How long to dry firewood

[beenthere]

fuzzybear
Any pics of your spread? and shed? 
(we like pics  ;D)

[SwampDonkey]

I burn my firewood anywhere from 6-10 months after it's been cut. It's always lots dry, the ends are all checked wide open and the bark falling off. Last spring I put my firewood directly into the basement from when it was delivered, less bugs and dirt. I kept 1.5 cord outside to put in at end of summer for fall wood. It was lots dry as well and by the time I burn that the other is even dryer with the bark falling off it. Oak is a lot wetter when cut than hard maple, beech and yellow birch. Meaning a lot more water weight, 7-8 lbs more at 30 % MC. The three species I listed are all about the same for weight and sp. gravity and heat value. Doesn't take much to light my firewood in the furnace or shop stove. I know some people that would consider 3 year old firewood too old, even when stored in the shed. Not me, as I see it as just as good as long as it's not spoiled by weather and moisture and things feeding off it. 

Our winters up here are dryer than the mild seasons. RH averages around 70 % all year 'round, but the air is a lot dryer in winter. We only get 30 % of our annual precip in the cold months. High RH doesn't mean high moisture in the air, it's only a ratio. However the higher the dew point the higher the moisture, proven fact of life. ;D

Explaining dew point and RH to the public

[bill m]

Years ago when I worked for a local logger we sold about 350 full cord a year. All cut and split by hand ( no processor just a log splitter ). We would  go into the woods in June and drop all the trees we needed and not limb them at that time. The leaves would suck the moisture out of the trees and by October when we cut and split them they were ready to burn.

[SwampDonkey]

Dad used to sometimes leave the limbs on the trees in the winter cut. In would be out in the field and often the leaves would flush and be supported with stem moister for several weeks, sometimes epicormic branches come out as well. I've cut logs in the late summer and left the tops on until October before I bucked up the logs and firewood. Helps draw the moisture out for sure.

[John Mc]

I'm having trouble believing that leaving the limbs and leaves out draws out enough moisture so that wood is "ready to burn" if left in tree length over one summer, then bucked shortly before burning in the fall. Does it really work that well? (It may be time for another experiment.)

John Mc

[SwampDonkey]

It mostly draws the free water, bound water not so much, but by then it's probably around 30 % MC. What do you think draws free water up the tree when it's standing on the stump? Leaves. The water will flow from high concentration (in the stem) to a low or sink (transpiration from leaves).

[John Mc]

It mostly draws the free water, bound water not so much, but by then it's probably around 30 % MC. What do you think draws free water up the tree when it's standing on the stump? Leaves. The water will flow from high concentration (in the stem) to a low or sink (transpiration from leaves).

SwampDonkey - I'm not arguing that leaving the leaves on doesn't work. In fact, I was the one who brought it up earlier in this thread. What I had trouble with was the idea that leaving the leaves on would accelerate the drying process enough that you could drop a tree in June, leave it tree length (with limbs and leaves attached), buck it in October, and it would be "ready to burn".

My experience has been that tree length just doesn't dry that quickly. Leaves on helps, but I didn't figure it's enough to get things dry enough to burn well in just 4+ months. Time for an experiment next summer, I guess.

John Mc

[rick f]

Around here ( Downeast Maine) we call that Wilted wood. Cut it and let the leaves come out, then in September cut it to lenght, split and pile it for winter. Usually makes for some good wood

[beenthere]

John Mc

The confusion lies in the "ready to burn" perception. Some will burn wood at a much higher moisture than what others consider to be seasoned wood.
Prolly not important enough to try to get anyone to change what they perceive as "seasoned wood".

Some don't want to burn dry wood, as it burns up too quickly. Others don't want to go to all the work/labor of falling, dragging, bucking, splitting, and stacking volumes of wood just to have much of its energy go to converting water to steam. Some don't mind doing this.

I prefer at least two years of split wood stacked for drying. Works best for me.  8)

Leaves, I believe, won't "pull" much moisture out of a tree...and for sure won't pull it out of the heartwood. Maybe a minute bit out of the sapwood.

But perception is the key here. And if that works good for anyone, that is great. 

[stonebroke]

I think if you cut it down as soon as the leaves were out fully, then cut and split once the leavers dry up you would be ok. I did it and it seemed to work.

Stonebroke

[Dodgy Loner]

Leaves, I believe, won't "pull" much moisture out of a tree...and for sure won't pull it out of the heartwood. Maybe a minute bit out of the sapwood.

Here is a simple experiment you can try: Next spring, fell a tree after the leaves are fully flushed, then immediately tie clear plastic garbage bags over a few of the branches. Make sure the bags are watertight and not damaged during the process. Wait a few days and see how much water has collected in the bags. I think you will be surprised.

