Drying Firewood

[165masseyky]

I started out this year with some wood that I had split last year, in that note I stack my wood next to the wood furnace and before you know it the stuff will light up with just a torch... It also helps to have the dehumidifier going.... I don't know if my wood would ever reach 20% my dehumidifier reads around 35% this time of the year...

And there in lies the issue. Seasoning wood is just that seasoning. If you can dry the wood during the hot summer months it will get to below 25% moisture in very arid areas. But if you live in more temperate climate areas you may find this a bit taxing. Unless you have a little help from a drying house like I described in an earlier post. If the air moisture content is high you will only open air dry to that moisture content and as the ambient temps drop the time frame gets longer. The drying house is really a simple build and if you are selling firewood it will pay for itself in the first season. Because when all the other guys are worried about being caught selling high moisture content wood you can get that late season sells market in your pocket at a really good rate. I would seriously look into doing the drying house build in the forested and coastal areas because if you think of it there is a reason why tress don't grow in the dessert....Low humidity...and in the high humidity areas(forested,coastal,plains)trees are abundant.So keeping seasoned wood at below 25% is hard to do in the areas that average much higher. Not to mention if you live and deliver in an area that is boarding other states and you may deliver over into those states all wood must be heat treated to 165'f for 35 minutes to kill insects and or disease in wood that will be transported across state lines.

 

[LD1]

I started out this year with some wood that I had split last year, in that note I stack my wood next to the wood furnace and before you know it the stuff will light up with just a torch... It also helps to have the dehumidifier going.... I don't know if my wood would ever reach 20% my dehumidifier reads around 35% this time of the year...

I cant remember for sure, but I think the USDA mentiones that in order to sell wood as "seasoned" it only needs to have a moisture content of under 50%.

Just hope it isnt raining on the day you deliver.

There is no standard definitionof a "rick" "rank" "rack" "face cord", etc. since none of them contain the 3 required dimensions to have a known volume. Those are all regional and should have died out a 100 years ago.

Harry K

That is exactally why I said "typically"

Unfortunately enforcement of the firewood regulations is way more observed by its absence. Usually only when a customer complains and maybe not even then. I would think it would be simple for an inspector to just read the "firewood for sale" column and start making house calls. Rick, rank, rack, load, face cords would disappear in short order.

Harry K

Agreed:thumbsup:

 

[Ford tractor]

I split down to what I call "books" when I run out during the winter. That is a piece of wood about 12-14" long, 8-10" wide and about 1 to 1.5" thick. They dry pretty quick- about a month for dead standing oak. 3-4 months for green live standing oak. 1-2 months for maple. Shorter side if you take the bark off.

I can bring those in and stack by the firebox and blow on them with a fan and burn them in 3-7 days pretty well. If (when) I really run dry, I'll further split them down to 1/2" wide strips and loose stack those in front of the fire box where the blower air (150F) will blow them dry overnight.


Yeah yeah, I should split more in the spring, summer and fall... Always something more fun to do that split wood.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

And there in lies the issue. Seasoning wood is just that seasoning. If you can dry the wood during the hot summer months it will get to below 25% moisture in very arid areas. But if you live in more temperate climate areas you may find this a bit taxing. Unless you have a little help from a drying house like I described in an earlier post. If the air moisture content is high you will only open air dry to that moisture content and as the ambient temps drop the time frame gets longer. The drying house is really a simple build and if you are selling firewood it will pay for itself in the first season. Because when all the other guys are worried about being caught selling high moisture content wood you can get that late season sells market in your pocket at a really good rate. I would seriously look into doing the drying house build in the forested and coastal areas because if you think of it there is a reason why tress don't grow in the dessert....Low humidity...and in the high humidity areas(forested,coastal,plains)trees are abundant.So keeping seasoned wood at below 25% is hard to do in the areas that average much higher. Not to mention if you live and deliver in an area that is boarding othkoer states and you may deliver over into those states all wood must be heat treated to 165'f for 35 minutes to kill insects and or disease in wood that will be transported across state lines.

