The first year we had our log house on our basement it was unheated and open to air,shed dormers had no ends in them.We had a few cold spells and we would hear some of the logs crack and it was like a gun shot.Got used to it after a while.We live/lived in the basement at the time.What do the trees say in -30F? ... crack - split, split - crack, crack - split.
Just spent a while googling the phenomenon and could not find any explanation that made much sense.True ... would it be more precisely accurate to say that what happens is that the high level of water vapor in the very cold air reaches the dew point instantaneously and the vapor condenses immediately into a cloud rather explosively?
Perhaps not in the overall scheme of the experiment but on the molecular level there has to be some sublimation involved.(Although it's fair to conclude there is no sublimation involved.)
I saw -15 on my truck when I left for work this morning. I need about 12 hours of burning to keep up like this. I start my fire at 6pm with a 1/2 load, 2/3+ load at 7:30ish and then cram it full at 10:30pm. So far so good. This schedule would not work with low btu wood, however. I have to avoid grabbing the boxelder for the time being.