Firewood Drying Time as a function of length

[BronxMatt]

Hi all,

I’ve been wondering how the length that firewood is cut to (not the width that it is split to) affects it’s drying time. My stove (BK Ashford 25 insert) takes 16 inch splits N to South. Sometimes I end up with some longer logs that I put in east west. These may be 22 inches long. And sometimes, like recently, a tree service guy giving me wood dumps some rounds on me that are about 10 inches long. In my case I’m mostly dealing with Red Oak, Ash and Soft Maple.

1. Am I right that shortening the length of a log will speed up its drying time (and I would even go further to assume that this has a bigger impact on speeding up drying time than chopping smaller width splits)?

2. When I look up average drying time of different species of wood, what length is it most likely applying to?

3. And lastly, is there any chance my 10-16 inch oak splits will dry in a year if they’re outside, covered and off the ground here in the Bronx?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Caw]

Hi all,

I’ve been wondering how the length that firewood is cut to (not the width that it is split to) affects it’s drying time. My stove (BK Ashford 25 insert) takes 16 inch splits N to South. Sometimes I end up with some longer logs that I put in east west. These may be 22 inches long. And sometimes, like recently, a tree service guy giving me wood dumps some rounds on me that are about 10 inches long. In my case I’m mostly dealing with Red Oak, Ash and Soft Maple.

1. Am I right that shortening the length of a log will speed up its drying time (and I would even go further to assume that this has a bigger impact on speeding up drying time than chopping smaller width splits)?

2. When I look up average drying time of different species of wood, what length is it most likely applying to?

3. And lastly, is there any chance my 10-16 inch oak splits will dry in a year if they’re outside, covered and off the ground here in the Bronx?

Thanks everyone!

1. Width is definitely more important. The water is closer to the surface in narrower pieces and will evaporate faster. I doubt there's a big difference if any between a 16 and 22" otherwise identical piece.

2. Most people are referring to standard sized 16" pieces of average split size when referring to drying. Somewhere in the 4-6" range.

3. No way your oak will be ready, sorry. Even if you have perfect drying conditions which I'm assuming you dont given your location. You're also up against the weather which was atrocious for drying this last summer. Only chance you have on that is a) a solar kiln or b) splitting them extremely small. Like 1 or 2" basically kindling. Or both.

I highly suggest not trying to burn mediocre oak. It's one of the best woods when dry and absolutely awful when still wet. It's a huge pain in the ass and waste of resources, you're better off with almost anything else.

Bin on the right is mostly 3 year old oak. Night and day difference vs 1 year old and still noticeably better than 2 year old.

 

[DBoon]

My experience is that firewood dried out in the open in the sun and covered for 3 years will cover any contingencies (wood length, split size, wood type, etc.). Then, it burns like a dream and you don't need to fuss with it. Exception would be unsplit rounds bigger than 4-5 inches across which probably need more time (depending on species).

If it is split to really small sizes, it can dry a lot faster.

 

[E_Z_Wind]

Hey! I’m about 45 minutes north of you! Sounds like you’re an outlaw burning wood in the Bronx lol At least I think it’s not allowed. Anyway, I got some oak rounds dropped back in April, I split them in half and stacked them. Got around to splitting them all again about 2 weeks ago. The 14-16” length was about the same mc as the 18-20” length, all around 25%. In the past I have noticed that 12” slabs cut and split six months ago .could be burnt with good result if loaded n-s on top of a nice bed of coals.

 

[kborndale]

It is not illegal to have a wood burning stove or fireplace in NYC as long as it meets code.

 

[PA452]

A few years ago I was getting ready for a project replacing a rotted log on the family cabin and did a lot of reading about using properly dried logs vs green ones. Everything I read indicated the bulk of the drying happens along the grain and out the ends, which would imply smaller splits maybe wouldn't gain you as much as cutting shorter.

Would be an interesting experiment if it hasn't already been done.

 

[zmender]

Doesn't lumber industry estimate drying time as a function of thickness instead of length?

 

[ScottLewis]

They are forcing the old coal-burning pizza joints to stop burning coal. I'm surprised they'd allow a wood stove in the Bronx.

 

[zmender]

They are forcing the old coal-burning pizza joints to stop burning coal. I'm surprised they'd allow a wood stove in the Bronx.

hahahah, well we all know, best pizza had always came from New Haven, CT . No big loss there

 

[ScottLewis]

I thought the best pizza was deep dish pizza from Chicago.

 

[cadyfatcat]

Firewood length is a very important consideration in drying time, indeed length and width are both important factors. Due to the cellular structure of wood, relatively more moisture actually comes out of the ends than the sides when drying. Especially with a rough grain ring porous species like red oak. To display the point, If you cut a two inch wide cookie/round slab off a large red oak log, even if it’s a 30” diameter log, that’s going to dry out to nice burnable levels in a few weeks in summer temperatures. The same mass of wood, say 2” wide and 30” long, would take a much longer time to dry.

