here is a thorough test of seasoning wood in Alaska. its a very good read. http://www.cchrc.org/sites/default/files/docs/WoodStorageBestPractices.pdf what do you think?
even global warming will never get me a 21 hour long day here gonna be stuck with 15 hour days in Jun for a very long time the Swampy weather in the Summer kinda sucks too - at least for drying wood
Interesting. I want to try a solar kiln! I dry uncovered, which seems to do great (according to this study) while there is no precipitation. I try to get it in before rains start in September, in which case it is all pretty dry. Thanks for the article!
So the "simulated shed" was just top covered? Interesting read, especially the graphs. I dry mine uncovered and then top cover in October or so. This year I only top covered half my stack and left the other half uncovered. It made a noticeable difference, the wood that was covered will just about light with a match! The uncovered wood is much wetter and heavier, especially the top half of the stack. Even with this stuff being split and stacked for 3 years, those last few months of being rained on can make a difference.
well the top covered was stacked on ground.. the stacked on pallets (off ground) and top covered is their simulated shed... half to finish whole thing later.. first impression unless Alaska is different.. I know of no one up here that stacks straight on ground..
I did, the first couple years. Then, I got smart. Trying to get Oak splits out of a few inches of ice and frozen soil convinced me to change my method.
while they don't go into details about how they built the "simulated shed" the study does state a clear difference between a "simulated shed" and tarp covered. so its safe to say that there was a difference.
I think most of the "top cover" debate revolves more about the location than the actual drying time of the wood itself. Here in the mountains of PA, it will get humid and rain often. I'm surrounded by trees. I like to try to keep the (wet) leaves out of the stacks. Yes , wood, generally speaking, will dry in 1-3 years, top covered or not. In Ohio it's plenty windy and not a huge amount of rain, the PNW and northeast get more rain and cloudy days. I live in a hollow, in a valley, with a mountain to my north and west, top covers for me are the best way to go. We always stack on skids or something like it to keep a good air flow underneath. This may be more important than top covering in our area as our soil is always moist
I have noticed that there is 2 types of wet wood. there is "green" wet wood which is freshly cut and contains a lot of moisture from the tree. then there is "water" wet wood. green wood takes a few months or a few years to dry out, depending on the species. water wet wood is wood that had some sort of water/precipitation on it. also water wet wood only takes a few hrs next to the wood stove to dry out and its ready to burn, ONLY IF the green moisture content is low. (below 20%) wood that is uncovered is getting rained on during the summer even with very little or no rain fall, the wood still gets wet from the dew at night. In my experience letting the wood go from "water" wet to dry helps to pull the green moisture out of the wood. its the same concept as this: if you licked your lips 100 times a day would your lips feel wet or would they feel dry? as the wood or your skin gets wet with water, that water attaches its self to a small amount of oil in the wood or in your skin. and as the water evaporates it pulls a small amount of the oil with it.
page 2 said top covered was stacked on ground... simulated shed was stacked on pallets and top covered..
thank you for posting it ... I have always thought spring wood was dryer when cut then autumn wood.. want to re- read that part more carefully..
ah here is is. thanks for pointing this out. cut and paste vvv Covered on top and stacked on pallets (a simulated wood shed) Covered completely and stacked on the ground (covered with a tarp) Uncovered and stacked on the ground Within a solar kiln and stacked on the ground
decent pics in last pages.. their top cover appears to be plywood with splits on top.. wholely taped is on ground with tarp weighted to ground.. seems dumb where does moisture go? their solar kiln firewood is on ground .. seems more like a sauna then kiln.. another where does moisture go.. as to original question to cover or not.. I do.. cause Backwoods Savage says it makes it better.. he has been making firewood since shortly after civil war so I just take his word for it.. in my area it is almost impossible to keep single row stacks top covered.. out back I got 2 single row stacks and 10 pallets, . pallets covered this fall still covered.. single row recovered 5 times after storms.. now buried in snow maybe 50% covered.. I am switching over to pallets as got A FEL and hopefully can move pallets to wood deck in fall without the unstack transport and re-stack process.
Birch here is more susceptible to rot if it gets re-wetted So top covering is a must IMO Spruce does OK not top covered But I have almost 100% birch (More BTUs for the buck $$) I stack in a double row for a year , My top cover is the top couple layers bark side up Then to the shed (wood port) for 2 + years before it's burned Wood types & climate are big factors
There's a famous saying here. "Wood is not a sponge" Wood will release its moisture faster than it can absorb moisture. During the day the trapped heat in the kiln speeds the moisture release. At night the moisture will condense on the plastic and run down/drain out bottom .
"Wood is not a sponge" and yet wood is hygroscopic and will stabilize at the surrounding RH levels and change with them.
