Fastest way to season firewood?

[jrider]

Anyone have any tricks to seasoning firewood quickly? Not talking about kiln drying.

 

[Biker Dude]

The fastest way I know of is to season it in my boiler over a bed of hot coals. Moisture starts evaporating almost instantly.
:jester:

 

[ancy]

Cut and use ash.

 

[nixon]

^^^^^^ along those lines is what I was going to say . If You think You're going to need wood quickly try to select wood that is relatively low in MC to start with , or something that will dry fairly quickly .

 

[jdc123]

I cut all I can in the spring and early summer, stack it, and let the Mississippi heat do the rest. For the stuff I cut later in the year or in the fall or winter, I just try to give it more time. I try to stay a year ahead so it all has plenty of time to dry out.

 

[woodhounder]

wide open area with lots of sun and wind

 

[c5rulz]

There is no replacement for splitting (the smaller the better) and time with low humidity.

However wood in close proximity to the wood stove does dry quickly.

 

[c5rulz]

Cut and use ash.

I just cut 2 24" ash out of the backyard making room for 27 more apple trees in the spring. My buddy needed wood for burning right away and he took the ash. In one day after cutting cracks were appearing in the wood. The saw dust didn't have that wet feeling either.

 

[Fifelaker]

The fastest way I know of is to season it in my boiler over a bed of hot coals. Moisture starts evaporating almost instantly.
:jester:

I have done this it is very effective.:hmm3grin2orange: But time,wind,small splits work also

 

[cedarman]

sun, wind, air, and off the ground.

dont put a tarp on it or put it under a roof until you use the wood for burning.

let mother nature do the rest

 

[fordss]

drying wood

Well I don't have a lot of room to store years ahead so this year I am burning wood the was c/s/s in Jan last year I tested it with a moister meter and i t is around 23-26 % so I bring it in to my basement were my wood stove is and it helps dry it out the rest of the way I can fit about 1.5 cords in my basement near the stove so it dty to under 20% before I need to use it. Its nice to have a stockpile of wood so i don't have to go get more in a snow storm or when it all wet.

 

[jrider]

Anyone ever try cutting trees down when the leaves are on and then walk away for a week or two depending on the weather? The leaves continue to pull moisture out of the wood and once they turn brown, you cut the tree up. I've found this probably cuts seasoning time in half. Anyone else do this? And if so, what are your results?

 

[Wood Doctor]

Cut and use ash.

Slight correction: cut, split, stack and use ash.

No ash? Cut, split, stack, and wait. Sun and wind do the rest. Maple dries about as fast as any hardwood species that I know. Oak is just about the slowest. The rest are in between.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Cut short, split small. The more surface area, the faster it will dry. Unfortunately, it will also burn faster in the stove that way.

Stacked inside my basement, where it's 80+ degrees and <20% humidity all winter long takes any moisture out of wood as well, but it's not an option for everyone.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Anyone ever try cutting trees down when the leaves are on and then walk away for a week or two depending on the weather? The leaves continue to pull moisture out of the wood and once they turn brown, you cut the tree up. I've found this probably cuts seasoning time in half. Anyone else do this? And if so, what are your results?

There was a huge thead on this last year with tons of discussion. Do a search. As I recall, results vary a great deal, and most of the time the forum concluded that is was impractical to leave the leaves on. If the wood can be split green, it's usually better to cut rounds and split immediately. Some species, such as elm and cottonwood, refuse to split green. In that case, you should cut the rounds to length and look for a check up on the ends to indicate that the wood can be split.

I think some of the arborists even claimed that the leaves don't pull moisture through the trunk at all. Note that some standing dead trees, even barkless ones that have had no leaves for several years will still have significant moisture remaining in the heartwood.

 

[CrappieKeith]

The fastest way I know of is to season it in my boiler over a bed of hot coals. Moisture starts evaporating almost instantly.
:jester:

and go through 2-3 times the wood at that rate that well seasoned air dried wood would require...now if you are joking..then ...opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:

 

[logbutcher]

No "trick"...

Unless you're a pro selling, firewood is like sex: you think about it on the average every day nearly once a minute.

Now, this rule is for most of us. For the rest, your thinking may vary.:hmm3grin2orange:

For most species, including the rare oaks for us, the wood - 6-8 cords - will be fine for the following winter.

For us it is a year-round plan ( firewood that is ).

1. Harvest mostly in winter--no bugs, equipment runs easier on frozen ground, less sweat ( 'less', not none ). Some pulp and sawlogs also.
2. Butts are piled near the woodsheds. (Rule: NO woodlot stacks--I usually forget them. ).
3. Splitting and stacking and lurking/snorting aroma (WoodPiles OCD :eek2 done late spring, maybe through part of the early summer.
4. Rest of the year, planning and taping trees to harvest, blowdowns, odd scrounging for and from neighbors/friends. Too many other things to do.



JMNSHO

 

[CTYank]

Anyone have any tricks to seasoning firewood quickly? Not talking about kiln drying.

None, for "seasoning" except maybe to declare it "seasoned" whatever that means.

If the goal is to air-dry the wood so the MC gets below 20% more quickly, it's simple. Get it c/s/s sooner. The trick is called "Plan ahead." There's no silver bullet that can recapture lost time.

If you miss having the logs c/s/s in time for summer & fall, it's Next Year for air-drying. Sorry.

The "trick" for avoiding this sort of scurrying is to be years ahead. No such thing as too much. Working on 3 years here.

 

[stihlrookie]

Did ya google it?

build a holzhausen. It has been discussed here a couple times.

 

[logbutcher]

build a holzhausen. It has been discussed here a couple times.

Yup, "holzhausen" is German for " look at those silly Americans building these useless round stacks". :hmm3grin2orange:

Disclosure: I built one of those HH things years ago. Once. Sure it looked elegant, took plenty of time to get it correct ( "pi r²" etc..), and it only contained barely a cord.
Then: how the H do you get sticks out to burn ? Cute, very cute, butt............