Got Ripped Off By a Firewood Dealer - Any tips for Drying wood quickly?

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You might want to kiln dry it to remove the bugs before you bring it into the house ;)

Kiln drying would defeat the benefit of humidity being added to the house. What I really need is a few chickens running around to eat the bugs that come off the drying wood. This plan is really coming together!
 
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No such thing as seasoned wood locally in the sense that people on Hearth use the term. At best, you'll get logs cut last year, split this summer.

It is, what it is. Nobody will pay a premium for 2 yr + aged wood with a 15-20% MC. They havent the first clue what that even means. The general public doesnt look at firewood the same way as the "aficionados" here on Hearth do, they just dont care.
 
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Some one around my region got some press about building a solar dryer out of old windows - stored perhaps 1/2 cord in this home made solar structure...apparently it greatly sped up the process. Went looking for the aricle and could not find it.
 
Had one customer this summer complain that the seasoned wood I brought was "ugly" because it was grey and weathered. :oops:

Even though grey wood should be considered a good thing most people like to see bright new freshly split wood.
 
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Had one customer this summer complain that the seasoned wood I brought was "ugly" because it was grey and weathered. :oops:
Maybe you should be advertising your wood as being "Brand New!" "Fresh from the Forest!" "With that 'New Wood' Fragrance"
 
Some one around my region got some press about building a solar dryer out of old windows - stored perhaps 1/2 cord in this home made solar structure...apparently it greatly sped up the process. Went looking for the aricle and could not find it.

Popular Woodworking did a similar article, for the purpose of drying lumber, not firewood. The guy got it to work, but I recall he had to fiddle with adjusting air flow a lot over the first couple of years, until he found just the right amount of airflow to provide the best drying in each season. Too much air flow and the greenhouse stays too cool; too little it gets too humid.
 
Depending on the particular circumstances, I don't think I'd be too concerned about excess humidity in the house from air drying wood. Putting aside all the other problems associated with drying a cord of wood in the house (like possible spousal objections!), if you are trying to remove 10% of moisture from 2000# of wood, and if it takes 30 days to do it, that's only 6 or 7 pounds of water per day into the house.

I recall someone on this forum posting that their basement started to get moldy after they stored a lot of freshly split wood down there.
 
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Thanks everyone for the great advice! Sorry if I seem like I fell off the planet there for a little while. Too much going on with the holidays and work and stuff. We picked up a half ton of Envi-blocks the other day and still have to pick up the other half, but haven't found the time to do so.

My husband Tony and I split most of the wood into little pieces and stacked it on racks. Hey - at least I'll have plenty for next year right? I'm going to try the "drying wood by the fire method", but there is no way I'm going to stack it as close to the stove as that guy did. I'll let you guys know how it works out!

I'm going to keep my eyes open for pallets. We have electric heat in our house and I try to use it too much. When I do turn it on my meter spins so fast it looks like it's going to fly right off the house. But we're burning through the Envi-blocks a lot quicker than we were expecting.

Well, tis the trial and error of a newbie wood burner. Thanks again everyone
Are you mixing the Envi blocks with the splits? If not mix them.Try five splits to two or three envi blocks and let us know how that works for you.You'll use less envi blocks that way and you could have a good burn going on.
 
I think the answer is clear. Stack the stuff on pallets that is too wet and find a supplier with dry wood. Pay more and get what you want/need now. Next year you can burn the stuff you just got delivered. If you can't find dry wood, reach out to this forum for someone willing to sell really good wood. If I were near you, I would offer to sell some wood to help you out. Most of the serious burners here have stockpiled wood that is truly seasoned. My stuff is 19% and burns awesome. Stacked over 2 years to get there. Where are you located?
 
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