TD you are right I've seen that saying many times.. my birch (unsplit) can't read.. JK I agree with you in principle but as you said its area specific.. my ground is alway wet.. real close to a big lake, even though mostly sand.. my grass sod is usually 8 inches thick .. I dug in spots double that.. old horse farm.. that sod gives up moisture as slow as oak.. 60% plus humidity is normal in summer.. and almost always have a breeze.. so airflow is key to my area on the bright side.. even in last summers drought here my grass was always green and lush (and needing to be mowed) but I think last year I only had 6 days it hit 90 degrees..
I think the whole thing is a question of definitions. We define covered as top covered and elevated. That is what they called a shed. They define covered as covered on the ground with no air circulation. We define uncovered as elevated and open to the air. They are defining it as direct soil contact. I think most of us would agree that you don't want to tarp your wood on the ground or even pile splits directly on the ground to season them which eliminates everything they tried except what they said was shedded.
Iv got mine covered wi a sheet , iv stacked it all bark up in case wind blows rain onto it ( does bark up or down make a difference? Iv got some sheet stainless at work that's for scrapping , I'm thinking of a roof for my wood with it . Does steel gather condensation over wood ?
Not sure about this. Wood is ready to burn at 20% or less, general rule of thumb. But who lives in a place with an average of 20% or less RH? Day, Night, Summer, Winter. Not many of us I would guess, most places are more. That said, there seems to be some logical truth here.
You can pull up charts that relate relative humidity to final wood moisture content. Equilibrium does not mean the RH number is the same as the wood moisture content number. In fact at 20% RH the equilibrium number will be under 10% and a RH number that low means you are in the desert. Here in the midwest the RH in summer is often around 70% but our equilibrium number is under 15%.
I'm gonna start top covering my stacks this spring with plywood. I hope it helps the seasoning process. If it doesn't, it's no big deal. Most of my firewood is stored 30 minutes from my house. At least next winter I don't have to worry about rain or snow getting on my wood.
Oldman47 I just want to say thanks when somebody questions your logic, (which is normally spot on) you explain it in way that would make most teachers envious.. without ego.. so others (particularly me) can learn .. it's appreciated
Oh no! You actually did it! Last time the top cover or not thread was posted, it got pretty hot around here. Just stack the wood and in three years or longer, it'll be fine. Solar kiln thread was another hot one....actually got someone the boot if I remember correctly.... Just gives me another chance to use this image!
The study was done in Fairbanks They get -50s F winters & 80 - 90s , with 23 hours of sun , summer don't try this test at home
