Seasoning wood: Why waste the summer heat?

[mainemac]

Call me crazy......
I hate getting in a car in the summer: it is so dang hot temps inside gotta get to 100-110?
The other day I had a flash as I singed myself sitting in a friends car.
Having just cut down a few oaks, and trying to get them to season in a hot place........
Instead of the yard, one could have a rolling dryer, load up a old van.... Park in a sunny spot
Nah the better half would not go for it!

I know I know you need wind to evaporate the heat, the vehicle would be full of water
Just seems like there is a lot of heat generated in a car is all.


Tom

 

[Poult]

I used to have a 24' black cattle trailer that would have done the trick for you. You didn't want to fill that up with cows and leave it sitting on the driveway too long! It was a heat machine in the summer.

Actually, you can make solar dehydrators for fruits and vegetables and if you made a giant one sized for a wood pile . . . Hmm. Well, I've got enough projects going now. :D

Poult

 

[Stevebass4]

when i started i used to think about a solar dryer and wood all the time until i got two years ahead - no i don't give it a second thought

now it's "i got to get more wood!!"

 

[fossil]

When it comes to seasoning wood, I think it's the combination of ventilation, humidity, and warmth (in that order) that's important. Of course you don't want your firewood in direct ground contact, and of course you want to cover the top (if not under roof) during hard rain/snow/ice conditions (more as a convenience to retrieving wood from the stack than any sort of fear that it's going to "unseason"). Putting firewood in any sort of "greenhouse" without a lot of ventilation to remove the moisture just seems to me to be more effort than it's worth. Remember, we're talking about taking wood from upwards of 45% moisture content to below 20%. That means we're looking for something like 145 gallons of water to dissipate from a cord of wood from green to ready for the stove (of course, these numbers are just some I pulled out of my arse, but I think they're reasonably representative to illustrate my point). Then again, I have absolutely no quantitative data to backup what are basically my empirical observations and gut feelings about it. That, and I already have enough vehicles strewn about my property, I'm not going to bring in any more to use as woodsheds. :wow: Rick

 

[Rockey]

That, and I already have enough vehicles strewn about my property, I'm not going to bring in any more to use as woodsheds. :wow: Rick

Come on dude, you can call it the "shaggin wagon"

I'm not sure that ventilation is all that important. Of course it helps, but in some kilns they actually spray a mist to prevent the wood from checking especially for oak. Wood is hygroscopic and it will absorb or release moisture to stay in equilibrium with its surroundings, but even at high humidity in high heat the wood will move towards 15-20% mc.

 

[fossil]

That, and I already have enough vehicles strewn about my property, I'm not going to bring in any more to use as woodsheds. :wow: Rick

Come on dude, you can call it the "shaggin wagon"

I'm not sure that ventilation is all that important. Of course it helps, but in some kilns they actually spray a mist to prevent the wood from checking especially for oak. Wood is hygroscopic and it will absorb or release moisture to stay in equilibrium with its surroundings, but even at high humidity in high heat the wood will move towards 15-20% mc.

Ha!, Rockey. I like your sense of humor...but it doesn't really matter what I might decide to call it...the wife, I'm quite sure, would have a whole different name for it! :gulp: (not to metion another new one for me...as if she needs any more). What you said makes perfect sense, and perhaps I should transpose warmth & humidity in my original statement. Seems to me, though, that kiln-drying wood is a whole different art/science than just seasoning firewood, I think. Kiln-drying is all about keeping the wood as straight as possible while achieving a very low moisture content...end result to be wood suitable for construction, or furniture and other fine woodworking. Time, moisture, and temperature are all very carefully controlled...the finer the wood and its intended end use, the finer the control. Seasoning firewood, seems to me, is just all about letting it dry...to heck with warping, checking, bending, splitting, whatever, who cares?. If I were going to make my daughter a desk out of it, I certainly wouldn't just leave it out in the sun, wind, and rain...but then, I wouldn't plan on eventually tossing it in my woodstove, either...although, knowing my daughter, she might. :grrr: Rick

