How dry Birch?

[Jerry_NJ]

I haven't done a search and am sure there must be a lot on the subject of how long one has to season Birch before burning. But, I post in part because I haven't been here in more than a year (didn't check that either) and so I post to say "hi" in case any remember me.

I cut down a good size living Birch (trunk up 14" diameter) and cut it into rounds last spring. It has been setting out in the weather, mostly dry until two days of rain just past. I decided today to split and put some under cover to dry out the rain surface soaking figuring the down deep dryness was not much effected by the rain and it had been open to the air in rounds no more than 18" long for at least 6 months. the flats of the rounds were already growing fungus. Is it reasonable to take such splits that are kept covered by a porch roof for a few weeks into my airtight wood insert ? Quadrafire - in my signature.

Happy wood heating season to all.. I remain mainly on geoghermal heatpump, but enjoy a fire in the "stove" and have wood for emergency heating which has been up to 10 days long a few years back.

 

[ElmBurner]

If it is growing fungus, it's not dry. 10 days of being split under a porch, especially in cold weather, won't get you much farther down the path of being dry.

Burn it in an emergency, or by mixing it with dry wood just to get rid of it. I wouldn't use it if you have better options. It will ruin your secondary combustion boiling off all that water.

 

[kennyp2339]

So think of it this way, 1 gal of water weighs in at 8.36lbs.
My stove is a 3 cu ft, I can fit 40lbs of wood per load (yes that's a lot) seasoned wood starts at 20% and below moisture content so theoretically my 40lbs of wood at 20% moisture has almost 1 gallon worth of water in it.
Buy a moisture meter at HD or Lowes, test your wood by 1st re-splitting it then probing it on the fresh split side, anything greater than 20% moisture is not ready to be burned.

 

[peakbagger]

Not sure what type of birch but white birch has to be split immediately after cutting. If you leave it in rounds it usually rots even if they are stove length. I expect that's what you are seeing. If you split it soon after cutting and stack it under cover with good air flow it can be burnt in year but two years are best. My latest section of my woodpile is white birch that I cut and split two years ago and its great stuff for my boiler. To most wood burners with access to oak, birch is regarded as shoulder season wood but with my boiler, it lights off quick and gives off a hot flame so its great for me to charge up the storage. I also save the bark and use it for fire starter, with a bottom grate boiler standard firestarters don't work very well as I need a good hot fire up the grate. Newspaper is okay but birch bark is much better.

 

[gerry100]

Not sure what type of birch but white birch has to be split immediately after cutting. If you leave it in rounds it usually rots even if they are stove length. I expect that's what you are seeing. If you split it soon after cutting and stack it under cover with good air flow it can be burnt in year but two years are best. My latest section of my woodpile is white birch that I cut and split two years ago and its great stuff for my boiler. To most wood burners with access to oak, birch is regarded as shoulder season wood but with my boiler, it lights off quick and gives off a hot flame so its great for me to charge up the storage. I also save the bark and use it for fire starter, with a bottom grate boiler standard firestarters don't work very well as I need a good hot fire up the grate. Newspaper is okay but birch bark is much better.

Agree, split it now and let it season

fungus is probably a result of moisture coming to the surface because it cant exit thru the bark. There is a reason the Indians made canoes out of it.

+1 on the birch bark as firestarter

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Thanks, I didn't get notice of the replies after the first.. may need to change my profile or that's how "hearth" now works. No harm, I came back to look after splitting the rounds I had set aside. I can say for sure: wood much lighter than green wood. wood only a fraction of an inch from the end cuts looks fine, the fungus has not worked its way in much below the surface of the cut. I believe it is White Birch. It was planted 30 years ago by the people who built my house, which I've owned for over 25 years. I have set aside some of the loose bark but have not tried to skin bark off. I've set most of the splits aside under cover. It is a small amount of wood as only one tree - suppose 1/16th a cord. I have other well seasoned hardwood, mostly maple... not the best either but better than White Pine which I have composting all over in my woods. I have a lot of cedar too, but do not harvest it... don't harvest anything unless it is damaged. The birch was bent to the ground about 5 years ago and never truly straightened out, so I took it down last spring. I have a book out of the library: NORWEGION WOOD, a love of Birch, a core wood heat source in that part of the world and fun for anyone who spends any amount of time managing their own wood supply: growing, chopping (chain saw too) stacking, drying... the Scandinavian way.