Seasoning times. What species of wood burns hot and long and doesn't need to be seasoned

[greendohn]

Watched a pretty good vid on a guy using clear plastic and palettes as a solar kiln, cheap and appeared to be pretty effective.

 

[J1m]

This concept isn't one I made up, in fact I'm almost certain I heard it here first.

For wood to truly dry, you need three things: time, sun & wind. You can usually get away with two of the three - but short of a kiln, trying to burn wood without these elements is going to be incredibly frustrating.

Your best bet at this point is to buy some dry wood for this coming season and set yourself up for the next few years going forward.

 

[brenndatomu]

standing dead

on the ground

Huh? So was it standing or on the ground?
My experience with Ash is that laying on the ground it starts to soak up water and punk up in a year or two, especially if the bark is still on.

Dead Ash branch wood, any other dead species branch wood and silver maple trees are what your looking for IMO

Yup, standing dead, almost any species can be ready to go in the stove if it has been that way long, especially the limb wood or maybe even the top half of the tree

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The BTU content of wood is set by its density. Given this there is no way crappy wood like aspen and poplar burn hot.

BTU and heat aren't the same thing.

I said it burns hot and quick, and that is correct info.

I disagree with "crappy". Poplar and aspen are used in lots of things. Lumber. OSB, paper, firewood, etc.

 

[bwalker]

BTU and heat aren't the same thing.

I said it burns hot and quick, and that is correct info.

I disagree with "crappy". Poplar and aspen are used in lots of things. Lumber. OSB, paper, firewood, etc.

BTU equals British thermal Unit...they are the same thing.
When I said crappy I was speaking for purposes of firewood..

 

[CaseyForrest]

Huh? So was it standing or on the ground?
My experience with Ash is that laying on the ground it starts to soak up water and punk up in a year or two, especially if the bark is still on.

I was speaking metaphorically.

Standing dead is more widely accepted than laying dead. Not to mention if a tree is lying on the ground, its a safe assumption that it is dead.

 

[Woody912]

Huh? So was it standing or on the ground?
My experience with Ash is that laying on the ground it starts to soak up water and punk up in a year or two, especially if the bark is still on.
Yup, standing dead, almost any species can be ready to go in the stove if it has been that way long, especially the limb wood or maybe even the top half of the tree

horizontal wood is almost worse than green wood. Dead red elm tops from standing trees will burn an hour after they hit the ground

 

[dancan]

Watched a pretty good vid on a guy using clear plastic and palettes as a solar kiln, cheap and appeared to be pretty effective.

Link ?

 

[brenndatomu]

Link ?

Well, I don't have a link that can be posted here but if you google "hillbilly solar kiln" you will find the discussion, pics, and some results

 

[dingeryote]

Having been in a corner more than a little, thanks to cutting and splitting for two, and getting behind....

Take everything you can, and get everything green stacked in rounds, off the ground.
Split dries faster, but not much faster. Get it drying out now.

Downed stuff has to be treated as green. Most times, it's more wet than standing green.
It will dry faster than green once stacked, but until stacked, it's just going to stay soaked and rotting.

Target the standing dead stuff first for splitting, and segregate the Oak, Cherry, Elm, hard maple, for later in the season.
You're buying season time on the Green stuff. Save the High BTU, standing dead wood for the colder months.

Black Ash(Rare anymore), Sugar maple, black Cherry, in that order, burn when cut sap down, and split for a couple months, but burn like crap compared to seasoned. Green standing Sassafras, with just a couple months on it split, burns nicely but still sooty... and it burns FAST!

Ash does OK right away, but still needs more air, than seasoned, and mixing in some fast burning stuff, speeds boiling out the water.
If you're gonna do it, clean the flue every month, and accept that you are going to be burning a LOT more wood than if it was seasoned.

See if you can trade Green for seasoned, if you know someone who is 2 years ahead.
1.5 cord Green Oak, for 1 cord split last year, is a good trade on both sides.

Don't turn up your nose at Silver Maple, Sassafrass, and Poplar.
All three dry out quick, and make good filler to heat up the stove quick, and cover early winter.
3 small splits of fast stuff with 2 larger splits of greenish on top, means lots of stove loading, but beats freezing.

As some have said, consider buying 2-3 Cords for this season, so you can get ahead. It's smart money.
Especially with Propane and Natural gas being so cheap this year.

Once you get burning the less seasoned stuff, it's harder to catch up, let alone get ahead.
If you tough it out, and run green, get on the roof at least once a month...or more. It ain't worth it to risk a fire.

 

[greendohn]

Link ?

firewood hoarders club website, as mentioned "Hillbilly,," there may be others.

 

[dancan]

Well, I don't have a link that can be posted here but if you google "hillbilly solar kiln" you will find the discussion, pics, and some results

firewood hoarders club website, as mentioned "Hillbilly,," there may be others.

Well , that was 20 some odd pages of reading , I think I'll stick with mother nature LOL

 

[greendohn]

"Solar Kiln Firewood Drying" is the thread I was thinking about. The guy makes a compelling argument for faster moisture loss in c/s/s firewood but involves some kind of hassle.
I'll stick with my "convertible woodshed" it has served me well for several years.

 

[NSMaple1]

Split dries faster, but not much faster.

Split dries a lot faster - some species will actually rot before they dry if they're not split.

 

[brenndatomu]

"Solar Kiln Firewood Drying" is the thread I was thinking about. The guy makes a compelling argument for faster moisture loss in c/s/s firewood but involves some kind of hassle.
I'll stick with my "convertible woodshed" it has served me well for several years.

It is extra hassle but not that bad, it is just good to know that option is out there if you are a new burner with a freshly cut wood supply or have some other circumstance that puts you into a time jamb

Well , that was 20 some odd pages of reading

Ha! You didn't think that such a topic wasn't gonna get beat to death didja?!

 

[john taliaferro]

Ive found a fast way to dry some 2 year down cherry for smoking this weekend . Cut the rounds 6'' long split to 2" square place in my old brown truck ,drive on the highway a lot in 90 degree heat , park in the sunniest spots . smoked a meatloaf in a wire basket with apples brats mixed in ,mmm . find a friend with a large wood pile that will share some dry wood for green that they can burn next year .

 

[bwalker]

Split dries faster, but not much faster.

Split dries a lot faster - some species will actually rot before they dry if they're not split.

Much, much faster. Red Oak rounds unsplit essentially never dry.

 

[brenndatomu]

Much, much faster. Red Oak rounds unsplit essentially never dry.

and white Oak is even worse IMO

 

[woodchipper95]

I have white ash that was semi dead standing c/s/s burned a year later it was great. I'm about a year and half ahead. Best of luck hope you find wood that burns well.

 

[snide]

Osage (hedge)