3.1, Wood for use as fuel or flavoring (via Justia Regulations)
2. NIST / National Conference on Weights and Measures: How to protect yourself when buying firewood
3. New Jersey Department of Agriculture: Spotted lanternfly quarantine, plain-language summary (PDF)
4. USDA APHIS: Emerald ash borer program transition fact sheet (PDF)
5. Don't Move Firewood: Kiln dried vs. heat treated firewood
6. Ocean County, NJ, Consumer Affairs: Staying warm tips (firewood)

This guide is general information. It can't diagnose a specific chimney; an inspection can.