Drying wood?

From what I have read and there are studies if you look for them, that the best way is too keep the wood uncovered for the summer. This way you get the best airflow and sun beating down on the wood. Then about a month before you start using it u can cover it so as to keep rain and snow off it so when you bring it in the house or garage its dry as can be. I have a staging area in my Garage/basement that I can bring in around 8 wheel barrow loads. My stove is back in the back of my basement where there is a family room divided off by a wall. I just go back and forth thru french doors I put in so as to travel from the garage to the family room getting my wood.

Make sure you split and stack you wood as this is the best way to get it dried out. Leaving it in a pile even if split traps moisture and the wood doesnt dry out as good.

It takes longer than most people think to dry wood to 20% moisture or less.

Lowes has moisture meters for about $30 so you know its good and dry.

As your loosing heat if the wood isnt good and seasoned.

Tallyho for all you beaglers

My backyard experiments suggest it's probably better to cover sooner rather than later. Last summer I regularly weighed and tracked several uncovered splits of various species, and they all got heavier whenever it rained and then took at least a few days to lose that moisture.

The direct sun exposure you gain by having them uncovered only affects the top row of spits; the rest are shaded to the same degree regardless.

Jon1270 said:

My backyard experiments suggest it's probably better to cover sooner rather than later. Last summer I regularly weighed and tracked several uncovered splits of various species, and they all got heavier whenever it rained and then took at least a few days to lose that moisture.

The direct sun exposure you gain by having them uncovered only affects the top row of spits; the rest are shaded to the same degree regardless.

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My experience also. Get a scale and track some pieces, you will be amazed at how much water can be absorbed by a split of wood. Red oak sapwood in particular is a sponge. Red oak heartwood doesn't absorb anywhere near as much. Get a week of cloudy weather with a rain showers and you can find wood that is heavier than it was 2 months before.

It really comes down to how much rain you get vs. how much sun you can put on your stack. The best sun I can get in my yard is about 5 hours a day. Most of my wood is entirely under the tree canopy in my back yard and only gets sun that sneaks under in the morning. Keeping my wood covered is essential.

At any rate, if you are interested in figuring out what is going on in your stacks I highly suggest you get a scale that is good for about 15lbs and reads out in grams. It can tell you a lot that a moisture meter can't.

You can top cover pretty much any time when the stacks are complete. For my part I prefer to leave a new stack uncovered through summer. It gets covered for another year or so before use.

If you'd like to leave it exposed as long as possible, pull a top cover over it a couple months before you start burning.

I think it depends on where you live and how much rain you get through the summer and when you are going to use it. I stack double rows. Through last summer we had many, many thunderstorms that often gave us heavy rain. I would hate to have left my stacks uncovered. Of important note the firewood I c,s,s in the spring is mostly the same wood I use the upcoming winter (soft woods). If its only top covered you still get lots of air moving through if you dont stack it to tight.

My father is from Kentucky and Ive never been there. But my impression is rain foresty. Rich moist soils with lots of vegetation. Like the inside of a greenhouse. If you give your woodstacks lots of room between the ground and the bottom of your stacks, you wont have as much problems with wood going punky. You may be able to go uncovered. If you find a windy spot. You could experiment and go half and half. Personally I top cover as soon as I split because I have Sooty mold issues and dont like black wood. I like the wood to remain clean looking, especially oak which really gets attacked by molds.

Jon1270 said:

My backyard experiments suggest it's probably better to cover sooner rather than later. Last summer I regularly weighed and tracked several uncovered splits of various species, and they all got heavier whenever it rained and then took at least a few days to lose that moisture. The direct sun exposure you gain by having them uncovered only affects the top row of spits; the rest are shaded to the same degree regardless.

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By the same token, unless the rain is blowing sideways, I think most of the rain falling on top of the stack runs out to one side or the other by the time you get down a few levels. I'm stacking some wood in a good sun and wind location but don't have experience with drying in these conditions, as most of my stacks are in the woods. The surface of the wood seems to dry out pretty quick after a rain in this good location. I haven't covered it yet and I'm hoping that these frequent rains will ease up a bit.

