how much wood will I use this winter....?

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rjustice4

New Member
Aug 28, 2007
59
Arnold, CA, 4000 ft elevation, Northern Sierra
How much wood will I use this winter....?

This might be a tough question, but I'm sure your guess is better than mine as I am new to woodburning.

I will be heating a 20' x 30' studio with concrete floor, uninsulated steel roll up door, and eleven foot ceilings. Attached to the studio is an adjacent office that is 20' x 10' with eleven foot ceilings. So that is 800 square feet total.

I'll be heating with a PE Spectrum, from approx. 8 am - 5 pm.

I'm in California, at about 4000' elevation and the coldest months are December through March.

The reason I ask is that I have about 3/4 cord dry pine and cedar, and about 5 cords of pine and cedar that have just been split and stacked. I anticipate about 2-3 months of warm, dry weather - not sure if it's enough time to dry the green stuff for this year. If not I may need to buy (or swap) some dry wood. I was thinking of drying a cord or so in the studio, but after splitting the green stuff and seeing the bugs (Wow!), I'm rethinking that.

Thanks for your help on this.

Bob
 
RJ
The 1st thing Id do is insulate that door. If its anything like my rool up door youll lose a ton of heat out of it. Even if its just 1/2" foam sheet type. Its pretty cheep and available at the big box stores.
Sense you will only be burning during the day you probably have enough wood but that last 5 cords may not get dry enough. ( Especially if your weather has cooled off like ours. ) Anyway my offer still stands if you want to swap some out.
 
Have you heated this space in the past? If yes, you can figure how much fuel was used per season, then convert that to btus. Figure the equivalent amount in wood less the stove's efficiency loss (estimate -30%)

You'll need dry wood, otherwise there'll be less heat output and a greater chance of creosote build up.

As to the garage door. Does it need to open in the winter? If not, is there a way to temporarily seal it off with plastic? That can be a major source of cold air intrusion on a windy day and presents a general heat loss all the time.
 
Thanks for the input, guys. And thanks for the standing offer to swap out some wood, nshif. I'm thinking I may need to do that, but I want to keep an eye on the moisture content of the fresh split wood over the next couple of weeks to see if I get significant drying - if I don't I may be taking a ride to Pioneer. Initial moisture readings pegged my moisture sensor, so I know I'm at greater than 30%.

As to insulating the door, I'm thinking that curtains might be the best compromise. I'll be able to open the door when I need to, while cutting down on heat loss, and will probably have high WAF (wife approval factor). I'll try to make it her idea....
 
rjustice4 said:
I was thinking of drying a cord or so in the studio, but after splitting the green stuff and seeing the bugs (Wow!), I'm rethinking that.
Click to expand...

Aside from the bug issue, the wood won't dry inside. It needs the wind and the sunlight.
 
...I was thinking that dying was primarily a relative humidity issue. Take cold winter air (that doesnt have a lot of water in it to begin with), heat the air up with a wood stove (relative humidity goes way down, since warm air can hold a lot more water). I think that's why you get all dried out in the winter....not from the outside air, but from outside air that has been heated inside your home drastically decreasing its relative humidity.

Probably would have to open the windows to keep things from getting too muggy though....and you wouldn't be getting any radiative heat transfer from the sun....
 
RJ
Yes if its a typical roll up door made in sections ( like a standard garage door, not a commercial type that rolls up into a circle at the top ) you just cut the foam with a utility knife to fit in each section and it goes up with the door.
 
rjustice4 said:
...I was thinking that dying was primarily a relative humidity issue. Take cold winter air (that doesnt have a lot of water in it to begin with), heat the air up with a wood stove (relative humidity goes way down, since warm air can hold a lot more water). I think that's why you get all dried out in the winter....not from the outside air, but from outside air that has been heated inside your home drastically decreasing its relative humidity.

Probably would have to open the windows to keep things from getting too muggy though....and you wouldn't be getting any radiative heat transfer from the sun....
Click to expand...

I have no idea what you're talking about. I was responding to your idea re drying green wood in your studio.
 
senorFrog said:
rjustice4 said:
I was thinking of drying a cord or so in the studio, but after splitting the green stuff and seeing the bugs (Wow!), I'm rethinking that.
Click to expand...

Aside from the bug issue, the wood won't dry inside. It needs the wind and the sunlight.
Click to expand...

Sorry about that senorFrog, I was thinking out loud.

If the green wood is stored in the same room as the stove, and I burn dry wood in the stove, won't the heat from the stove (and the dry air that it makes) dry the green wood?
 
rjustice4 said:
senorFrog said:
rjustice4 said:
I was thinking of drying a cord or so in the studio, but after splitting the green stuff and seeing the bugs (Wow!), I'm rethinking that.
Click to expand...

Aside from the bug issue, the wood won't dry inside. It needs the wind and the sunlight.
Click to expand...

Sorry about that senorFrog, I was thinking out loud.

If the green wood is stored in the same room as the stove, and I burn dry wood in the stove, won't the heat from the stove (and the dry air that it makes) dry the green wood?
Click to expand...

It takes like 12 - 15 months to dry wood. If you're trying to get ready for this winter why not buy a few cords of seasoned wood? If you don't use it all this year you can use it next year. I think you missed the boat on drying your own wood for this year. You could also look at buying seasoned log length to save some money. In my area a seasoned cord is about $200, while seasoned log length is about $80.
 
RJ
Not going to work with that kind of door, would have to be a sectional garage door type. So I guess insulated curtins is the best you can do if you need to open it
Frog
Here in the Sierras wood drys very quickly. For cedar and pine usually one summer is enough. Although I prefer pine to sit at least 8 months. Oak can be ready in 12 months easy. But yes he did get a late start on his wood but even with that and a late start for our winter the cedar could be ready, not great but burnable.
Log length is not an option around here no one does it. anyone with a log truck is hauling for the timber companys and cant be bothered with a load here and there. decient cordwood around here goes for 200-250 a cord.
 
senorFrog said:
. I think you missed the boat on drying your own wood for this year. You could also look at buying seasoned log length to save some money. In my area a seasoned cord is about $200, while seasoned log length is about $80.
Click to expand...

seasoned log length??? didn't think the wood seasoned until you split / stack it in the sun / wind??

my stuff should be fine at 6 months - it's short 10 inches and it's been in the sun / wind
 
Steve
Your right wood in log length doesnt dry worth a dam. Ive fallen trees and let them sit through the summer and in the fall they are just about as green as when they came down. Now Im talking Sierra sized trees 2+ foot and 60-100' tall cut maybe in thirds. perhaps smaller trees will dry some.
 
Stevebass4 said:
senorFrog said:
. I think you missed the boat on drying your own wood for this year. You could also look at buying seasoned log length to save some money. In my area a seasoned cord is about $200, while seasoned log length is about $80.
Click to expand...

seasoned log length??? didn't think the wood seasoned until you split / stack it in the sun / wind??

my stuff should be fine at 6 months - it's short 10 inches and it's been in the sun / wind
Click to expand...

Just trying to be helpful. Three local nurseries do it that way here. The wood seems to dry just fine. YMMV.

It may work better than trying to dry it inside the studio with the widows wide open. ;) But hey, if you want to harp on log length, go ahead.
 
not harp'n ;) just saying - everything i've read on this site and others say that the wood will not season unless it's cut and split stacked in the sun and wind

btw log length is the only way i buy my wood :) much better deal and i get to control the size of the splits - around here it's 75 for a cords worth of logs
 
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