Can Wood Be Too Dry

[fdegree]

In some of my previous threads people posted wonderful advice about getting wood at least 1 year in advance so it could dry adequately before burning. So, I thought about storing enough wood to allow for 2 years worth of drying. Well, I called around to firewood suppliers yesterday and many are telling me their wood is ready to burn...been drying now for 1+ years. Most of them are providing oak, while a couple are also including a little maple and cherry. So, my questions are:

Can wood be too dry?

Will the wood dry-rot?

What is the ideal amount of time needed for hardwood to dry?


As some can see (based upon this thread and my past threads), I tend to over analyze things sometimes. Thus, generating lots of questions.

Anyway, thanks in advance with this one too.

 

[quads]

Can wood be too dry? No

Will the wood dry-rot? No

What is the ideal amount of time needed for hardwood to dry? 2+ years. 3 is even better.

 

[jebatty]

IMO oak from a firewood supplier supposedly dried 1+ years is not ready to burn, but if the price is good may be a good buy to stack and dry for 1-2 years longer when it will be ready for the stove.

 

[SolarAndWood]

No. There is a big difference between burnable and ready to burn.

 

[savageactor7]

No I don't think it can be too dry.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

I agree that nothing is too dry, but I disagree with needing "2+" years for most hardwoods- or at least, your mileage may vary...

Maybe it's just my climate (Zone 7 of Maryland), and/or the fact that I cross-stack my wood on pallets, but I don't need to wait two years for any kind of wood. Even red oak is down to below 15% moisture after one year. I just checked some pieces of red oak yesterday that I spilt last winter. I took the biggest pieces and resplit them, and they are down to 17% already. They will be ready to burn by mid-winter. The cherry and mulberry I split this spring is already down to 15% and ready to burn. I've had ash be dry enough to burn in less than 6 months.

 

[JoeyD]

I have ideal drying conditions, wide open sun and wind all day. I don't have a moister meter but the red oak and cherry I split in June 2008 appears to be dry enough to burn with out any problems. Now I also have some white oak I bought that same summer that was supposed to be seasoned and is stacked in the same area and it still sizzles a little when burning, but it burns much better then last season. Get 2 years ahead and you won't have to think about it.

 

[Hurricane]

Well, I called around to firewood suppliers yesterday and many are telling me their wood is ready to burn...been drying now for 1+ years.

Many firewood suppliers consider the wood drying from the day the tree was cut. So they dry it in log form and then split it when needed. It is the belief on this board and correctly that wood does not dry until split. Ask the suppliers when the wood was split not how long it was seasoned. If you were burning their wood in an open fireplace it would work good, in a new stove it will not. You can search on here for how many people purchased seasoned firewood that was not seasoned. I would venture to say 9 out of 10 people.

I agree with others that wood cannot be too dry. My brother in law just switched from wood to pellet stove and he gave me a pickup load of wood that was seasoned outside for over a year then stacked in his garage for 4-5 years and I brought it home and burned it. Man was that good wood.

I think you should read on here on how to check if wood is ready and see if the suppliers will let you check the wood before they deliver it. Having wet wood makes for frustrating, smokey, hard to get going cold fires. I think most of us have been there.

Good luck

 

[quads]

I agree that nothing is too dry, but I disagree with needing "2+" years for most hardwoods- or at least, your mileage may vary...

Maybe it's just my climate (Zone 7 of Maryland), and/or the fact that I cross-stack my wood on pallets, but I don't need to wait two years for any kind of wood. Even red oak is down to below 15% moisture after one year. I just checked some pieces of red oak yesterday that I spilt last winter. I took the biggest pieces and resplit them, and they are down to 17% already. They will be ready to burn by mid-winter. The cherry and mulberry I split this spring is already down to 15% and ready to burn. I've had ash be dry enough to burn in less than 6 months.

