Seasoning wood

[Ironworker]

I am very curious to know if split firewood seasons when the weather drops below 32 or in the winter months or if the seasoning process just slows down.

 

[doobie57z]

I think, due to the low humidity, it seasons quite well. My wood was iffy at Thanksgiving time, and was near perfect by March.:good:

 

[Dalmatian90]

Watch snow sometime when it falls and you don't have warm temps or rain.

It'll slowly evaporate.

 

[rmotoman]

Last year I cut some hedge around Christmas and was burning it at the end of February. It tested dry with a moisture tester and burned like normal dry wood. I did split it right after cutting.

 

[mizzou]

Watch snow sometime when it falls and you don't have warm temps or rain.

It'll slowly evaporate.

It's a process called sublimation.

 

[Circle B MN]

It's a process called sublimation.

Up here it's called freeze drying....:msp_biggrin:

 

[zogger]

Sure, some

Obviously not as good as hot and dry, but dry is the key there.

I lived for many years in a no utilities cabin, I did my wash most of the time in a tub with a washboard, just like in granpappy's day. Hmm..that was also my bathtub thing...in the winter. summer I just went down to the lake with my bottle of dr. bronner's.....

Hung the wet wash out on the line, winter or summer. In the winter it would freeze stiff as a board, then over the next few days eventually loosen up and..it would be dry.

Where I live now on a hot day, hang the wash out before lunch, by 1 in the afternoon it is completely dry, even the seams on pants will be dry.

The driest place on the planet, for a large large area..Antarctica.

Ha! Would be fun to be there and try splitting some REAL frozen wood.

Idea!!! Worth a few bucks for a hoot...err..scientific experiment. I think I am gonna find some "dry ice" source around here and freeze a round with it, make some cobjob big cardboard and styrofoam scraps "cooler" that's big enough to hold a big round, drop the ultra cold thing in there, let it set a spell, then quick whip it out and split it. Maybe find a junker broken chest freezer and use that.....now I have to check something..

CO2 at -108.7 °F or colder it is a solid or "dry ice".

Cold enough for a good experiment.

Ok frozen up north dudes, what is the absolute coldest wood you have ever split, and how did it go? Best I can recall is around 20 or so below, but then I came to my senses and went back inside to where the fire was....

 

[woodbooga]

It's a process called sublimation.

yep - same reason why old ice cubes shrink in the tray.

I rushed to get a bunch of oak split before snow in last fall to ensure a good 18 month seasoning. Not ready now, but noticeably more seasoned than at halloween time. Be good for Jan '12 deep winter burning.

 

[AIM]

It just dries slower in the winter.....

 

[Pulp Friction]

I am very curious to know if split firewood seasons when the weather drops below 32 or in the winter months or if the seasoning process just slows down.

Weigh and record a sample piece or two, round and split. You'll be surprised just how much water weight is lost during various months and conditions.