That is an intense study. What Backwoods Savage says about oak being resistant to giving up its moisture is true. Looks like in kiln drying it still can take three times as long. That's using 8/4wood, which is not nearly as large as most splits. This takes us back to the three year theory. A kiln may accelerate drying time, but air dry is limited to a few factors, and may only have 6 months of effective drying for many if us. The one great point I gleaned from this work was that having your wood under cover is definitely worth it. That goes contrary to what some have said, but it is given a lot of weight in this study.
Pretty comprehensive document. Some points that I pull out with reference to firewood drying: On page 13, the reason why air space under your stack is so important. Especially if you have to stack in cubes because your 1/3 acre yard lacks a breezy sun drenched knoll for drying neat single rows of splits. As the water evaporates, the air is cooled in and around all piles. Cooling makes the air denser, and it tends to flow downward. When the cool dense air is removed from beneath the piles, fresh air is brought into their tops. This effect and the consequent drying go on continuously, regardless of wind, unless the air around all the boards is saturated with water vapor. This is the reason why, from the fast, economical drying viewpoint, high and open pile foundations are very important. Those pallets arent just to keep your wood off the wet ground. On page 14, One theoretical approach suggests that drying time, under identical or similar drying conditions, is a function of the square of the thickness. Although they are talking boards experience tells that firewood is similar. Speaks to the fact that rounds or logs are very slow to dry. I could believe that if you double the size of a split it takes 4x as long to dry. Triple it and it takes 9x.
Yah, its the square of the thickness, and sawn lumber drying is exactly the same as firewood drying in that sense. Wood is wood, after all. Except if you leave birch unsplit, in which case it will never dry (because it has virtually waterproof bark).
I split my oak into matchstick size pieces (1/2 size of normal splits I use) I'm not sure if it allows the oak to dry quicker because its smaller but in my psychological head it works for me so I say what the heck. Give it a try.