Yes, mileage may vary, which is why if he waits 2+ years then he won't have to guess what mileage he is getting. He'll know that no matter what his climate, conditions, methods, etc. that his wood will be ready to burn. If it's ready to burn in a year, or a week, then great. But, if he plans to burn it in a year and it's not ready then, he's going to have an unpleasant fight with unseasoned wood.

Best to plan for 2+ years to be prepared.

 

[AlexNY]

A quick note on safety, only because nobody has mentioned this yet.

Air dried firewood cannot normally become too dry to use safely. In most locations, the moisture in the air effectively caps the dryness at 16%+. If you live in a desert, this may not be the case.

Kiln dried wood can have moisture level of just 2-3%, and this can be hazardous. If you stuff a wood-stove with kiln dried wood and then give it unlimited oxygen, it will over-fire and either damage your stove/pipe or result in a house fire.

This does not mean you have to be afraid of kiln dried wood. I have about 1/3 cord of 2x4 kiln dried lumber left over from building a tree house for my son, and I will judiciously use that to start my wood-stove this year.

To safely use the kiln dried wood:

1) I only use a limited amount, and only to start a cold stove
2) I monitor the flue temperature during the start up process
3) I have an EPA cert stove that mechanically cannot deliver enough oxygen to generate an unsafe temperature (assuming all doors are closed and tight).

Also, if you use kiln dried wood, keep in mind that TREATED WOOD IS DEADLY TO BURN. This cannot be emphasized enough. If you burn CCA treated wood, a thimbleful of the resulting ash will contain enough arsenic to kill a platoon of people. This is in part because the arsenic is much more concentrated than in the wood itself, and partially because the heat of the stove will put the arsenic in its most toxic form. The tiniest puff of airborne ash could be fatal to an operator, or a child crawling around in it.

The new copper based ACQ/CA treated lumber is somewhat safer, but still deadly (just not AS deadly). CCA treated wood has a green colour when new, but after a few years it can look very similar to regular lumber. I advise against burning any lumber obtained from a demolition job. Only burn left overs from a construction job, and only if you purchased all the lumber yourself and know 100% that none of it is treated.

Good luck.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

In some of my previous threads people posted wonderful advice about getting wood at least 1 year in advance so it could dry adequately before burning. So, I thought about storing enough wood to allow for 2 years worth of drying. Well, I called around to firewood suppliers yesterday and many are telling me their wood is ready to burn...been drying now for 1+ years. Most of them are providing oak, while a couple are also including a little maple and cherry. So, my questions are:

Can wood be too dry?

Will the wood dry-rot?

What is the ideal amount of time needed for hardwood to dry?


As some can see (based upon this thread and my past threads), I tend to over analyze things sometimes. Thus, generating lots of questions.

Anyway, thanks in advance with this one too.

Nothing wrong with "over analyzing things." That is how one comes to understand things.

I will mirror what quads posted:

You do not have to worry about firewood becoming too dry.

No dry-rot to be expected.

Ideal time for drying hardwood depends on what type and the conditions. It is still best to let wood dry for 2-3 years before burning.

A person can try to get scientific and get moisture meters and stack in various ways and under varying conditions including putting wood indoors. But no matter what, if you want the best firewood with the least worrying, dry it 2-3 years outdoors in the sun and wind; especially the wind.

We do not cover our wood the first summer and fall but then cover before the snow flies (we'll be doing that very soon). When we cover the wood, we cover the top of the pile only; never cover the sides.

Doing wood this way we never have any worries about moisture content or rot. The wood we are burning right now is 7 years since cutting, splitting and stacking. We have no worries about creosote and have no problems getting a fire going nor do we have problems with smoke.

Bottom line is do it right and do not try to short-cut the situation and you will get more heat from the wood and have a lot less problems.

Naturally, the hardest part for new wood burners is the getting ahead on fuel. If it were gas or oil, they could just order the stuff. With firewood, only time is the right answer.