The reason why lumber industry drying times are estimated as a function of width is all lumber is relatively long to the extent to which width becomes the overwhelming factor. 8 foot is normally the smallest length of lumber cut, at that point, it’s all about width.

I am in upstate NY and can get red oak to season well in a single season, but I cut it to 13-14”” lengths, try my best to remove the bark (red oak bark is especially good at holding in moisture), and split relatively thin, maybe 2” wide at the most.

But this is wood split and stacked in the winter or very early spring months, not something cut and stacked in July.

 

[peakbagger]

A friend used to work at dowel mill in Maine. They bought birch logs and trimmed the ends off to get rid of end checking. The resulting ends where shorter than the diameter, usually no more than 6" long. The resulting product were knicknamed "lily pads". They dried quick and usually the ends would develop large radial cracks or just split in half. He could burn them in a couple of months. They were a PITA to store but he got them for free.

 

[Wildflush]

Firewood length is a very important consideration in drying time, indeed length and width are both important factors. Due to the cellular structure of wood, relatively more moisture actually comes out of the ends than the sides when drying. Especially with a rough grain ring porous species like red oak. To display the point, If you cut a two inch wide cookie/round slab off a large red oak log, even if it’s a 30” diameter log, that’s going to dry out to nice burnable levels in a few weeks in summer temperatures. The same mass of wood, say 2” wide and 30” long, would take a much longer time to dry.

The reason why lumber industry drying times are estimated as a function of width is all lumber is relatively long to the extent to which width becomes the overwhelming factor. 8 foot is normally the smallest length of lumber cut, at that point, it’s all about width.

I am in upstate NY and can get red oak to season well in a single season, but I cut it to 13-14”” lengths, try my best to remove the bark (red oak bark is especially good at holding in moisture), and split relatively thin, maybe 2” wide at the most.

But this is wood split and stacked in the winter or very early spring months, not something cut and stacked in July.

And I bet those 2” splits are much better in year 2. Had some 1”-2” red oak splits yesterday I use for my top down starts. Sure looked dry but to my surprise I had one piece that hissed.

 

[cadyfatcat]

And I bet those 2” splits are much better in year 2. Had some 1”-2” red oak splits yesterday I use for my top down starts. Sure looked dry but to my surprise I had one piece that hissed.

Yes for sure. The difference between 17.5-18.5% and 15.5-16% moisture content.

 

[Caw]

It's nice to get it to season that fast but I just don't like how a stove full of 2" splits burns. I don't mind waiting the 2-3 years for good quality regular sized and big boy splits.

 

[Wildflush]

I got some nice 3 year plus larger oak splits @ 12%- 14%. What a difference.

 

[Caw]

I got some nice 3 year plus larger oak splits @ 12%- 14%. What a difference.

It's magical isn't it.

 

[EbS-P]

If I had to get wood dry in a year I’d be using a solar kiln. I would say in less stacked single row full sun south facing and protected from rain you need at least two summers for oak.

Those who get wood from tree services can’t sometimes can’t be picky. Don’t turn down faster drying lower btu wood. Our southern pine is great firewood. And if I didn’t have space for 3 years of wood I would certainly consider burning only wood that would dry in a summer or two just so I could only store 2 years worth.

The BK is a great choice for any location where air quality can be an issue.

 

[Wildflush]

I don’t pull my oak from my stacks. My mixed cords get 3 years in rotation.

 

[Caw]

I used to segregate by species thinking I'd mix and match but stopped and just do full mixed now since I'm on a 3 year rotation. I thought I'd pull from different spots based on time of year but it's too much of a pain. Mix and match and you get what you get!

The only exception is with true shoulder season lesser woods like boxelder, poplar, or pine. I'll keep that in a spot and use it as I need it annually during shoulder season. I don't want to be pulling a bag of boxelder in the heart of winter on a 5 degree day.

 

[Wildflush]

My cherry is separate as well as shorties, cutoffs and ugly’s for shoulder season.

 

[Caw]

My cherry is separate as well as shorties, cutoffs and ugly’s for shoulder season.

I keep 5 or 6 good size cherry splits separate for smoking in the summer. I just cut off chunks as I need them with the sawzall. I burned a full load of cherry last night and my god did it smell good. I purposefully let a little puff of smoke out while it was taking off 🙂.

 

[bigealta]

Caw, that's funny, my neighbors used to ask me to burn cherry because they liked the smell so much.

Or maybe because at that time i was also burning a bunch of locust!

 

[Caw]

Id happily burn nothing but fruit wood if I had access to enough of it. Only downside is that it doesn't usually split cleanly so it's hard to pack tightly. Apple, cherry, pear, etc are all great. Good BTU and deliciously sweet hint to the smoke.

 

[weee123]

I find that cherry splits beautifully and dries extremely fast. It’s honestly one of my favorite firewoods