I sell a little over a cord of wood each fall to help off set saw fuel and maintenance costs. Here is 4 face cords/ric of wood stacked within a couple of weeks of each other. One side gets direct morning sun and the other is partially shaded through the afternoon.
Without a moisture meter check, that is true. I was just pointing out the weathering of the full sun side versus the non full sun side.
Funny but I've had sides like that even when both are in the sun or both with no sun. Perhaps rain makes a bigger difference than we think sometimes?
Interesting. The Alder here goes through quite a bit of color changing during the seasoning process. I haven’t paid any attention if the sun or shade makes a difference. We sure get more sunlight on the wood pile after they logged the property behind us. Just took a quick look and the stuff on top has bleached out more than the wood in the shady part of the pile. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Interesting indeed! One of many reasons I became a FH is getting ripped off buying so called seasoned firewood. Like GrJfer and not owning a moister meter I have made this observation. I store wood in a few different places and it is obvious which wood dries faster. Wood up by the patio gets a little more sun but is blocked by part of the house from getting prevailing winds and as much rain. Stack down below the house gets less sun but more wind and rain, it seasons much faster. What has become a simple truth for me is they call it seasoned wood for a reason. I hope some others can chime in. Sorry for being so wordy. Just love this topic
I think the more gray side shows a lot. The sun turns the wood gray and the more sun, the more drying going on. I have found even a few hours per day less sun makes a huge difference throughout a period of even just 6 months. Many of you in here have seen my “piles” and I can tell you orientation even makes a difference. I have found that running my windrows north-south dries better than running them east-west.
The unsplit pieces are not firewood. It doesn't start to truly season till it's split. Also when using a moisture meter it must be taken internally on a fresh split not on the end.
Unfortunately all my stacks are in shaded areas. One stack of red oak gets some sun. The sun and wind do make a world of difference in drying wood. I have a stack/mound at an area im currently cutting and am amazed how well its dries in the full sun. The logs are maybe two years old uncut.
Wood will season in the round and it will also season in log form. I've actually done both. It's a slower process, but it is a process nonetheless.
I have some 30 inch rounds of hard maple the sun has baked for a few weeks. Dry as dry can be!!!! Guessing you can make syrup out of the middle they are so wet! Nice stacks you have.
Ended up getting the fan and tent set up and did some splitting today and got a whack done. Here's that sun burnt block.
Good stuff and thanks folks. Now recently hauling out probably 3 cords I had rows stacked tight together it has been there uncovered for at least 2 years. The row in front Which had more exposure and stuff on top is totally gray. The swamp white oak which has been there at least 3 years but buried in the back I'm guessing from the weight look and the sound of knocking together will need to dry more. Yikes, so species seems to matter a lot. Now bark side up verses bark side down? I have read bark side down is better which makes sense I guess. How can Elm stand there unsplit and if you wait for the bark to fall off it can be dry as a bone? Hmmm