 

[firefighterjake]

Can wood be too dry? In my opinion, most firewood would not be too dry . . . with perhaps the exception of stuffing a firebox full of dimensional kiln-dried lumber of kiln dried firewood.

Will the wood dry-rot? No . . . and certainly not in two or three years . . . more of an issue is making sure the wood is kept off the ground and if you're not going to use it for several years perhaps cover.

What is the ideal amount of time needed for hardwood to dry? Ideal . . . 1-2 years . . . realistically for most folks getting a year ahead is good . . . truthfully some manage to get half decent wood at 6 months. I think the goal is to get 1-2 years ahead.

 

[TROY COOK]

Where I live people argue the topic of wood being to dry or to green.At my father in laws hunting camp we have a big wood pile last year we took wood from the very back.He said his dad cut that hard maple in the mid 90's,at leased 13 years ago, we burned it last deer season it was dry!! But just fine, being the yooper he is, He thought the life was gone out of it a bit .But kept the camp warm with below zero temps...

 

[oconnor]

Where I live people argue the topic of wood being to dry or to green.At my father in laws hunting camp we have a big wood pile last year we took wood from the very back.He said his dad cut that hard maple in the mid 90's,at leased 13 years ago, we burned it last deer season it was dry!! But just fine, being the yooper he is, He thought the life was gone out of it a bit .But kept the camp warm with below zero temps...

My father in law refers to "the life being gone from it" as "having no spent to it". And he's right, dry wood won't smoulder in the firebox as long as wet wood will - it will keep you warmer though.

 

[Highbeam]

Air dried firewood cannot normally become too dry to use safely.

To safely use the kiln dried wood:

1) I only use a limited amount, and only to start a cold stove
2) I monitor the flue temperature during the start up process
3) I have an EPA cert stove that mechanically cannot deliver enough oxygen to generate an unsafe temperature (assuming all doors are closed and tight).

This is just plain false and for a safety post you'll need to be much safer. Your stove can supply plenty of oxygen to generate an unsafe temperature in the flue and in the stove with air dried cord wood. ANY stove can be overfired. You can expect to crack stones above 600 and begin to warp castings, then you will get larger air leaks which will further overfire the stove. You can easily run your flue temps beyond 1000 within 20 minutes of lighting a match with your stove as well. Modern stove pipe is rated for 1000 continuous and 1800 peak.

The only thing that the EPA stove limits is the minimum amount of primary air to the stove. You can't turn it down far enough to snuff a fire under normal conditions.

 

[ControlFreak]

Way back when I was getting started, I bought a load of "seasoned" red oak. They delivered a load of beautiful red oak that was deep red in color, had the strong, fresh red oak smell, and just loaded with water. This wood was as fresh as you can get, yet he claimed it was "seasoned". The guy said that you need some moisture in it or it will burn "too fast." This wood couldn't have been split more than a half hour before he dumped it on my driveway. Never trust a cut-split-delivered supplier to give you wood that's ready to burn. You can only trust them to charge you more when you're foolish enough to buy "seasoned" firewood. I only know of one guy who does it right: he splits it and stacks it one summer and then sells it the following summer, but his price is beyond comprehension.

Wood is too dry if your draft control is stuck wide open.

 

[fdegree]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

No more questions at this time...give me time to think, and I'm sure I will post more soon.

This forum is a wonderful resource...keep up the good work everyone

 

[Pagey]

Some insight from Tom here:
(broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/howetwd2.htm)

