Firewood Drying Time And How To Speed Dry Firewood
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- I share with you how long it takes for firewood to dry under average conditions and how to speed that up considerably.
I mostly talk about oak in this video but the same thing applies to most varieties of firewood.
Think about how the lumber industry kiln dries lumber. You can apply the same techniques to drying firewood faster.
We have a lot of wind blowing through where our firewood is drying. It also gets plenty of sunlight. Our firewood dries surprisingly fast here.
And dead standing oak, or any wood, dries even faster.
A neighbor who cuts a lot of firewood off his land only drops the trees in the middle of winter. I asked him why and his answer was because at that time of the year a tree naturally has the least amount of moisture in it. Makes sense to me. You’ve got some great looking splits there. It’s really going to provide some excellent firewood once it’s well seasoned.
No mud
Father ran a firewood business for a time in my teen years as a side hustle. We cut firewood that first season like crazy. We did not sell any firewood for the first 3 years. After that 3 years we had a lot to sell and that bought us time to be cutting new firewood and it season for a year or two before we even needed it. So start today so you can make an income within 3 years. Just keep at it and have good rates so people want to buy from you.... however don't be to cheap to where you make no money and sell out to quickly. If your piles are going very fast it is likely you are underselling yourself and losing out on profits. That $200 a cord may be able to sell for $250-300 and you stay in business but making more money.
Beautiful wood. Thanks for the tips. - N Idaho -
Very Informative.
Maybe a wood framed solar kiln drier with opening roof panels to control heat is in your future.
Would be good for speed drying lumber as well.
They do get very hot inside. This is something I have wanted to see you build for a very long time.
Thanks. I am hoping this video is a hit. I do plan to make a proper solar kiln this year.
@@countrywoodproducts A Kiln would be a great asset to the homestead.
Yes for lumber and firewood
It all depends on where you are....if you are in the Southern USA, drying times for the same piece will be faster than in the Northern USA. If you are in the Western USA, it will dry even faster than in the South, due to the lower humidity of the air. You must cover it also so that it does not get rained on, even in a stack! So there is no average environment, no average drying time, and no average wood by species. You can help it along by splitting, stacking and covering, but unless you commercially dry it by heating it, kiln drying, you will not speed up the "average drying time".
I was referring to the average drying time for any specific area. You can speed up the drying time of wood if you improve conditions for drying it faster. Yes a kiln is the best. But you can help move things along well in the right conditions.
If you’re going to cover your wood be sure to just cover the very top. Keep the sides wide open so the sun and air flow can get to it.
I just ❤ firewood videos...God bless you. Good to see you looking great.
Thank you. Happy you like them.
I cut my oak in the fall, leave it on the ground over the winter. In the spring the tree will bud out and even leaf, I find this draws a lot of moisture out of the tree. I buck and split it into IBC totes and stack it loosely and mixed up direction etc to allow lots of air movement I cover my bins with half totes (cut in half to make a little roof, and park the bins spaced about 1 foot apart on the south side of my house. between wind sun and reflected heat of the front of the house it dries and checks in a few days and if I resplit (or cut) and check moisture I can hit 9-12% in 3-4 weeks.
I also find that leaving it down over the winter helps season the wood some. I am sawing oak that I got in November. I saw it up, split and stack it and its ready to go in a few weeks.
Nice observation about a felled tree trying to bud in the spring. Ties in with the 'botany': a felled tree isn't immediately dead. The tissues will remain living and respiring, running on 'life water' in the wood. If you leave the branches on, the underbark tissues will photosynthesize when it's warm enough, again running on water already in the tissues. With the connection to the roots severed, the tree can't take up more water. Photosynthesis produces 'food' for the tree and requires chlorophyll, which will be in the underbark of the branches and twigs and on the trunk in thin-barked species - why fresh-felled timber is called 'green' wood.
If you fell a tree in autumn or winter and leave it entire, it will try its best to leaf out in spring. This will use 'life water and the wood will dry out because it can't be replaced. If it actually produces leaves, these will transpire - release water vapour. In a live tree, transpiration pulls in water from the roots and out through the leaves and it is the tree's mechanism for moving resources within itself. If transpiration starts, the available water in the lying tree will be used sooner, drying it faster.
