Drying hard woods

[dyerkutn]

I know there are a lot of threads in here about drying wood but I have a specific question. I had 3 cords of green split hardwood (Oak, maple, ash) delivered in August of 2018. It is stacked in my backyard which gets some sun, so it has had two partial summers and one full summer so far. I know it should dry for 3 summers to get the best heat out of it but In order to make room for three more cords that were just delivered, I need to move some of this wood to my carport where I retrieve it during the winter. I store it on racks in the carport. Do you think the wood will continue to dry in the carport over the rest of the. summer and fall. It doesn't really get sun but it does get air. My preference would have been to move it in the fall but then I don't have enough rack and pallet space for the new wood that was just delivered. I appreciate any advice.

 

[begreen]

The best thing to do is test it with a moisture meter. Test random samples of each species by resplitting and testing on the freshly split face of the wood.

 

[JimBear]

I don’t know how you have your wood stacked but if it’s segregated by species then moving it would be easier as I would think the Ash would be dry, probably the Maple as well leave the oak unless it’s dry. @begreen ’s suggestion of using a moisture meter would be your best bet for what can/should be moved under cover.

 

[Stinkpickle]

I would pick out all the ash first. It’s likely ready to go.

 

[Simonkenton]

Yes it will continue to dry in the carport and it will dry quite well in there.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Your eyes/hands can usually tell. Or a moisture meter. That oak needs to feel lighter than it did three years ago. Should be fissured on the ends. Ash and maple should be ready. Look for the oak that seems to have lost the most water -- smaller splits, ones that got more sun and air, etc. My guess is you won't run into a lot of problems with that oak if you need it. Generally speaking, you've had it long enough.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

put a moisture meter on it.. you should be ok

 

[kennyp2339]

I'll split about 4-5 cords in the spring, stack it on pallets and let it sit outside uncovered for a whole year, at the end of the following spring I'll move that wood into the wood shed and it will sit in that shed for another year before I start burning it, the shed kind of like a car port, is open in the front and minimally on the sides and back (due to wood being stacked tight) and I have no issues with moisture, after sitting the wood usually registers about 15% on my moisture meter.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

IMO, The three-year plan concept is more of an insurance policy, so to say. It pretty much completely ensures that you will have Drywood for years to come as long as you replenish it with one years worth of wood per year, if that makes sense. Even dense hardwoods like oak Should be good to go with two full years of drying unless, of course, they are a very large split firewood like 12 inches across or something like that.

 

[kennyp2339]

Even dense hardwoods like oak Should be good to go with two full years of drying unless, of course, they are a very large split firewood like 12 inches across or something like that.

Thats why I do 3 years, I dont like burning sticks anymore, I like pieces around 5-8" thick, goes great with long burn times and great peak btu release.

 

[WiscWoody]

It’ll continue to dry. Air movement dries wood the most in my opinion but some sun on the wood is a bonus. That’s why rows of racked wood will dry better than piles will and wood racks out in the open will dry better than racks next to a garage or other building. Here’s a interesting infographic I found that shows how much wood it takes to dry out green wood compared to wood that has properly dried.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

It will dry in a carport if stacked, allowing for air flow. One of our wood storage areas is an open side tractor port and I have very good success achieving and keeping dry wood stacked and stored underneath it.