Ideally, the firewood should season for a year. It can lose considerable moisture from air drying for three months; six is even better.
It can take 3-12 months or longer to season firewood. On average, it usually takes around 6-months to dry out the cut-firewood that you purchased from a store or supplier. Depending on the original timber's moisture content, it can take more or less time to season.
Wood burned inside the home should always be dry and seasoned for at least 6-12 months. Wood burns most efficiently when the moisture content is at 20% or less. Damp wood burns at a cooler temperature, resulting in incomplete combustion, more smoke, and dangerous creosote build-up in the chimney (a fire hazard).
The smaller the piece, the quicker it can dry out. In fact, expect most types of wood to take about one year per inch of thickness to dry out. If it's a two-inch log, that means you'll need to let it sit outdoors for two whole years before it's dry enough to efficiently burn.
Wait at least 6 months and up to 12 months for dry firewood depending on type of wood. Hardwoods like oak and maple dry more slowly than soft woods like pine and spruce. To ensure dry firewood, wait at least 12 months before burning. To test, bang two pieces together; dry wood sounds hollow, wet wood sounds dull.
NFA's blog post, released this week, suggests that you should aim for wood that's between 15 to 20 percent moisture content for the best results. Wood over 20 percent moisture content is hard to light, and over 25 percent will make a sizzling sound when it burns.
If you're new to building fires, you might be surprised to learn that it takes anywhere from nine to 12 months to dry out firewood completely. You should always let fresh firewood age for at least six months before you consider using it. While this might leave you feeling a bit dejected, don't despair.
To get green wood to less than 20% moisture takes at least six months. Freshly cut wood will have bound and unbound moisture. The latter is released fairly easily and can get the wood down to 25 to 30% moisture content. Bound moisture, on the other hand, takes much longer to evaporate.
Wood is a porous material. This means that, over time, exposure to water will permeate the wood's membranes, causing it to rot, soften, and fall apart.
To identify well-seasoned wood, check the ends of the logs. If they are dark in colour and cracked, they are dry. Dry seasoned wood is lighter in weight than wet wood and makes a hollow sound when hitting two pieces together. If there is any green colour visible or bark is hard to peel, the log is not yet dry.
Cut it to Size - Cut your logs down to the size you'll want in your fire. Split the logs. The more exposed wood, the faster it'll dry out. Let the Air Flow - When stacking wood, make sure there's plenty of airflow around every log.
To speed the drying of firewood, remove the bark initially and stack the wood so that air circulates around it from all sides. During rainy periods, put a cover over the top of firewood.
If you'd rather keep this type of stuff outdoor and away from your living area, the best choice is to store your firewood in a wood shed. Wood shed – The most effective way to season firewood is to place it in a proper wood shed built to create ideal conditions for the purpose of drying out the logs.
Use the sound test
Your firewood is dry when the sound is hard and ringing. Moist firewood has a dull sound. Be aware of pitfalls when it comes to the sound test. In frosty weather and when the temperature is below 0° Celsius, fresh wood can give off a high and ringing sound even if the wood is not yet dry .
Ideally, firewood should remain uncovered so it can be properly dried, but this is not practical when rain, snow and ice can quickly coat winter firewood. A good cover over the top of your woodpile will protect it, and be sure the cover is slanted to shed moisture away from the pile's base.
Lab experiments have recorded that dry rot spores can germinate approximately seven to ten days after the wood has become damp enough. Older spores can take longer to germinate. As mentioned earlier, though, it can take a long while for signs of dry rot to appear after germination.
In order for water-damaged wood to have a chance at drying out, it must be exposed. Otherwise, it likely will not dry. This is especially the case if other materials surrounding the affected wood are also wet. Remove any materials, such as drywall or subflooring, that are blocking the water-damaged wood.
Wet lumber will naturally dry out if given enough time. If the outdoor temperatures are above 60 degrees F, it usually takes about 4 weeks for moisture content to decrease about 4%. It might take 6-12 weeks for a 4% drop if its cold and rainy. And if it's below freezing, it might take many months.
About 35 to 50 per cent moisture is required for wood rotting fungi to flourish, the actual moisture content depending on the species of fungi and the kind of wood. Fungal spores do not germinate readily on wood that has a moisture content below the fibre saturation point, commonly reached at around 25 to 30 per cent.
Leaving wood in the open air will help it dry faster. 5. You can leave drying firewood uncovered but it does help if it has something sitting over it acting as a roof, eg a length of roofing iron.
Given enough time (assuming it's not getting wet again) that wet lumber will naturally dry. If the outdoor temps are above 60 degrees F then it won't take much time. Maybe 3-5 weeks to get from 18% down to 14%. But, if it's cold & rainy outside it might take 6-12 weeks.
If you are interested in expediting the drying process of your firewood, you can also opt to leave the wood uncovered. Covering the wood, even just the top of the wood, with a tarp or another cover, can significantly increase the overall drying time needed for the wood itself.
By storing your firewood in a sunny and windy location, you can speed up the drying process. If you don't have a sunny spot, you can still dry your wood by covering it with a tarp to protect it from the rain and keeping it off the ground to allow air to circulate around it.
During the winter, treating wood is more technical because of the moisture present in the air. Unfortunately, the fungus that produces the dry rot loves the moisture. The fungi will eat away the wood by breaking down the cellulose and hemicellulose of the wood.