Of course, some tree species (crack willow, Salix fragilis in the UK) will put out rootlets from the trunk or branches where they touch the ground and can grow to produce roots and the tree stays alive in the long term - a 'phoenix tree'.
I'd recommend against mixing up.. creates walls, in the sun and wind and stacked relatively loose in same direction is ultimate, cover the top and your good to go.
@anemone104 thanks professor
@@johnscroggins5981 No problem. 3 year botany degree boiled down and you don't have to sit through all the lectures....
Not sure what 'average conditions' are, but if you're in a place that gets really cold in the winter, the cold air will stuck the humidity out of your wood faster than warm dry air. In the Appalachian's in WV, my white oak dries in one season, even if i leave it in 6 foot rounds, because it's basically freeze- dried over the winter.
GREAT VID WHEN IT DONE U SHOULD SO HOW DRY IT IS WITH THE METER ALL WAY LIKE THEM VIDS
Thanks. Yes I might do that.
I was just asking him on a previous video to do that...thanks Chris
Nice video! Covering the wood protects it from rain and snow but also shields it from sun and wind. So what is your strategy for covering and uncovering the stack?
During rain I keep tarps over the wood piles. Otherwise I let the sun and wind blow on them fully.
Just covet the top well... if winter.. shovel snow away from base..off the ground and bobs your uncle
I’m LOVING that awesome rack of firewood!!! Ought to be a great heating source!
Hehe, probably going to be burning it this weekend. We just got flash freezing going down to teens and 30+ mph winds. Oh what fun.
@@countrywoodproducts yes it cold out there
Black pop up shed acts like a kiln mine gets up to 115 degrees or more dry lumber from sawmill so I'm thinking of getting one for my drying firewood of course I'm not in the firewood business
Nice looking wood...oh well not to much longer till spring Troy..i bought a Bluetti eb3a Troy,,that can be charged by Solar..it takes a little over 200 watts input..or i can charge it by gen,,,i was going to get two 100 watt panels...im not using this every day...but the Sun would help me a lot...the ones they sell for this unit,,is just way out of my range of money...Amazon has them under 200,,,and harber fright has them.....not charging any batts....just unit..you got any ideas where i could get two...if not i may go Amazon...i have to buy extra cable two about 25 feet x2 an deviders....
Amazon will be the best price. Or your local classified ads.
He ultimate drying conditions? Arizona. Sun. 110 degrees and 10% humidity in the summer, and 65 degrees and 15% humidity in the winter. Walk outside in a wet cotton shirt in the summer and you are bone dry in under 5 minutes.
Good info. I often thought what a waste of time and effort to split wood. 👍🙏✌
Happy to help. Many people think the same thing. Or wait till the last minute.
@@countrywoodproducts fire wood better then gold
Haha. Both are gold to me. I love prospecting and I love firewood.
I CUT WOOD IN WINTER. SAP IS DOWN. SPLIT BY MARCH. AIR STACK. I HAVE OAK THAT IS SEASONED BY SEPTEMBER.
Hi,
I am currently drying oak wood. I cover it at nights and starting at 8:00 am I take it out to get Sun (Southern Cali). I'm thinking that I could dry it fast. Do you agree? 👍
Yes, keeping it covered from rain and let the sun and wind on it will speed up drying time.
I'm working on getting a meadow.
Thanks
Welcome
just get 2 or 3 years ahead and no need for games
Why bother removing all the snow from your racks unless you have wood ready to go on them? More snow is on the way. Just clean the ones you have that can be filled.
I need to have pathways ready and racks prepared for when I bring a truck load home. Unload, split and stack them where they go. Dry wood up front. Wet wood in the back. When I am hauling loads every day it will fill up fast. I also find that maintaining pathways every time it shows is easier than doing it at the last minute. Especially when I have a load on the truck.
That stuff melts a bit and freezes again, its like a rock. Easier to move the fluff as it falls.
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Thank you