I can’t find the answer to this question anywhere online. I’ve had freshly cut wood for just over a month now, under cover so it hasn’t been rained on, I have an outdoor chiminea so I know I don’t have to worry about seasoning it properly. The wood I have under cover is sounding pretty good when I bang it together. I’m itching for a fire but I don’t want to waste my wood by burning it too soon . I’m wondering if anyone else has been in this predicament, trying to figure out when freshly cut green wood is ready to burn on an outdoor fire .
What type of wood is it? Most woods will burn pretty poorly after only one month of seasoning. Lots of smoke and little heat. You’d be better off going to a construction site and getting some scraps of kiln dried lumber.
The stuff I got under cover is a type of conifer and pine. I have burnt Timber from a construction site before but it’s just not the same as a proper log I find. If it’s not ready I’ll just wait it out.
Get a moisture meter and check it out. You can get a decent one for under $30. Check out Lowe's, Home Depot & Amazon.
If its softwood you could get away with burning it. Pine seasons fully in about six months. I’d say go for it. It’s not like you’re trying to contain the heat. May be a little more smoke then if you waited a few months, but it’ll burn.
Thank you, great help. Tonight would’ve been a great night for it, no wind, moon is out, but too late now, so it’ll have another week of drying now at least
We have an outdoor fireplace we burn in, I always make sure we have kindling to start the fire and then increase the size that goes on until it's good and hot, after that everything split burns hot and fast. We always have split dead pine undercover to mix in with some unseasoned pine.
If you are burning outside it’s kind of a moot point as you have no stove pipe or chimney to worry about building up creosote in that might eventually catch fire and cause your whole house to burn down. So if you’re burning in an outdoor fire pit or chiminea just whenever the wood will burn and hold a flame.
This is about it in a nutshell. Wood that isn't fully dry, will smoke more and make less heat, but that's about it.
You can burn moat any wood right after it is cut. As stated above, the wetter the wood, the more soke there is. If you burn it, then get the fire going a good time before you plan to enjoy it. The more hot coals, the better.
