seasoning during winter

[steeltowninwv]

Will wood season at all thru the winter?

 

[Dix]

Depends on alot of conditions and the type of wood. Some season faster than others.

We cut up 2 cords of pine last year in September. By January, it was ready to rock & roll, which was a good thing

 

[KTLM]

Depends what kind of weather your having but I doubt in the northern states that it would season much from Nov. thru Feb.
Water has to evaporate for seasoning.

 

[krex1010]

Depends what kind of weather your having but I doubt in the northern states that it would season much from Nov. thru Feb.
Water has to evaporate for seasoning.

Water can evaporate when it is frozen , the reaction is called sublimation, it is slower than evaporation, but at low humidity which is common in winter, sublimation can occur at a good rate. Couple that with the expansion and contraction that occurs with freezing an thawing I think this allows seasoning to continue through the winter, as long as it's dry outside.

 

[North of 60]

Put an ice cube out at -40. It will eventually disappear. The 1st frosts of the year are also quite effective.

 

[jatoxico]

Cold air holds very little moisture. Can be very dry in winter.

 

[oldspark]

Every year it comes up, no where near what it drys in the warmer months to the point the summer, spring and fall months are the ones that count.

 

[weatherguy]

I would think with the wind and dry air it would season well but Im no expert

 

[onetracker]

yes

 

[oldspark]

I should add that is in NW Iowa for me, below freezing not much drying gets done, burning wood for a long time and it always been that way.

 

[zzr7ky]

I have burned dead standing Ash or Silver Maple cut in Summer after the first of the year will no ill effects on my chimney... My daughter did notice that 'This stuff isn't as warm'. She's an ace at running the stove but doesn't pay any attention to the wood until it is actuially delivered into the garage. I like to stack it so the ends face the East-West, cover the top of the row with something.

 

[jimbom]

Will wood season at all thru the winter?

A lot of this is local. Type of wood, split size, stacking practice/location, wind, sun, etc. What I did one year was weigh a couple of pieces each month and write the weight on the calendar. For my local conditions, wood does lose moisture in the winter. Now I know what happened with my wood, in my climate, stacked at my location for that one year.

I also oven dried some pieces and put them out with the other wood. They picked up moisture until a certain point. Doing that, told me my wood dried outdoors is never going to be much less than 13% on the moist basis. Once it gets to 15% or so, may as well use it in my case because it isn't getting any drier. Also, in my case, 20% oak works just fine in a hot fire. 25% oak takes more air to keep going, but does not seem to burn dirty. All this information from one forest in one climate using one stove in one house. YMMV

This year the summer was hotter than blazes and the wood stacks hit 130 °F every day for several weeks. Wood dried quicker. So there are a lot of variables, which is why we read so many different accounts on this forum.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Like oldspark stated, the wood will dry some during the winter months but nowhere near what it will do in the summer months.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Like oldspark stated, the wood will dry some during the winter months but nowhere near what it will do in the summer months.

This thread was a question I never asked but always wanted to know. Does the moisture content in the splits when frozen really dry out? BTW, the summers here in this region compared to other parts of the country must have some slow drying times due to the high humidity.

 

[jimbom]

...BTW, the summers here in this region compared to other parts of the country must have some slow drying times due to the high humidity.

The USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory has published Research Note FPL-RN-0268 about equilibrium moisture content at most locations in the USA and many in the world. The equilibrium moisture content is where your outdoor wood wants to be. There is not a great deal of difference between summer and winter in many locations.

Drying time is a function of type and size of the splits and temperature and humidity among others. Hot humid summer may be very good for drying.

 

[Wood Duck]

I am sure it depends a lot on where you are. In the east we have humid winters, for the most part, so I expect not a lot of drying will occur. In the far north and parts of the west the winter weather can be dry, and I'd expect a lot of drying. Theoretically wood can lose moisture in the winter if the air is dry and there is some heat available to sublimate the water, but in many places conditions are not very good for seasoning.

 

[woodchip]

Will wood season at all thru the winter?

Not here, as it's always damp and dreary.

However, it is a good time to cut and stack deciduous trees when the sap is down, without the sap, the wood is drier.

When the dry summer weather we dream of appears, the wood has a good start on the seasoning.

I have organised our greenhouse so that when we do get some dry sunny days here in October, February, and March, some nearly dry wood can get fully seasoned for burning next Spring.

As to seasoning during December and January, I'm just happy to finish drying a split or two near the stove..... ;-)

 

[Bub381]

I would say yes,when it's around 10 or so i've seen a crusty snow turn to powder after a while..It just dries out.I believe as mentioned it's slower but progress is progress.