6.25% drop in volume from air drying

[woodchuckcanuck]

Logs felled in Feb/Mar 2018. Split and stacked to dry in January 2019. Now the end of May 2019 and our wood is perfect for firewood. It was 24-28% when I split it. Its now between 9 and 17%. Note how much the wood shrinks during the 4-5 months it air dried during the winter and spring. The 3 inch drop from drying equals 6.25% reduction in volume. This crate here is 16 cu ft, which is equivalent to 1/2 a face cord, which is the same as 1/6 a full cord.

 

[4seasons]

I have seen this happen before. I am curious how much the wood actually shrinks and how much is just the wood settling into the cracks between pieces.

 

[Mustang71]

I have wondered this myself. I stack it 5 feet high and by burning time it's not 5 feet high. Does the wood shrink does the ground take the weight or does it settle. When I split and stack it it looks like a lot more than it does in the fall.

9 percent by air drying? Didnt think that was possible. Maybe it's the humidity around here but it might be 9 at the end but the middle is double that.

 

[SamT1]

I have seen this happen before. I am curious how much the wood actually shrinks and how much is just the wood settling into the cracks between pieces.

I stack 90% of my wood on the trailer and deliver it. Sometimes it’s scary how much dry wood settle. Green wood not so much. Also scary how big of stack someone gets if I’ve had to run to town or something with a 2/3 loaded trailer

 

[SamT1]

Just think how wide the gaps between boards get in a trailer after new pressure treated wood