does wood dry in winter??

[fitter9]

Just wondering if wood looses any of its moisture if its below 32 degrees outside?
I know sun and wind play a huge part in drying, but how about temperature?

 

[blades]

Yes it does, very slowly ( freeze dried) this has been discussed before. Snow and ice build up needs to be kept of of it though. I have cut up frozen wood on bandsaw and noticed ice crystals internally in flawed areas that exhibit no external signs of being there.

 

[fitter9]

the reason i ask is because i have a few cords of oak that i am trying to save for the 15/16 burning season. the m.c. is still around 30 to 35%
If its going to be another nasty winter like last year i might have to burn it around feb. or march 2015.
thats still 4 or 5 months away.

 

[fire_man]

Here's my two cents: Water from the wood has to evaporate for the wood to dry. Since the rate of evaporation depends upon temperature, it stands to reason lower temperatures slow the process. The only way wood can dry when its below freezing is through sublimation, which would be extremely slow.

From Wikipedia:

For molecules of a liquid to evaporate, they must be located near the surface, be moving in the proper direction, and have sufficient kinetic energy to overcome liquid-phase intermolecular forces.[1] When only a small proportion of the molecules meet these criteria, the rate of evaporation is low. Since the kinetic energy of a molecule is proportional to its temperature, evaporation proceeds more quickly at higher temperatures.

 

[toddnic]

the reason i ask is because i have a few cords of oak that i am trying to save for the 15/16 burning season. the m.c. is still around 30 to 35%
If its going to be another nasty winter like last year i might have to burn it around feb. or march 2015.
thats still 4 or 5 months away.

That oak won't be ready in 4 or 5 months. Probably will be a couple of years before it is ready. I'd be looking for someone that has seasoned wood that is willing to sell you some.

 

[BruceNorEast]

I used to work with a guy who had a stove in his basement, and he'd bring the wood in and use the basement as the final drying space, seems to have helped him reduce the time needed. Not as practical if your stove is in an attractive part of the house, and wifey has any say. Might also be an insect issue for some.

 

[Grisu]

the reason i ask is because i have a few cords of oak that i am trying to save for the 15/16 burning season. the m.c. is still around 30 to 35%
If its going to be another nasty winter like last year i might have to burn it around feb. or march 2015.
thats still 4 or 5 months away.

I would expect a few % during winter not 10 to 15%. Pallets, lumber scraps, or compressed wood logs (Eco-bricks, Bio-bricks etc.) or possible alternatives if you cannot find seasoned wood.

 

[BurnIt13]

I used to work with a guy who had a stove in his basement, and he'd bring the wood in and use the basement as the final drying space, seems to have helped him reduce the time needed. Not as practical if your stove is in an attractive part of the house, and wifey has any say. Might also be an insect issue for some.

I did this my first year. I bought 3 cords of oak from a local guy and the wood was in the upper 20's to around 30%. I brought a cord and a half into my basement and put multiple fans pointing towards it. I would bring about 3 days worth of wood up at a time and place it near the stove. Didn't make for seasoned wood by I did notice that the end of the pile was much better than the beginning. I think the oak went down about 5% in the 3 or so months in my basement.

Another option is to wait and see. If you indeed are short wood and don't feel like gambling with locally delivered wood....you can buy some compressed logs from a variety of sources. They burn hot and clean. The stuff you might end up getting delivered probably wont be much better than the stuff you already have.

 

[Jags]

Ask that old dried up, white chicken breast you forgot in the back of the freezer last year. Yes, frozen stuff can loose moisture - its just real slow.

 

[gyrfalcon]

the reason i ask is because i have a few cords of oak that i am trying to save for the 15/16 burning season. the m.c. is still around 30 to 35%
If its going to be another nasty winter like last year i might have to burn it around feb. or march 2015.
thats still 4 or 5 months away.

What kind of oak, red or white? Red dries faster than white, but... still probably not enough to be usable this Feb. or March. If you split it down well, it will dry a little faster and burn a little better. And yes, stuff does dry outside over the winter, but how much depends on a number of factors, I think including how humid your winters are. I once had a stash of nice but unready rock maple that sat on the north side of my barn uncovered all winter, and when I ran out of wood around March, I took a look at it and tried a couple pieces and it burned just fine and saved my chilly butt. (This was before I had a moisture meter, so no idea what the figures were.)

If it's red oak and you can split it down now and stash it inside, preferably by the stove, and mix it in with dry wood when you burn it, you can probably get away with as long as you keep checking your chimney for creosote build-up. But don't even think about it unless you have no other recourse. Far better to get in some of those manufactured wood bricks or trade with somebody who has more dry wood than they need, if you can find one.

Also, do some checking around and see if there's anybody within reach selling kiln-dried firewood-- NOT the super-super-dry kind of stuff sold in bags as kindling, but actual firewood dried to around 20 or 25 percent. I now have three in my area, the smallest of which has become my regular supplier. It costs more, for sure, but it would get you out of a jam if you need to. And obviously, get whatever you're going to get now. Last winter was so cold, there wasn't a biobrick or stick of dry wood to be had for love or money around here by March, and only the biggest kiln-dried operation up at the lumber mill could still dry the wood because it was too cold for the smaller ones to do it efficiently. Brrrrr. That was a very bad, cold spring.

 

[BurnIt13]

You can also go on craigslist and try and find some lumber scraps. Not some local nut trying to sell his garbage but Mills or other professional outfits that collect their shorts. My first year after I realized I got not-so-seasoned wood I went out and bought 10 30 gallon sacks of lumber ends. It helped get my moist oak burning. I think I paid $5 a bag.

 

[firefighterjake]

Yes.

 

[fitter9]

thanks for all the replys.
I've got over 4 cords that are ready to go this year. its mixed hardwood(around 85%red oak) that measures in the low 20s to high teens.the only possible problem i see is that i burned a little over 5 last year.
I think i burned more than usual last year because of the long cold winter and it was the first year with my insert. because of all the great info i got from this site and a year under my belt with the insert maybe ill use less fuel and stay just as warm.
i do have access to a ton of pallet wood if needed. hopefully i can leave my 2015/16 stash alone...