Drying Firewood

[ottiscan]

solar wood cooker

What is the fastest method to dry firewood?
Anybody ever stacked split wood in the sun and cover with black plastic?

I've been trying to use a semi-solar wood dryer. It's a bow roof shed with metal siding on the north side (we get a lot of wind here) and fibreglass reinforced vinyl sheet on the south side. I had green wood delivered in early june and it is looking quite dry and cracked now in aug. It warms up quite a bit inside.

I leave the sheeting rolled up about 4' during stretches of fine weather and roll it down when it's raining. Its working quite well so far.

There's 3 chords stacked 6 1/2 feet high in the shed. Shed is 10X12 feet.

A few pictures are attached.

 

[Fyrebug]

I wish I could find it and post it here but there was a published University paper on the fastest way to dry wood. They found you could have wood dry enough to burn (less than 20% humidity) in about a couple of month if done right. From what I recall, it pretty much involved what everyone had stated here.

1. Proper wind & Sun exposure
2. Do not use plastic or rubberized material on top. instead use an old plank
3. Keep off the ground and allow plenty of air to move under and around the logs
4. Wood must be cut & split with logs no bigger than 6" diameter (Round logs take forever to dry)

I think the mistake many of us make is to think that a longer period of 1 year of more will mean dryer wood. I have 3 year old cherry in my garage that refuses to go below 12% humidity. Once the wood reaches a certain level, I think it wont go much dryer unless you put it in a kiln.

A good tool for any wood burner is a digital moisture reader. View attachment 196137 Click on link. Dont know why pic didnt upload.

These are available at some hardware store from $40 to $80 depending on the brand & quality. Handy tool to have around. Anything below 20% humidity is good to go.

 

[zogger]

that's cool

I've been trying to use a semi-solar wood dryer. It's a bow roof shed with metal siding on the north side (we get a lot of wind here) and fibreglass reinforced vinyl sheet on the south side. I had green wood delivered in early june and it is looking quite dry and cracked now in aug. It warms up quite a bit inside.

I leave the sheeting rolled up about 4' during stretches of fine weather and roll it down when it's raining. Its working quite well so far.

There's 3 chords stacked 6 1/2 feet high in the shed. Shed is 10X12 feet.

A few pictures are attached.

That's real similar to how our greenhouse is built, with rollup sides at the bottom.

But for the wood, I use open air stacks with black plastic on the very top, with just a little overhang for a drip edge. I don't nail it, just use some oddball big odd pieces to hold it down, the "all nighter" pieces.

It's only once in awhile that we get heavy snow, so I am not worried about that sort of accumulation.

Bottom line is, it is hard to beat any sort of dedicated wood shed.

 

[audible fart]

I've been trying to use a semi-solar wood dryer. It's a bow roof shed with metal siding on the north side (we get a lot of wind here) and fibreglass reinforced vinyl sheet on the south side. I had green wood delivered in early june and it is looking quite dry and cracked now in aug. It warms up quite a bit inside.

I leave the sheeting rolled up about 4' during stretches of fine weather and roll it down when it's raining. Its working quite well so far.

There's 3 chords stacked 6 1/2 feet high in the shed. Shed is 10X12 feet.

A few pictures are attached.

That's pretty cool.

 

[Misfit138]

Sun exposure is most important, plain and simple. Air/wind exposure is a close second.

If you want to keep the rain and snow off, use clear plastic suspended by your choice of lumber in a 'roof' configuration with some side overhang. In this way, moisture will collect on the underside of the plastic and fall off beside the woodpile. Fasten the clear plastic to the 'framing' with staples.

 

[ottiscan]

I agree

That's real similar to how our greenhouse is built, with rollup sides at the bottom.

But for the wood, I use open air stacks with black plastic on the very top, with just a little overhang for a drip edge. I don't nail it, just use some oddball big odd pieces to hold it down, the "all nighter" pieces.

It's only once in awhile that we get heavy snow, so I am not worried about that sort of accumulation.

Bottom line is, it is hard to beat any sort of dedicated wood shed.

I used to open stack and just tarp the top of the pile until the snow started falling. Then I'd wrap the entire pile once no further drying was possible.

I turned to the shed option because the tarps would rip constantly in the wind, and tying and untying the pile was a task when frozen. Also, snow and rain always found a way into the pile at the bottom. I'm hoping the shed will address some of that.

