Firewood,

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

Itslay90

Feeling the Heat
Dec 16, 2022
287
Upstate,NY
When do you usually order your firewood, do you get it in the spring, so you can have it dry and ready for the winter? Or do you order your firewood in fall, or winter so you can burn it ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: patrickk222

bholler

Chimney sweep
Staff member
Jan 14, 2014
32,291
central pa
When do you usually order your firewood, do you get it in the spring, so you can have it dry and ready for the winter? Or do you order your firewood in fall, or winter so you can burn it ?
If you are ordering wood now it most likely won't be ready to burn in the fall unless it's soft wood or you find the extremely rare guy who actually sells seasoned wood. You should be buying a minimum of a year ahead of time usually 2 years.
 

BigJ273

Minister of Fire
Feb 15, 2015
673
Maryland
Always buy at least a year in advance. “Seasoned” wood is NEVER dry. I don’t care who is selling it. Most people like to be 3 years ahead, that way anything green they get has at least that long to dry out properly
 

GrumpyDad

Minister of Fire
Feb 23, 2022
1,101
Champion, PA
When do you usually order your firewood, do you get it in the spring, so you can have it dry and ready for the winter? Or do you order your firewood in fall, or winter so you can burn it ?
Before I became educated in this, I would order late fall and burn whatever I got in the fireplace. Wife would wonder why large splits of oak were just sizzling and not producing flames well. :)
 

JRHAWK9

Minister of Fire
Jan 8, 2014
1,998
Wisconsin Dells, WI
“Seasoned” wood is NEVER dry. I don’t care who is selling it. Most people like to be 3 years ahead, that way anything green they get has at least that long to dry out properly

I beg to differ. I sell properly dried "seasoned" wood. The stuff I sold this winter was c/s/s in 2016. :)
 

joop

Feeling the Heat
Aug 26, 2018
430
beauharnois ,quebec
if you have the space order twice what u burn in a season stack it and let it dry not for next winter but the one after order some compressed logs to cover next winter then you'll be ahead, kind of expensive first year but you will have your dry wood rotation set
 

Eman85

Minister of Fire
Oct 10, 2022
733
E TN
Do you have a reputable firewood seller like @JRHAWK9 with already seasoned wood? Or are you buying from the guy that sells wood that he says is seasoned? Big difference in when to order. Personally I have to order myself to cut split and stack wood for 3 years from now in the next week or 2.
 

JRHAWK9

Minister of Fire
Jan 8, 2014
1,998
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Do you have a reputable firewood seller like @JRHAWK9 with already seasoned wood?

For the record, I don't really consider myself a seller of firewood.....just a user that sometimes needs to sell off excess in order to be able to make room for the results of my winter exercise program. ;lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: lml999

raiderfan

Feeling the Heat
Dec 1, 2008
294
Western MA
I order mine anywhere from now to June and burn it the winter AFTER the upcoming one.
 

begreen

Mooderator
Staff member
Nov 18, 2005
100,837
South Puget Sound, WA
I beg to differ. I sell properly dried "seasoned" wood. The stuff I sold this winter was c/s/s in 2016. :)
You are an exception and a credit to the trade. Most sellers start counting the "seasoning time" from when the tree was felled. It doesn't really start to season until split and stacked.
 

Woodsplitter67

Minister of Fire
Jan 19, 2017
3,051
Woolwich nj
Probably the smart thing to do is purchase the wood and split open a piece and check the moisture content on the freshly split face with the pins going with the grain.. This will give you an idea of when it will be ready.. If your looking to burn this wood starting this fall Id check the MC and if its high kiln dry it so its ready.. you can purchase the wood now, stack it, then wrap it the first week in July and it will be fully seasoned by September..
 

patrickk222

Burning Hunk
Mar 28, 2021
195
alderson wv
For me the past few yrs been ordering usually from june to aug/sept then i just split it and toss it into a big pile and start to stack it when i have a place to stack it im usually a yr and a half ahead
 

Wildflush

Feeling the Heat
Dec 27, 2022
339
MA
I order wood every spring to replace the wood I burned over the winter, but I don't burn it until 2-3 years later.
This is what I just did. Have 4 cords now. Will get another by the summer. The wood I’m getting now is for 3 years out. Like 3 year rotation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dafattkidd

dafattkidd

Minister of Fire
Dec 11, 2007
1,842
Long Island
I beg to differ. I sell properly dried "seasoned" wood. The stuff I sold this winter was c/s/s in 2016. :)
You are exceptional. This is not the case in my area at all. Your customers are very fortunate. You provide a rare commodity. 👍
 

dafattkidd

Minister of Fire
Dec 11, 2007
1,842
Long Island
My experience is freshly split hardwood does best after at least two summers split and stacked. That’s not always possible, but it’s the ideal drying times for me.

So keep that in mind when ordering firewood. Most likely the wood your having delivered was cut and split a few weeks or at best months before it arrives in your driveway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wildflush