Seasoning Firewood

[doctorb]

I would be interested in the Forum's opinions on the best method(s) to dry firewood for OWB use.  Stacked? Piled? Under cover or exposed?  Is the method used different for larger diameter pieces versus split?  Have any of these variables really been shown to speed the process of seasoning wood?  Given, say, six months of drying time, do any of these things matter?

Doctorb

[OneWithWood]

Ideally I like to have my wood all split and stacked a year before I use it.  That's the ideal and rarely happens so I burn a lot of wood that is six months or less.  I do not cover the stacks.
There is a noticeable difference in burn characteristics and btu output.  The drier stuff definately works better.

[doctorb]

OWW-

We are all in the same boat.  I'd love to have all next winter's fuel up before May, but it just doesn't seem to completely happen (Bass season!).  Has anyone tried to stack it (shed covered) and then use fans to better ventilate it?  I just wanted to know if any members take any action to influence the water content, other than letting time do its thing.  I see long outdoor stacks of wood with just the top covered to protect from the weather.  I see  stacks and piles completely covered with tarps (love the look of the blue tarps covering large wood piles with old tires to hold them down!).  I see piles of split and unsplit logs awaiting some signal that tells the owner that they are ready.  It would be nice if someone has studied this to determine the best method to get the maximum drying out of the minimum of time.

doctorb

[sawdust]

lean-to open to the south. I have built a round tower in the past (has a name) and put a tarp on the top. I try to stay a season or two ahead but  :
The road to hell.

sawdust.

[tonto]

I stay a year or two ahead and cover it with the heavier duty silver tarps tied down good with rope and 2"-3"x6' branches on the tops. 24'x18'x5' stack on oak pallets with a foot spacing every 3 ranks. It works nice with the tarp tied down and the branches because the wind doesn't lift it like a parachute. The only thing that is a pain is the snow in the winter, would like to build a shed big enough to cure this, some day.  Tonto.

[Magicman]

I began using firewood in 1976.  This is my first year to throw the tarps away and have a real woodshed.  Of course, I use only a fraction of what is needed further North, but I still lost some wood.  Tears happen and a percentage of wood always went to the beetles and rot.   :-\



This is also my first year with a hydraulic splitter.   ;)

[beenthere]

I palletize the split wood, and stack the pallets two high. Then toss a 5x5 tarp of rubber roofing over the top.
Not for outdoor boiler burning, but inside so I may split it finer than others with outdoors. But I have 2-3 years ahead now.

Used to stack the split wood under roof, but the racoon discovered it as their toilet dump, and what a mess. Only pest now are some mice, but a few packets of poison pellets take care of them at the appropriate time.

[doctorb]

If there was a best way, we wouldn't have all these variations on a theme.  Keep those wood seasoning examples coming.  They are informative and confirmative.  Pics are great and thanks to those before me.  I'll try to get a pic of my set-up and post.

Doctorb

[trapper]

this year on my outside piles I try to finish up on top on an angle sloping to the side of the side of the pile and put slabs cut side up on top as a roof. most of my wood is in a carport and an open polebarn

[Magicman]

I palletize the split wood, and stack the pallets two high.

Wow, I was just trying to figure out how many years that would last me.    At least three four !!!  

[beenthere]

Magicman
That row is about 1/2 a winters worth. I use about 1 pallet a week to heat the house from early October through March, and some less the two months outside those 6.

[woodmills1]

when using only mother nature, always stack never pile and for quickest dry split all but the smallest and only stack 2 sticks wide and cover only the tops

BTW  the definition of seasoned wood up here is wood cut and split for at least 2 months between march and september, before being sold................no mention of stacking   that red oak cut in september and in a pile will still be nearly dead green 2 months later in early december the same red oak cut in march will be quite wet injune but the buyer would have june through sept to dry if well stacked and top covered

[Brucer]

Three things for rapid seasoning: moving air, low relative humidity, lots of surface area.

My woodshed is basically a peaked roof with open sides all around. The roof is supported on 6x6 columns with a lattice of 1x4's on 16" centres for walls. The raised "floor" consists of 2x8's spaced 16" apart so air can move up from below. I always leave a foot of space between the top of the pile and the roof. This arrangement lets the air circulate easily and even a slight breeze has a tremendous drying effect.

Most of us can't do much about the local humidity. Moving air will at least counteract high humidity to some extent.