[SwampDonkey]

John it's not the traditional method in my area to do it that way. I only recall doing it to work small quantities into the main firewood supply for the house. Traditionally, most firewood was cut in the fall and winter of this year and burned starting next September. If you had a kitchen wood burning stove and a huge woodshed, there could be wood stacked for 2-3 years before the entire shed of wood was replaced with new wood again. The truth is, no one of us knows how dry to other guys wood is that he is burning. I don't know what the MC is of my wood exactly, I don't carry a moisture meter. But, I can say for sure that it isn't wet and it lights easy and it doesn't sound like bacon sizzling on the frying pan. Not only that, I have to open windows  with only 2 or 3 split sticks, from a 10-14" maple, beech y. birch, of firewood in the furnace that burns 6-8 hours per reload. In the real cold weather, way below zero, that same wood will be gone in 5 hours. Now if I had oil, then I not only would I be spending a lot more of my hard earned cash to heat, but I'd be half froze. I like to be warm, so I'm burning wood. I'll order just the same amount of wood this spring as I always have and be just fine and dandy and toasty warm next year. :D

[bill m]

Most of the trees we were cutting were Ash, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, and Black Cherry. I don't think it would work as good with some of the other hard woods with a higher moisture content such as Oak.

[John Mc]

Here is a simple experiment you can try: Next spring, fell a tree after the leaves are fully flushed, then immediately tie clear plastic garbage bags over a few of the branches. Make sure the bags are watertight and not damaged during the process. Wait a few days and see how much water has collected in the bags. I think you will be surprised.

I doubt I'd be surprised. I know that there's moisture there. The bags would have quite a bit of water if I cut the limbs off the trunk, or even stripped the leaves and put them in the bag. How do you tell where the moisture in the bag is coming from?

Again, I'm not saying this technique doesn't help dry the wood. My question is: does it do enough of it that tree length wood is ready to burn in only 4 months? My bet is that Beenthere has it: it depends on what your perception of "ready to burn" is.

[SwampDonkey]

I doubt I'd be surprised. I know that there's moisture there. The bags would have quite a bit of water if I cut the limbs off the trunk, or even stripped the leaves and put them in the bag. How do you tell where the moisture in the bag is coming from?

I assume your mean what area of the trunk, sapwood or heartwood. I wonder if a dye could be injected with pressure, red in the heart and  blue in the sap? I don't know if the two dyes wouldn't combine and make magenta. Does green and magenta make white? It does with the color slider in Photoshop. :D

[John Mc]

I doubt I'd be surprised. I know that there's moisture there. The bags would have quite a bit of water if I cut the limbs off the trunk, or even stripped the leaves and put them in the bag. How do you tell where the moisture in the bag is coming from?

I assume your mean what area of the trunk, sapwood or heartwood.

Actually, I meant how much was coming from the leaves and limbs, vs the trunk. I know the foliage has a lot of moisture when green.

[SwampDonkey]

Leaves wouldn't have much, they'll burn up by days end when we cut little trees. Some definitely comes from the limbs, it's all connected. But as I said earlier, where there is a sink, the higher concentration of water flows toward it. Every bit helps dry the wood for those that might be behind in there firewood cutting. It's probably somewhere around 25-30% MC when the leaves draw it out for a few weeks. Leaves suck a lot of water, all the more the hotter and  brighter the day. If you had a meter you could test MC for various species. Don't do it for oak and say it's the same for rock maple, beech and yellow birch. ;)

[james]

lets see
out here my choices are : fir , tamarack or quaking aspen the fir and tamarack are standing dead cut in the spring , buck split and stack ready the next fall
james

[chevytaHOE5674]

I generally try to cut next winters wood during our spring break up (generally marchish). So in a few weeks I'll start making wood for next winter and it will be well seasoned by next winter.

[John Mc]

I generally try to cut next winters wood during our spring break up (generally marchish). So in a few weeks I'll start making wood for next winter and it will be well seasoned by next winter.

How are you storing it once it's cut? That can make a big difference in whether it's dry by next winter.

[chevytaHOE5674]

I cut split and stack it in rows running east to west, so the wind blows down through the rows. Then come winter I stack as much as possible in the basement with one of the woodstove vents blowing on it, so it acts like a kiln.

[Hans1]

This is a great discussion on firewood i heat with a wood boiler and for the last 2 winters cold by our standards i have heated with mostly hickory cut not usaully split and burned within a few weeks it burns fine but i am wondering how much extra i am using and it does make for lots of ash compared to when the wood is dry. The wood all comes from TSI so the supply to me is unlimited.

[ickirby]

This is a great discussion on firewood...

I agree Hans.

I my self burn 5-7 cords of green ash (pennsylvanica), it is so cheap to get right now in log length delivered that I can't justify going out and cutting my own.  It is cut and split and stacked outside in rows between trees uncovered for 8 months.  I know I should cover the piles but I have good drying and limited troubles with precipitation.  As soon as the frost leaves the ground first project of the year is to add two 12'x16' pole shed style awnings to my shed and that will be my new wood shed(s).  One for this years wood and one for next years wood, alternating.   

I started heating primarily with wood two winters ago.  After growing up learning some good and not so good advice from family about heating with wood I was looking for some good information and found a lot of good info online.  One website I found particularily useful was www.woodheat.org.  I really liked the videos on the site.

Enjoy

[BCinVT]

Great to see this thread still going. smiley_clappingHaven't been on lately because I've been up back cutting wood for next year.Trying to stick mostly with maple for next year,then in the spring I'll cut a bunch of yellow birch for the winter after next.Saw some very intersesting replies on here about time of drying.From what I've gathered,I'll try to let my wood dry at least a year.It'll be getting split and stacked in a woodshed as soon as I can build one in the spring.

[John Mc]

BCinVT -

If you are stacking it in your woodshed green, just make sure you design the shed for good airflow, and leave some space between the stacks... otherwise, a year may not be enough drying time, especially up here in VT.