Applesister said:

My father is from Kentucky and Ive never been there. But my impression is rain foresty.

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Yeah, it's like a jungle down here. With these frequent rains, I've seen days where the humidity never gets below 80%, and it's not raining. Even in a normal, fairly dry summer, if the humidity gets below 50% in the afternoon, I'm thrilled. In that drought summer a couple years ago, I would often see 100+ with humidity of 30% or less; Unheard-of here! Right now it's off-and-on showers, 71 degrees and 90% humidity; The stack isn't drying today...

Woody Stover said:

By the same token, unless the rain is blowing sideways, I think most of the rain falling on top of the stack runs out to one side or the other by the time you get down a few levels. I'm stacking some wood in a good sun and wind location but don't have experience with drying in these conditions, as most of my stacks are in the woods. The surface of the wood seems to dry out pretty quick after a rain in this good location. I haven't covered it yet and I'm hoping that these frequent rains will ease up a bit.
Yeah, it's like a jungle down here. With these frequent rains, I've seen days where the humidity never gets below 80%, and it's not raining. Even in a normal, fairly dry summer, if the humidity gets below 50% in the afternoon, I'm thrilled. In that drought summer a couple years ago, I would often see 100+ with humidity of 30% or less; Unheard-of here! Right now it's off-and-on showers, 71 degrees and 90% humidity; The stack isn't drying today...

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That is impressively moist, although I remember NJ being similar. It doesn't get very hot up where I live now (almost never above 82 or so) but our daytime humidity is almost always <20% with a good breeze. Late night/early morning it usually hovers in the 40-60% range.

+1

Wind being your friend when drying firewood, I would top cover by Oct. I have had good luck with it.
I know I've taken wood into the house covered in snow and it's bone dry. Even rain evaporates out of dry seasoned wood quite quickly. Punky wood will hold water forever.

I'd say definitely cover it to keep the rain off. The sun and wind are going to be the same whether its covered or not with the exception of the very top row won't get baked in the sun and you're keeping water out of the stacks by having it covered. To me it's a no brainer to cover.

KindredSpiritzz said:

I'd say definitely cover it to keep the rain off. The sun and wind are going to be the same whether its covered or not with the exception of the very top row won't get baked in the sun and you're keeping water out of the stacks by having it covered. To me it's a no brainer to cover.

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I've found that if you get three years ahead, it doesn't matter whether the wood is top covered or not.

Happy Fathers day to all the dads out there!

I was just outside in the rain looking at my top covered stacks. I was thinking that for me where I have little room c,s,s right away and then top covering is essential as soon as its on the pallets. I think around 7 cords is all I have room for if I want to have a place for the dog, kids and garden (not in that order). Since I burn soft woods and need to have it ready for this fall It is crucial for me to do all that I can as soon as I can. I was thinking of this thread while outside and was thinking that like Northwinds situation if you have the space, the climate and the time you have to worry about this question less. I dont think there is a right or wrong answer here but I know what is right for me.

Beagleman said:

When drying wood do you think it's better to leave it uncovers until fall? That way it gets more sun and air through it. Then cover it in fall. Or is it best to cover the top of it now?

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I use the carpet runners made from plastic to drape over the top of my stack. During the summer on some nice sunny days I just pull it off to help dry it. My stack is along side a fence so one side is blocked. I use racks that keep the bottom at least 4-6" off the ground and I put pavers under the feet to raise the rack another inch or two. The mostly red oak was all cuts and split by hand about 12 months ago. I use Envi 8 blocks a lot since I just do not have a lot of space to store cordwood so that should help. I also bring the days supply inside and keep it in the primary heating room. This dries the splits quite well. My hope is that the Envis and some quality wood will give me great burns this season. I found that buying cordwood on long Island is a waste of money as I have yet to get a great load of wood despite claims of sellers. Doing it myself is the only way to get the job done right.