Seasoning rounds

[JabaduGarfunkle]

I thought I'd get some others opinions here. Understandably c/s/s wood is going to season the fastest but I've had some rounds stacked for about a year and a half that I haven't yet had a chance to get to amongst all the other wood I'm processing and it got me thinking about what rate they're going to season at. We're not talking oak or anything here but if we said a medium dense wood seasons at a rate of 100% when c/s/s what % would you assign to stacked rounds of the same type?

(If you are gonna say 'it depends on length and diameter of the round' then give a range )

I could always buy a moisture meter but i fancy myself old fashioned...

 

[DoubleB]

For hardwood, I'd say 25% for a good sized round of normal (16" - 18") length. For softwood maybe 50%. Maybe someone else has actually measured before.

 

[gerry100]

how long the rounds are will have an effect because the ratio of exposed would to interior volume will change.

Sometimes I burn 24" dia by 9" long "pucks" and they burn fine after 1 1/2 years seasoning

At the other extreme, my log lengths can rot if the bark doesn't separate

 

[red oak]

For rounds if they're shorter they season much faster. Also 6-8" rounds can season fine enough without splitting in a few years I've found, I just throw rounds those size right into the stove. But my general rule is much above 6" I try to split as soon as I can.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I recently split a black birch round of about 25 inches or so. I moisture metered a fresh split of it and got readings in low to mid 30's. I had these rounds on a pallet for one years time uncovered. Dried some? Yes. Dried enough? No, which is what I expected. This was after a summer season of "severe drought". To answer the question related how much drying takes place in relation to wood that has been Css, I would say my rounds dried to a level about 25% of what the wood would have dried if Css right away one yr ago. In my experience, wood can drop a good bit of its moisture content in a short time. That said, when the mc hits roughly around 30 percent, it takes a while to get to 20%. For instance, I css some red oak one year ago. Medium splits of that are measuring in high 20's now. So, it probably went from 50% to around 30% in one year. I expect in one more yr, it will be pretty close to 20%....a more modest loss of moisture compared to previous yr.

 

[JabaduGarfunkle]

Great answers, thanks everybody!

 

[Soundchasm]

There's one more consideration and if I missed it above, apologies. The last one to season (wettest) will be the round lowest to the ground. The next wettest will be the one right above it and so on.

If the tree was straight and consistent, similar rounds will definitely feel lighter or heavier if they came from up high or down low. They may season at the same rate, but they're not all starting with the same moisture content. But I'd guess that counting on much above 25% would be optimistic.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Stripping the bark exposes the grain for a lil' help. Sunshine and wind are good things.

I too am "meterless". learning to go by weight and sound,
color of the ends, seat of the pants/ old school moisture testing.

I could buy a moisture meter but fancy myself as broke. LOLOL

 

[Hasufel]

Stripping the bark exposes the grain for a lil' help. Sunshine and wind are good things.

I too am "meterless". learning to go by weight and sound,
color of the ends, seat of the pants/ old school moisture testing.

I've found that appearances can be deceiving. I've been doing a drying test (inside vs. garage vs. outside covered vs. outside uncovered) and was surprised to find that the outside/uncovered pieces are the only ones that look "weathered," yet they retain the most moisture by far. Just looking at them, I would have guessed that they were fully "seasoned," but their weight shows that that's not the case. So be careful--weight and sound are probably better indicators than color.

 

[JabaduGarfunkle]

Good advice

So be careful--weight and sound are probably better indicators than color.

By sound you mean when you Bang em together you either get a 'thunk' or a 'clack' right?

 

[Hasufel]

Good advice



By sound you mean when you Bang em together you either get a 'thunk' or a 'clack' right?

That's a pretty good description. I used to try banging them against my head but all I got was a hollow sound.

 

[Dix]

I, too, have no MM. Best bet is to get the rounds CSS.

I go by weight when I pick it up, feel, sight, & sound.

Sound to me, is like a baseball bat connecting. Usually works.

But, I have also had a plugged chimney by following this thought train. In January. With 2' of snow on the ground that got rained on, and turned the whole place into sheet of ice when it dropped to 10 F. Never saw that sweep again after that day

Get ahead... let it season CSS. Top cover as needed.

Makes a world of difference !