Fan Drying
I am trying something new in drying and I think it will work out well. I am using a fan inside my shop to dry out some wet wood.
I stumbled across this concept several years ago when I used a fan to dry down and cure some onions. I grow several hundred pounds of onions every year, and previously laid them out in the sun to dry and cure. However, one August when I normally cure them, we had a weather anomaly, and it rained day after day almost the whole month
Finally, I moved them indoors onto the cement floor of my shop. Then, just on a whim, I got an inexpensive 2 ft. sq. fan and set it on the floor and left it running to move the air around.
I got a surprise, as the onions cured out in about half the time they normally did in the sun.
Fast forward to this fall, and we have another weather anomaly. In September we got a big heavy wet snow. Then we got two more just like it about a week apart each.
They were all heavy and wet, and gradually soaked into my woodpiles as they melted, rather than simply running off as a normal rain would do. This wood was all dry and ready to burn. Normally this is a very dry season for us. We usually do not get snow until much later, and it is very dry and fluffy, so that I can just blow it off with a leaf blower. Normally I do not cover my piles, and until now have not needed to.
I removed the top two layers of the stacks I will be using this winter, and moved them into my shop. Then, just like with the onions, I set up a fan to circulate the air. I have propane heat in there, and I can occasionally turn it on for a while to warm up the moist air and blow it out of the garage doors.
It has been only working for about a week so far, but it looks like the splits are drying out nicely, judging from the feel and heft. I will have some nice dry protected wood for mid winter I think.
I am trying something new in drying and I think it will work out well. I am using a fan inside my shop to dry out some wet wood.
I stumbled across this concept several years ago when I used a fan to dry down and cure some onions. I grow several hundred pounds of onions every year, and previously laid them out in the sun to dry and cure. However, one August when I normally cure them, we had a weather anomaly, and it rained day after day almost the whole month
Finally, I moved them indoors onto the cement floor of my shop. Then, just on a whim, I got an inexpensive 2 ft. sq. fan and set it on the floor and left it running to move the air around.
I got a surprise, as the onions cured out in about half the time they normally did in the sun.
Fast forward to this fall, and we have another weather anomaly. In September we got a big heavy wet snow. Then we got two more just like it about a week apart each.
They were all heavy and wet, and gradually soaked into my woodpiles as they melted, rather than simply running off as a normal rain would do. This wood was all dry and ready to burn. Normally this is a very dry season for us. We usually do not get snow until much later, and it is very dry and fluffy, so that I can just blow it off with a leaf blower. Normally I do not cover my piles, and until now have not needed to.
I removed the top two layers of the stacks I will be using this winter, and moved them into my shop. Then, just like with the onions, I set up a fan to circulate the air. I have propane heat in there, and I can occasionally turn it on for a while to warm up the moist air and blow it out of the garage doors.
It has been only working for about a week so far, but it looks like the splits are drying out nicely, judging from the feel and heft. I will have some nice dry protected wood for mid winter I think.