Lots of surface area = smaller pieces of wood. Every time you split a piece of wood, you increase the surface area. Kindling dries real fast ... it also burns up real fast. So it's a trade-off: dryer wood or longer burn. I tend to stack my bigger pieces first so they'll have more time to dry.

One thing about tarps -- they limit air movement and most of them will trap water vapour. The trapped vapour will increase the relative humidity under the tarp to nearly 100%. Whether you use a tarp or a roof, the key is "covered", not "wrapped".

[SwampDonkey]

I get mine delivered in May from fall harvests the previous year. I stack most of it right away in the basement and in the shop and leave a cord or so outside stacked and untarped. That wood is more seasoned and drives any excess moister from the basement stored wood, so by the time I get to it it's real dry for the furnace. My basement also has air flow on that wood with a window and basement door open. Storing your wood undercover keeps the bugs out. Was always bad for ground beetles now hardly see one. You will always have spiders, they cling to sticks of wood like a calf to a teat. Our spiders are harmless in these parts. One of the bennies of the north. :D

[doctorb]

I spoke to a firewood delivery guy who's been doing this for years.  He does not believe that a full tarp is the best way to dry the wood.  While it protects it from rain, insects, and critters, he thinks that it slows the drying process considerably.  He recounted that one of his yearly customers went to a fancy rack to stack his firewood on a porch near his front door.  This rack came with a full length cover that extended to the ground.  The customer complained that his wood was wet when he went to burn it 4-5 months later, which had never been the case before.  (I have purchased wood from this gentleman on several occasions and it has uniformly been well-seasoned at delivery.  His wood is the most fire-ready wood I have ever purchased)  The only explanation he could give his customer was that the cover prevented further seasoning and perhaps made it worse.  Anyone have a similar inclination?

Doctorb

[OneWithWood]

A full cover stops any air flow and could create some condensate.  In areas of steady snow accumulation a cover on top of the stacks will help remove the snow.  I leave my stacks open to the elements because I do not think the split wood absorbs enough water to justify any covering.  It does not take a lot of sunlight to evaporate the surface water.

[Corley5]

Fall and cut live tree into 10' lengths, haul with forwarder to processor, processor cuts and loads into truck, haul home dump in shed in front of boiler and burn.  Repeat when the pile runs low  ;D ;D  Typical seasoning time a few hours to close to two weeks for the last of the pile 

[Mooseherder]

You must know someone in the Biz. :D

[shinnlinger]

I built a bunch of firewood caddies out old old pallets and scrap wood.  Basically, you take a pallet and set it on the ground use other pallets or scrap wood to make 2 sides and a roof an attach an old piece of metal roofing or ply wood or car hood or whatever on top.  If you got nice pallets for the base and bought the lumber for the sides and roof, they could look halfway decent if you needed them to.

I can then set these caddys out in a field with one side getting morning sun on one side and afternoon sun on the other.  The wind and sun do a decent job drying and come winter I will move these in close with my tractor.

I could see doing something similar with a truck frame and just wheel it to where you want it.  I even have a few junk TOyotas I plan to do this with, but have yet to get around to it.

If you want to dry wood faster, you can watch craigs list for free sliding glass door sets (or French doors if you can get them)and build upright boxes for your wood and use the door on the front to make a cheap solar kiln.

[Corley5]

I just happen to know a guy  ;D ;D

[Magicman]

I have a couple of firewood oaks that I will fell next week.  I don't have time, plus it's too darn hot to buck it up and split, so I'll just let it lay for a couple of weeks with the limbs/leaves on it.  Maybe the leaves will pull some moisture out of them?

[doctorb]

Corley5

Do you use salt and pepper on that or just burn it plain?

Doctorb

[Corley5]

Salt and pepper to taste  ;D ;D

[Magicman]

I knocked those couple of oaks down.  They were both encroaching on a very productive pecan tree.  I'll just let them  lay for a while before bucking and splitting.   The one on the right was a stump growth tree.  That stump has fence wire in it, but I can get below the wire and saw it off a little above ground level.



These trees will be the start on next year's firewood.

[HOOF-ER]

Used to have greenhouses. They would be ideal for drying. You could make a small hoop structure and cover with clear plastic. (Plastic would have to be sunlight resistant. Regular Visqueen will not last a year. ) Leave the sides open a few feet up and both ends open. Would be a cheap thing to build.