The shed is sitting on an old deck which I've removed some of the boards between the rows to allow more air flow from the bottom even when it's closed up. I'll skirt the shed in winter to keep the snow out. The shed is also vented at the top on either side to allow the hot moist air out. These will be closed once it gets cold as well.

 

[Nosmo]

What I Do

Wind and sun are great helpers in getting your firewood seasoned after splitting the rounds.
I have over 150 feet of open concrete block foundation that I can stack firewood on right out in the open with full sunshine and wind.

Even some of the sappiest Elm gets dried out after several months in our blistering Oklahoma sunshine and heat. About wood burning time I'll move some of it under cover as I am moving the next group I will be burning up near the stove.

It is not a good idea to cover your pile with plastic unless it is just for a short time - for instance during a snow or rainstorm.

Nosmo

 

[Wood Doctor]

What is the fastest method to dry firewood?
Anybody ever stacked split wood in the sun and cover with black plastic?

Forget plastic or tarps. Stack the wood on pallets or on river rock or crushed rock for drainage.

Let the sun and wind dry the wood. Covering logs or storing them in a garage means nothing and usually extends the drying time.

 

[greenbastard]

What is the fastest method to dry firewood?
Anybody ever stacked split wood in the sun and cover with black plastic?

Covering with black plastic will only heat the plastic...what I did was make a frame with pvc pipe and covered with clear plastic....sun goes thru and heats wood like a greenhouse..left both
ends uncovered for air flow-thru....had the covered pile beside an uncovered pile to compare...the covered wood dried faster and stayed dry...it rains alot in B.C......

 

[STLfirewood]

The easiest way to get your firewood to dry quick is to split it small. I dry wood anywhere from 6 months to 1 year. if I am closer to selling time I split it smaller. I never have any complaints. I also keep all my wood under roof. My shed is 45'x76' with open sides all around. The wood really seasons well under roof. If I really want it to dry fast I put it in my kiln. Three to five days later my fresh cut tree is ready to burn.


Scott

 

[clinchscavalry]

I always procrastinate and cut my firewood several months later than optimum, but I'm always busy with something else it seems so I have to wait until the long (and hot) days of summer to get the job done. That, plus we get most of our blowdowns and broken limbs while the trees are in full foliage, and that's where about 99% of my wood comes from.

It's now "cooled" down to 102.9 after hitting 103.1 just a little while ago:msp_ohmy:. I believe I can season my split wood in two months when it starts out like this, especially when the humidity stays low. When I walk by the trailer or wood shed, it smells just like a furniture factory dry kiln. The wood is literally cooking right now.

As someone mentioned, wood stacked outdoors will only get so dry, around here the magic no. seems to be 13%. That's based on years of air drying lumber and checking with a moisture meter. I believe previous posters are right in that the wood needs to be out in the open and in the sun and wind as much as possible. Shade under trees or confined areas like sheds with walls hinder the drying significantly. However, an open-sided shed might be the best compromise between unprotected stacks out in the rain and fully protected areas in a building.

I intend to sample some freshly cut wood today with the meter and keep up with the drying process this year.

Right now, the wood on my trailer is probably curing just a little slower than in a full blown kiln since I have hauled it around for miles in this heat while working on getting a full load. Another 100 miles at 55 mph will probably have it spontaneously combusting:msp_rolleyes:

 

[clinchscavalry]

I took some moisture readings on my freshly cut and split pecan yesterday and got some surprising results.

The splits pieces and rounds varied depending upon where the measurement was taken, which is to be expected, but the wood was much "drier" than I thought it would be. All of the samples were taken from trees which blew down about a month ago and that slowly lost their green leaves as the remaining attached roots couldn't keep up with demand. So these trees are essentially green to begin with.

The ends averaged about 25%. The split surface was around 30%, while the measurement taken under the bark was about 35%. This is lower than I expected, but our temps have been in triple digits nearly every day with a good breeze and low humidity.

One poster said 20% or lower was considered seasoned. At this rate, I'll have good firewood by the time our burning season starts around the first of November.

Incidentally, the measurements were taken with a moisture meter calibrated for pecan using the long probes driven in with the built-in ram. I'm sure the moisture readings in the center would be somewhat higher, and I might cut into (or re-split) a couple just to see.

 

[Rudedog]

That's real similar to how our greenhouse is built, with rollup sides at the bottom.

