I had two cords of semi-seasoned wood delivered over the weeked. Is it smarter to cover the top and hope it seasons, or uncover it and let it get wet from all this stupid rain we have been getting, and hope the hot weather and sun we are expecting after Saturday dries it out? I thought I read that wet wood will season quicker in the hot sun than dry wood.
What is the best way to season semi-seasoned wood?
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Catskill
New Member
IMO, your most ideal conditions will be a single row stacked in an open air sunny place. I'd cover just the top but at the end of the day we all make due with what we have to work with as far as space, time and energy. Best of luck.
In my experience, the very best way to season semi-seasoned wood is to let it repeat the semi-seasoning process, thus becoming wholly seasoned wood. Max exposure to the elements, don't worry too much about a bit of rain, don't cover it until necessary to facilitate accessing it and moving it inside, never completely envelope it...it needs to breathe. Rick
iceman
Minister of Fire
i don't know where you live but if its in the northeast cover the top and try to do it so the top can breathe....under NORMAL conditions we like to leave it uncovered and not worry about it ... but this year in the ne its way to much rain and most of us have covered......the tops
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/21120/ here is another thread for you
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/21120/ here is another thread for you
Backroads
Feeling the Heat
iceman said:
The thread that's never going to die this summer. We got another horrendous downpour yesterday for over a hour. We had good sun today though and hopefully more this weekend. Definately split smaller if you can.
jpl1nh
Minister of Fire
Can anyone else name anything aside from firewood that dries faster when you keep wetting it? Concrete doesn't count since its a chemical reaction depending on the presence of water. I always top cover though in those fictional nice dry stretches I'll uncover.
A top cover AKA a roof shouldn't be so tight as to hinder the evaporitive process.
Most covers also get hot out in the sun.
I want maximum exposure with just cut wood. A coating of water is a barrier to the evaporitive process.
We get enough rain here that I want no time spent shedding and drying up the rain.
It's bad enoughthat we have soupy humid air flowing through the stack.
I don't want that soupy humid air flowing through a wet stack.
A constant breeze from the same direction is a bonus. (mine are predominately SW, so I stack perpendicular to that because I can )
Sun for heat is a bonus. ( sorry my vegetable garden comes first) I get morning sun, but not afternoon.
When I stacked between trees, I also ran rope between them and strung a tarp over the rope about two feet above that.
My tarps would freeze , shred, rip and make a racket in the wind and end up shards all over. Cheap tarps, good tarps, double stays, didn't matter. I got tired of all the repairs and noise right outside my bedroom window. Plus the trees would wiggle just enough in the wind to sometimes knock the stacks over.
Now I just put plywood and other flat scraps with a few splits or scrap wood pieces on top to stop the 'sail' effect.
Course, I'm working on next year's wood now, so it's not like I'm under pressure.
And, most of the red oak I'm cuttting up died last winter or leafed this Spring and died.
Most covers also get hot out in the sun.
I want maximum exposure with just cut wood. A coating of water is a barrier to the evaporitive process.
We get enough rain here that I want no time spent shedding and drying up the rain.
It's bad enoughthat we have soupy humid air flowing through the stack.
I don't want that soupy humid air flowing through a wet stack.
A constant breeze from the same direction is a bonus. (mine are predominately SW, so I stack perpendicular to that because I can )
Sun for heat is a bonus. ( sorry my vegetable garden comes first) I get morning sun, but not afternoon.
When I stacked between trees, I also ran rope between them and strung a tarp over the rope about two feet above that.
My tarps would freeze , shred, rip and make a racket in the wind and end up shards all over. Cheap tarps, good tarps, double stays, didn't matter. I got tired of all the repairs and noise right outside my bedroom window. Plus the trees would wiggle just enough in the wind to sometimes knock the stacks over.
Now I just put plywood and other flat scraps with a few splits or scrap wood pieces on top to stop the 'sail' effect.
Course, I'm working on next year's wood now, so it's not like I'm under pressure.
And, most of the red oak I'm cuttting up died last winter or leafed this Spring and died.
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