I spray all my firewood with Permithine (spelling???) To kill off any bugs before I put the wood in the house...

 

[Johnp33]

Personally, I have two years wood stored inside, I have a wood shed 16 ft long and 12 ft deep, and the side of my garage that is 27 ft long and I pile it 6 ft wide. I use 2 ft wood
This year I was a little slack getting wood I figure I have about 5 cords of wood for this year and more than 7 for next. I was relying on other people to find the wood, close to my house, I ended up getting my wood 7 K from the house. I have a 14 ft PJ dump trailer with wood extender sides on it. I got two loads of 2 plus cords and one of three. I split it and stack it.
The wood is about 20 ft from my back door, and I have a plastic garbage can, 3 ft around, tied on a two wheel cart. I fill it to transport to the house and have a 6 ft steel rack with 5 shelves. I have a wood forced air furnace, and keep at least three days wood in the rack, I have a 3 ft fan on low blowing air in the basement.
The dump trailer, when we split the wood in the bush, I open the back doors and unload the first row, then close the doors and lift it. That puts the doors about mid thigh. no bending to get the wood, and you can get it real close and just stack it.
I bought the trailer to build my shop and it is away to handy to get rid of.
Works for me!

 

[leonz]

At our company we have dried 1000's of Rick's of wood. It will not make a huge difference bark up or bark down do to what some of the members have touched on. Wood dries through the capillaries on the end. When wood is split instead of sawed like lumber only the capillaries on the end are opened. If you have ever busted green Hickory you can really see what I mean.Think of it this way water travels through the wood during photosynthesis and water will leave the wood in the same fashion. About 85% of drying will happen like this.There will be some water lose from surface area evaporation but not much and its slow. Keep the Rick's space about 6" apart in your shed and you will dry the wood in about 3 months in summer temps. The key is surface area to allow the internal temps of the wood to rise so we split even the 5" rounds to allow the wood to absorb more ambient heat. Never stack unbusted wood to season or you are defeating your purpose by making the process a lot longer.

All the more reason to use the the chomper to shear the firewood to 12 inch lengths and use the haymow drying method I decscribed in detail with a tarp covering the wood piled on the frame carrying the drying air under the tarp.

 

[kubotakid USA]

2 funny,....

 

[CRThomas]

Any body go an idea how long it wood take to bring moister down to 25 percent with large amount of air flow and moderate heat. Cut and split 16 inchs long. Wood verys. Just ball park. I have sold around 1500 ton already and I am just about out of dry wood. May be have 4 more dump truck loads. I thought I was setup for the winter. Wrong later

I am only talking about Ash. I have a kiln but it can't keep up. We selling all we can get. At our price people are buying our wood and mixing it with the $25.00 green wood. We made test run our dry Ash burns up in about 3 hours. Our green Ash burns up in about 5 hours. They get longer burns in a fireplace do to more wood our test stove was a little pot belly. Later

 

[CRThomas]

If you can find customers gullible enough to purchase wood by the ton, leave it at 50 percent and give um a real good screwin.:laughing:

I had a customer who wanted to sell it to him by the ton same price as a rank. A rank of dry Ash is about 1200 lb's. He would be getting almost 2 rank for the price of one. Later

 

[jones6780]

Try this for drying wood.
Solar Wood Drying

 

[Johnp33]

My wood shed is similar to that, it has a metal roof, with vents across the back. It gets up to 110 F hear and is a very dry climate near desert.
The rest of my wood next years is in a garage. It was cut dry and will get a year to sit.
Many people around hear have an open shed and store it for many years. Others get a logging truck load and cut it yearly what ever they think they will use and just cover the pile of logs.
I will cut the year afters wood in the spring, spit and stack it, about 6 cord, maybe 8.
If i use cut wood to heat my shop I have a 10 x 30 shed for that.