But for the wood, I use open air stacks with black plastic on the very top, with just a little overhang for a drip edge. I don't nail it, just use some oddball big odd pieces to hold it down, the "all nighter" pieces.

It's only once in awhile that we get heavy snow, so I am not worried about that sort of accumulation.

Bottom line is, it is hard to beat any sort of dedicated wood shed.

This is exactly what I do. I don't put the black plastic 6 mil on until late September when we get a rain forecast. I weight it down with softball size and larger blue stone pieces. When we get any snow I just brush it all off the best I can. I need to replace my collapsing 8X14 storage shed before I think of building a wood shed. By the way, if anybody has some decent plans for a roughly 8X14 storage shed that are relatively easy to follow and build with two people........ send 'em to me!

 

[ottiscan]

This is exactly what I do. I don't put the black plastic 6 mil on until late September when we get a rain forecast. I weight it down with softball size and larger blue stone pieces. When we get any snow I just brush it all off the best I can. I need to replace my collapsing 8X14 storage shed before I think of building a wood shed. By the way, if anybody has some decent plans for a roughly 8X14 storage shed that are relatively easy to follow and build with two people........ send 'em to me!

You can make a bow roof shed quite inexpensively, and they're strong. For boat building they cover with poly sheet but you can put metal siding on them as well. Here's the link for the plans.

Stimson Marine - Bow-Roof Shed

 

[Rudedog]

You can make a bow roof shed quite inexpensively, and they're strong. For boat building they cover with poly sheet but you can put metal siding on them as well. Here's the link for the plans.

Stimson Marine - Bow-Roof Shed

Thanks for the link!

 

[Streblerm]

This is exactly what I do. I don't put the black plastic 6 mil on until late September when we get a rain forecast. I weight it down with softball size and larger blue stone pieces. When we get any snow I just brush it all off the best I can. I need to replace my collapsing 8X14 storage shed before I think of building a wood shed. By the way, if anybody has some decent plans for a roughly 8X14 storage shed that are relatively easy to follow and build with two people........ send 'em to me!

Here's a handy little gambrel roof shed that I have built a few times. It is 10' wide and as long as you want. The first one I built was 10X12 with roughly 5' sidewalls. It was very economical to build that size because the scraps from the sidewalls were enough to fill in the gable ends. The second one is 10X16 with 8' sidewalls. I did the overhangs a little different (simpler and less) than the plans specified, but it is just a garden shed. The walls and base are pretty basic construction but the plans for the gambrel trusses save a lot of head scratching. I drew the layout for the trusses on the base for the shed and nailed down some stop blocks so all the trusses are the same. Even if they are off a little, at least they will all be off the same amount.

If you want the plans, pm me your e-mail address.

 

[wapacz]

I've been trying to use a semi-solar wood dryer. It's a bow roof shed with metal siding on the north side (we get a lot of wind here) and fibreglass reinforced vinyl sheet on the south side. I had green wood delivered in early june and it is looking quite dry and cracked now in aug. It warms up quite a bit inside.

I leave the sheeting rolled up about 4' during stretches of fine weather and roll it down when it's raining. Its working quite well so far.

There's 3 chords stacked 6 1/2 feet high in the shed. Shed is 10X12 feet.

A few pictures are attached.

Now you just need to get some mylar and make a big mirror to get even more sun on it and heat it up more.

 

[amscontr]

We have always had good luck with a black vinyl tarp covering stackable pallet racks on the top and partially on the sides in the sun. The mice love it too!

 

[clinchscavalry]

I got my moisture meter out the other day and checked some split and stacked pecan that has been drying for about two months. It measured around 20% and seems to be about ready to burn. I've been trimming and sorting large limbs all summer that constantly break any time we have just the slightest wind event, and I'd guess I started out with about six cords. The fresh wood measures nearly 40% moisture, and it'll take some time to dry out this time of year. Back when I cut the first wood, it was over 100 degrees with low humidity. It doesn't take long in those conditions:msp_thumbup:View attachment 203827View attachment 203828View attachment 203829View attachment 203833View attachment 203834

 

[ottiscan]

Not a bad idea. This spring, summer and fall have been very wet in Nova Scotia and a lot of people who burn wood for heat comment on how it's been a bad drying year. In the the shed my wood is cracked and looks great. Bring on the snow.

Now you just need to get some mylar and make a big mirror to get even more sun on it and heat it up more.