Somewhere in internet land I read an article comparing the length of splits vs. the drying time. I think it was 18",16",14", and 12" was the lengths that they compared. Anyone remember seeing anything like this? IIRC, 12" was of course the shortest but 14" was optimal...
I'd say if any difference it would be so small as to not be a worthwhile factor. No doubt on the study you read about they left the wood in rounds and there, most definitely it would be a big difference.
Actually it does make a difference and have read as much in many articles on drying wood, not sure if I can find the ones I want but will look for them.
There is lots of information online but you can not believe all of it. No reinvention needed, but it doesn't hurt to experiment. It is just like the people who never cover their firewood. It had been a long time since I had not done that so I experimented. Last experiment on that one though as it did not turn out well.
I have opposite results of you Dennis in that respect and have not covered my wood for over 30 years. I don't believe a lot of things on the net but when the articles are from good sources I put some creditability in them. I have dry wood and am not going to do tests when what I do works for me. We all know that shorter rounds dry quicker but it can even have an effect on the split wood.
I have posted many links about firewood, flue temps and the like and some seem to ignore it or dispute it (as they did with Battenkiller) so not sure there is much point in it.
Part of learning is sometimes reinventing the wheel. I can read 1000 articles on something and its not until I put it to the test that I see it come to life. Part of being a wood burner is trying stuff out. I agree with Dennis, matter of fact, I think I will try that now. Ill get back to yall in a few years. LOL>
The water is retained in wood fibers arranged like straws. Cut the wood shorter and the straws dehydrate faster: Wood Parts and Anatomy Taking a Closer Look at Wood ——————————————————————————————— Xylem Xylem is made up of long, skinny cells called fibers. A good way to think of a wood fiber is to picture a straw. A really good way to think of wood or xylem in a tree is to picture a handful of straws. The straws are like the fibers, sucking up water from the roots! The picture of magnified spruce wood on the left clearly shows the staw-like fibers of xylem. Click on the picture for a closer look. Not all xylem looks just like this, though. Spruce is a softwood, and this is a picture of softwood xylem ...
Oldspark, most of Battenkiller's problem was he had little diplomacy and sorry to say, that tends to turn people off and they will either ignore, make fun of someone or try to prove wrong. I can think of a couple people off hand on the forums that turn people off just by their wording. Come across in an argumentive form and you can pretty much expect what the answers will be like. I will add that I have met Dan and he is a really nice guy in person.
And I have burned wood over 50 years and my testing is not done. Probably never will be. I am not too smart so have to keep trying things.
Battenkiller very graciously shared his plans for a log arch with me, which were used to build one with the help of a friend's fabricating shop. He was great to talk to by PM and had some really interesting theories on wood.
Lots of variables either way. Your climate & wood types are big variables + your weather during the seasoning time. Go with 2 - 3 years (or more) top covered when you can, size won't be much of an issue. Shorter & smaller would "logically" dry faster , every thing else being equal Most woods in Kansas would be good to go after 1 full summer CSS'd, off the ground, top covered , with good air space between rows. Get it in the sun, in N/S single rows, with black plastic or landscape cloth on the ground, even better yet .
+1 I'm always trying something new. Some work out , some don't. I have no doubt that , top covered with bark down works best for birch, vertical splitting is easier & faster # 1 : my way always works best for me , until I change ways. LOL
BrianK has got it - wood dries from the ends as water is pulled from the xylem - the longer the wood, the greater the distance to dry the wood all the way to the center point of the split. Now, does it matter in reality for 16" vs. 18" splits for example, that's where an experiment can be fun. Cheers!