Wood that has been seasoned for 9-12 months still contains about 20-25% moisture, most of which is wood resins. These resins play an important part in the three stages of wood combustion. During Stage 1, the kindling fire warms up the fresh load of wood and any remaining water content is removed by evaporation and vaporization. As the wood reaches 500 degrees or so (Stage 2), the resins begin to break down chemically, and volatile gases are released which squirt out through the wood fiber and ignite, boosting the temperature of the fire to around 1,100 degrees and producing 50-60% of the heat value from that load of wood. As the gases burn away, the flames finally attack the wood fiber itself (Stage 3), and extract the remaining heat value through the process known as charcoaling.
If your firewood has dried to the point where it has lost its resin content, your fire will go directly from Stage 1 (warming up to combustion temperature) to Stage 3 (charcoaling), skipping Stage 2 and missing out on 50-60% of the heat (and burn time) you'd expect to get from that load of wood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Man, if I've been losing 50-60% of my heat then that means I should be able to burn my wood sooner and heat this old drafty crate on a cord to a cord and a half of wood per year! Sorry, but I don't think so.... This sounds like another one of those scientific explanations that are good in theory but in practice is meaningless.

 

[lexybird]

theres nothing wrong with buying your wood from a local supplier ,but dont assume its actually seasoned to a decent level under 20% ,my advise is just buy it early and get ahead of the game . this way if the guy is full of it ,it wont really matter to you.it can be the difference between freezing to death watching over the stove like a mischevious (sp) toddler or having a nice toasty home t oenjoy ... nothing is worse than having 4 months of frigid arctic weather ahead of you and the only wood you have in your arsenal is some crappy green wood that was supposed to be seasoned ,you will fight to keep it going and youll never get good coal beds or long burntimes

 

[Highbeam]

Now does the resin ever really evaporate? Does it go away with the moisture? Very interesting angle and certainly shows the burning cycle of most wood. I would say stage1 isn't burning at all but rather, getting hot enough to burn.

Tom must have lifted that article from somewhere because the wood local to Tom and myself seasons easily in one summer or 4-6 months.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Can Wood Be Too Dry

No.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Bigg_Redd, a man of many words. lol

 

[Bigg_Redd]

In some of my previous threads people posted wonderful advice about getting wood at least 1 year in advance so it could dry adequately before burning. So, I thought about storing enough wood to allow for 2 years worth of drying. Well, I called around to firewood suppliers yesterday and many are telling me their wood is ready to burn...been drying now for 1+ years. Most of them are providing oak, while a couple are also including a little maple and cherry. So, my questions are:

Can wood be too dry?

Will the wood dry-rot?

What is the ideal amount of time needed for hardwood to dry?


As some can see (based upon this thread and my past threads), I tend to over analyze things sometimes. Thus, generating lots of questions.

Anyway, thanks in advance with this one too.

Nothing wrong with "over analyzing things." That is how one comes to understand things.

I will mirror what quads posted:

You do not have to worry about firewood becoming too dry.

No dry-rot to be expected.

Ideal time for drying hardwood depends on what type and the conditions. It is still best to let wood dry for 2-3 years before burning.

A person can try to get scientific and get moisture meters and stack in various ways and under varying conditions including putting wood indoors. But no matter what, if you want the best firewood with the least worrying, dry it 2-3 years outdoors in the sun and wind; especially the wind.

We do not cover our wood the first summer and fall but then cover before the snow flies (we'll be doing that very soon). When we cover the wood, we cover the top of the pile only; never cover the sides.

Doing wood this way we never have any worries about moisture content or rot. The wood we are burning right now is 7 years since cutting, splitting and stacking. We have no worries about creosote and have no problems getting a fire going nor do we have problems with smoke.

Bottom line is do it right and do not try to short-cut the situation and you will get more heat from the wood and have a lot less problems.

Naturally, the hardest part for new wood burners is the getting ahead on fuel. If it were gas or oil, they could just order the stuff. With firewood, only time is the right answer.

Yeah. And who would I be a complete jackass to if no one ever over analyzed?

 

[TROY COOK]

Man, if I've been losing 50-60% of my heat then that means I should be able to burn my wood sooner and heat this old drafty crate on a cord to a cord and a half of wood per year! Sorry, but I don't think so.... This sounds like another one of those scientific explanations that are good in theory but in practice is meaningless.