 

[N/A N/A]

When it comes to seasoning wood, I think it's the combination of ventilation, humidity, and warmth (in that order) that's important. Of course you don't want your firewood in direct ground contact, and of course you want to cover the top (if not under roof) during hard rain/snow/ice conditions (more as a convenience to retrieving wood from the stack than any sort of fear that it's going to "unseason"). Putting firewood in any sort of "greenhouse" without a lot of ventilation to remove the moisture just seems to me to be more effort than it's worth. Remember, we're talking about taking wood from upwards of 45% moisture content to below 20%. That means we're looking for something like 145 gallons of water to dissipate from a cord of wood from green to ready for the stove (of course, these numbers are just some I pulled out of my arse, but I think they're reasonably representative to illustrate my point). Then again, I have absolutely no quantitative data to backup what are basically my empirical observations and gut feelings about it. That, and I already have enough vehicles strewn about my property, I'm not going to bring in any more to use as woodsheds. :wow: Rick

LOL Rick, your a nut..lol I would love to drink a beer with you sometime... :coolgrin:

 

[Redox]

I've thought about various ways to accelerate the seasoning process, but it seems to me that anything that holds the heat will also hold the humidity. I suspect that if you filled an old vehicle with firewood and let it sit in the sun, you would have a lot of condensation happening at night and need to roll down the windows I have convinced myself that time and exposure is probably the bet way to make sure it gets done.

One thing I did that I think helps is put our heat pumps next to the covered firewood pile. Those compressors and fans give off a lot of hot air in the summer that really seems to help. I have seasoned maple in 6 months this way.

Chris

 

[fossil]

LOL Rick, your a nut..lol I would love to drink a beer with you sometime... :coolgrin:

C'mon over! Usually anytime after about 7 AM's good. :coolsmile: Rick

 

[Jags]

LOL Rick, your a nut..lol I would love to drink a beer with you sometime... :coolgrin:

C'mon over! Usually anytime after about 7 AM's good. :coolsmile: Rick

Unless I am on a boat fishing, then its about 5:30 AM :lol: You can hear one "pop" as I leave the launch.

 

[moondoggy]

i saw a pile on someones driveway last week and started thinking,
damn, sunny pavement is enought to cook eggs on, if I paved my whole yard, i can just start laying all my wood out to dry.
OR, maybe stack it on my asphalt shingle roof! yea the neighborhood wont think I'm too screwed up.

 

[N/A N/A]

i saw a pile on someones driveway last week and started thinking,
damn, sunny pavement is enought to cook eggs on, if I paved my whole yard, i can just start laying all my wood out to dry.
OR, maybe stack it on my asphalt shingle roof! yea the neighborhood wont think I'm too screwed up.

Why didnt I think of that??? Damn, more time to play with my wood cause I would not have to cut the grass! :coolgrin:

 

[RedRanger]

For sure; asked my wife to tuck me in tonight with my wood,, said to her,, don`t worry dear, bring the wood right in , and let those critter`s loose,, just pile the wood alongside me--so damn hot here now, that my body heat will season it promptly!!

And I woke up this morning--and it was just an Oregon nightmare--Rick--playing tricks again ;-P

Or was that just a fossilized nightmare, after all, last known location for my grandparents was=Starvation Point Oregon.. God, al mighty, what a name for a place, no wonder I haven`t been back to take a look?

Anywhere near that god forsaken name place Rick?? If so , pm me.; just curious??

 

[jpl1nh]

I use a cargo van to haul wood from whatever scores I make. Generally I pick the wood up after work and sometimes I don't get it unloaded until the next morning. I've learned that I need to leave all the windows down overnight or the inside of the van will be dripping with water by AM. Ventilation is vital!

 

[cmonSTART]

Instead of the yard, one could have a rolling dryer, load up a old van.... Park in a sunny spot

Leave it to someone from Maine...... :bug:

:cheese: