I have about four cord here at the house thats well protected including that red maple. Its hard to get into the habit of making smaller splits when you have a lifetime of making them the same size. My MO was to resplit at least 50% of dry wood when making bundles. Now its maybe 10% or less. You still have that TOH? Save that for future bundle wood to mix in.
So, woke up late. Went outside at 7.00 am and split up a largish Black Birch log that was in my mostly Beech collection. Readings from 21-25 moisture content from the few splits I tested while splitting. I was surprised it was that dry. Went with a larger log to get more moisture,,,, At the time the first pic was taken it was 7.30 am. Sun just leaving the box. I had left the door open about 4” because of wet paint. Paint job bites I’m well aware 68 degrees outside and the door was 99 degrees. Back of box was 71. Remember, open door. Stuffed it full of the birch and took some readings on the exposed split faces. Found one as high as 31.5 in some softer punky spot. Woohoo, I never cheered for higher readings. Closed it up. Came back about 40 minutes later and the door (sunny side) was 121 degrees. Back of box still low at 74. Then it dawned on me to take some temp readings higher in the box. Back of box was 85 closer to the top. Guess it’s safe to say the temp is building. I’ll take a few exterior moisture readings as time goes by. Eventually I’ll have to pull some out and resplit it to see that’s going on. Also not sure the door is sealing 100%. Maybe some strap tie downs for now. Cinch it down tight.
First time ive seen firewood stored that way! Gives new meaning to the term "safe keeping"! Unique experiment. Hope it works out.
Im kicking myself pretty hard for giving away all that TOH now. That stuff might be perfect to mix in. It’s all about easy light and flame. Heats not a concern. I read the Chinese use it a lot for cooking fires so it should burn well. I’ve only burnt it green and it doesn’t burn well green at all. I’m gonna be running some test fires in the backyard pit of various woods. See what flames up the best. I’ve read articles on it but I’ll try it myself.
If you decide this method is effective, your field is going to look very strange with 50-100 black metal boxes in it.
LOL maybe, maybe. Mysterious monoliths are appearing across the world. Here’s what we know. We are talking some cutting edge out of this world mind blowing stuff here. I may be on the cusp. not planning on adding to the fleet. Mostly wanted an excuse to Get it out of the barn LOL If I could hold the temp long enough to hit 140 in the middle of the wood it will effectively kill bugs. That may require charcoal around the base. It’s also fun to watch the occasional car veer off the road as they try to figure out why there’s a tall black box in the middle of a field.
As kids, we slept in the back of a capped F150 on a trip to Florida one year. We woke up being dripped on from the condensation from the roof of the cap. It cooled down significantly a couple nights. Learned to keep the back windows open a little more.
So I took a stroll at 10.45 or so. Not looking too good for my experiment. Door read 122. Back was 95 or so. Opened the door and shot a piece of wood further in near the top 102. Near the middle 95. They’re callin it 80 outside right now. Feels hotter to me It may become a horizontal tool chest soon on the bright side I picked out some wood from my stacks. Just enough to make a couple sample bundles. Resplit some of the larger pieces and made a little kindling to go in. Red Oak right at 10% Maple at 12% Ash at 15%. I would have thought the ash was less. Only a sample of one.
I'm not sure this will be a microwave-type cooking effect. It might take a few days sealed up to see how the wood reacts.
im not looking to dry the wood as much as heat it. Kill any bugs inside. The only bugs I’ve seen is some borers in the red maple. Very fine sawdust. Everything else is clean. 140 internal for 30 minutes kills everything or so they say. Although now that you mention it I may buy magnifying glasses in bulk LOL
Put a thermostat in there to check temp. This may be a dumb statement but here it goes. Some are suggesting vent holed for air circulation which is good, but wouldn't you lose some heat that way?
This setup may not pass muster as kiln dried but I'd definitely keep the wood in for a few days sealed up. Maybe throw a blanket or insulation over at night to keep the temp as high as possible. Unless it's a REALLY hot day (with lots of sun), you may have a difficult time getting wood in the middle of the stack up to the desired temp.
Status update 4.00 pm outside temp 82 degrees. Back of box reads 139 (sunny side). Front reads 95. Wood temp inside box at 101 near top. 95 near the middle. As for ever heating wood to the 140 mark I’d say this is a bust. Gotta admit I’m a little surprised by the results. I thought it would be hotter in there.
Don’t give up. For a each passing day with similar conditions, you will be evaporating less and less water. The evaporation of water absorbs heat and keeps the internal temperature lower. As more water evaporates, the mass that you are heating is also less, so a given amount of sun will make the interior of the box hotter. You should have weighed the pieces when you took the moisture content. That way you could simply weigh pieces at a given interval and know what the new water content is using simple algebra. I think with several days of full sun, you will eventually reach your goal of 140 degrees.