 

[retiredmgn]

If you can find customers gullible enough to purchase wood by the ton, leave it at 50 percent and give um a real good screwin.:laughing:

Pal, you are the absolute definition of a, 'Prick'. But of course such an estimation would neither matter to you or register.

 

[thatguy]

Pal, you are the absolute definition of a, 'Prick'. But of course such an estimation would neither matter to you or register.

I am 99 and 44/100% sure the remark was meant as a joke.. Hence the laughing smiley..


Brian

 

[murphy1244]

I am 99 and 44/100% sure the remark was meant as a joke.. Hence the laughing smiley..


Brian

I sure hope sooo. I have learned alot about firewood today some of witch I could do with out. But I bought 6 cords of wet wood this year for 175.00 a cord. Needless to say I will not be doing bidness withthis shyster again. Thanks all.:thumbsup:Anyone out there sell wood around Media Ohio???

 

[Short Game]

When I first moved north and was just a dumb 21 year old kid from L.A. without a clue, I got burned nearly every time I bought wood. I got myself a saw that I didn't know how to sharpen or maintain and ran it to death. I never sold wood. It just seemed like so much work to get my own. I'm not big and strong and never was. There are too many other ways to make a buck, except in bad years.

But anyway, when you and yours are scraping by, and without heat in a cold wet winter, and you put out hard-gotten money for a short cord of wet hemlock, it makes you want to kill. I remember a winter like that and not only did I get stung, but a neighbor of mine, a Spanish/American War vet, got a load of the same crap. The ******* who sold us that worthless wood was lucky I was a pacifist.

I can still picture old Gene with his wood cook stove, the oven door open and the racks full of the wet wood, steaming, trying to get it dry enough to move to the firebox, while me and my old lady were across the street doing much the same. We sat there with him in his cold kitchen while he told us of coming to that neighborhood as a kid, by canoe, with an Indian guide, before there were any roads. Cheating an old man like that for a few bucks was way over the top.

 

[LD1]

I sure hope sooo. I have learned alot about firewood today some of witch I could do with out. But I bought 6 cords of wet wood this year for 175.00 a cord. Needless to say I will not be doing bidness withthis shyster again. Thanks all.:thumbsup:Anyone out there sell wood around Media Ohio???

That sounds pretty high, especially if you are getting shysted

Down here, the only place we see those kind of prices is columbus. 175-200 seems the norm down there.

But in my area and mansfield-galion area (I am a little south of there), prices are in the 120-150/cord range.

I dont sell much though. Maybe 15 cord/year. As much as I care to cut anyway. But if I had enough to sell to new customers, and if (BIG IF) I had a way to haul 6 cord at a time, It would be worth my drive all the way t medina for 175/cord

 

[Johnp33]

I have a PJ 14 ft dump trailer, I bought it to haul rock from my yard when I was building my shop/fruit stand.
I normally cut and split the wood in the bush, it cuts down on the mess. I have extensions on the sides about 1 ft, when stacked and tied in I can get an easy 3 cord, I back up to where I want to stack it open the doors, remove the back couple of rows. Close the doors lift the box, the doors come to mid thighs and unload the rest.
I do not sell wood yet but one never knows the future? At three cord it is worth it to drive.

 

[Scotty Dive]

anyone use one of the HF Moisture meters with any luck for firewood?

Digital Mini Moisture Meter

 

[grnspot110]

I don't worry about needing a moisture meter! I cut my wood one year ahead of use, stack it at the farm until late Summer/Fall, when I bring it home, split it then. This method has worked well for me for 30+ years. Wood kept more than a year gets dirty to handle (loose bark) anyway!

I'm nearly finished with next years pile now. ~~ grnspot

 

[Sutol]

I leave logs two years over here or they dont burn hot enough, must be the climate not drying the sap out. They start to crack after about 18 months and then they are ready.

I use mostly old pallet wood which is dry and burns mighty hot and its easy to collect and free and I can usually pick a few good pallets out of the scrap to sell on which makes it even cheaper:laughing: