Here’s some wood I had delivered two years and 4 months ago. It has been cut, split, and now stacked and covered in this same spot for the time period above. In good weather the sides go up and the stack stays covered. In rainy weather the sides come down. Here, we were expecting rain. Now, next post, wait for it...
On the ground you will see remnants of another load of wood I had delivered 1 1/2 years ago that I had left in a pile and covered with a tarp. Note: Notice all the waste wood compressed into the mud that is completely saturated with water. I’m not even going to try and burn it now. I have to dig it out, salvage what I can and place in a separate stack. Moral of that story: Stack your wood as soon as possible up off the ground. I knew better, but it was just one of those things I never took time to do. NOTE: The wood you see burning came from the stacked pile under the blue tarp that had been there for 2 years and 4 months. Do I need a moisture meter? I have one, but knew the wood still wasn’t dry enough just by feel, sound, and the way it looked. I did take moisture readings from the blue stack before burning, but I’ll provide pictures and details later on. My axe is dull and I want to split some pieces open and take readings. The wood on the very top of the fire is the only wood that came from the ground and is extremely wet. The pieces you see with moisture seeping out the ends IS the WOOD from the blue stack...seasoning for 2 years and 4 months. Now, keep in mind my lot is down between two hills, it is damp here in summer with all the shade from the trees, and I put my stack out of the sun. Not ideal, but I need all the yard space I can get. I’d say that wood there for 2yrs 4mths need to season more. These photo’s were early in the burn. As the pieces got hotter even more water came out. I like my wood more dry than this, and more dry than my new moisture meter confirmed.
Going to cut a couple trees down near the blue stack and that will expose it to more sun. After I cut down those trees I also think I will completely wrap my stacks with clear plastic and cut a few vent holes in the top. I’ll bake them dry. I’ll give a hint... The wood (4 pieces) I briefly tested, without splitting open, was tested on the ends and in the middle was still high MC ... 25%-30%. To me that seems high for as long as it’s been sitting. What say you?
We lit the first fire here this year with wood that was brought in last spring but never burned. It was oak that was stacked 2.5+ years ago (3 summers) and top covered. Moisture sizzled out the ends. Here's some of the same wood last month when we were camping. (Moisture bubbling from top piece)
Quit covering the stacks so tight! Top cover only and let the air circulate through the stack. Even when it's calling for rain. If you plan on shrink wrapping, you better get more sun on the stack or your wood will look like some kind of science project. Of course you already mentioned getting the wood up off the ground.
Did you split a split then poke with MM? This well tell you internal MC. If freshly rained on or damp the outside will be high MC.
Keep in mind that at 20%, the wood that you are feeding the fire with is 1/6th water by weight. In a campfire burn you are heating the middle so seeing water steam/ooze out the still not burning end isn’t unheard of. That steamed 1/6 of the wood needs to escape somehow. In a wood stove you are going for engulfed fire so you might not see the water getting pushed out a cold end.
That is what I do. Don't let the picture of the blue tarp fool you into thinking it stays covered. My son and I walk past the blue tarped stack of wood every night feeding the chickens, so it's real easy to raise and lower the tarp with the weather. I let the sides down so that rain isn't splashing against the bottom of the stack. What is not shown is I have a half sheet of plywood near by that covers the rest of what the tarp isn't covering near the bottom of the stack. This keeps all the wood dry. If you missed it, the only time the sides are down, is when it rains or snows. I don't let any blowing rain or snow touch that stack. When it's done, I uncover the sides. That was info was covered already. I also said I was going to be cutting down some trees to expose the pile in the blue tarp. What was not mentioned by me earlier is that the blue stack is on concrete as well as has deck board runners under the stack. I also did not mention what happened to the wood laying on the dirt next to the fire. That stack of wood is sitting on two double stacks of pallets, so it's up off the ground at least 8-10 inches, and is two cords of wood top covered by a tarp. It too will be wrapped in plastic, vent holes in the top, in the sun to "kiln" dry it...kiln used loosely. Plenty of guys here wrapping wood with plastic and drying it in much quicker time.
I mentioned that I had not done that yet, and I still haven't had time to check it, but plan to split some pieces to check them.
The wood from that stack, even loaded in the stove, since my wood stove was large and I only fed a few pieces at a time once I got a bed of coals, I could see and hear the moisture coming out of it. When I season wood for longer than 2-3 years, more like 5-6, I never see moisture or hear moisture coming out like that though I know the wood still has some moisture in it. The wood in that blue stack has been there 2 years and 4 months. Who knows how long it was split before the guy delivered it. All I can say is, the wood has yet to let go of the bark, so it isn't yet dried to the point I like to see it. The wood still hasn't checked much on the ends like I like to see, so it isn't yet dried to the point I like to see it. The stacks see about 4-6 hours of sun a day, until I cut the trees down near the stack. An ideal spot for a stack of wood is in full sun all day. I can't get that because my lot is surrounded by woods. When I cut the trees down near the stack I'll still be lucky to get 7-8 hours, but I'll take what sun I can get to improve drying.
Who knows how much moisture is boiling out until I split 8-10 pieces and take moisture reading from a couple locations on each piece. I still need to do that as soon as I sharpen my axe or buy a new one. You can see from some of the pictures that it boiled long enough for a thick white foam to form on some of the pieces...probably 25-30 minutes or slightly more. I never timed it. Just to reiterate, the stacks of wood I have, the sides are up most of the time, except during snow or rain, then I put the sides down. Easy to do, since I walk by the stacks each day to feed our chickens and ducks.
I’m burning oak that’s been CSSed 7 years. Stacked off the ground in single rows. Top covered at least 5 years. I still see moisture from the ends when lightning a cold stove. It burns great.
Would you want to burn it seasoned only 2 yrs and a few months? I know I wouldn't...not oak. I like it better seasoned for similar lengths of time as yours.
