Uncovered, wet, stacked wood.

[srussell1021]

My neighbor moved out, had a cord of wood next to his house, uncovered for at least 1.5 yrs (probably more), he let me have it so I unstacked it and moved it to my rack and stacked and covered it. It had rained steadily for two days before I moved it so all the top pieces were pretty wet. My question is, will stacked wood left outside and not covered still season and be burnable this year? Its going to get cold this week where I am so starting fires are a few days away. The wood is covered and stacked now (stacked it about a week ago) so it should be dry but I don't know if it getting rained on for 1.5 years and being out would affect it. My experience with seasoning wood was stacking it in my wood shed and letting it sit and season. Any thoughts are appreciated before I throw these pieces of wood in the fireplace.

 

[rwhite]

It's a different kind of wet if that makes any sense. When wood it's cut green the cells and capillaries are full of water and other compounds. As it seasons those cells dry out and shrink. They can't be rehydrated so to speak. When wood gets wet the water just fills the voids between the fibers.
So can you burn it now? No, but it will dry out pretty quick. Usually an arm load brought in and set by the fire will be ready in a day or two. If you have other wood I'd just bring a bit of the wet stuff in the house and after a few days start mixing it in and see how it does.

 

[srussell1021]

It's a different kind of wet if that makes any sense. When wood it's cut green the cells and capillaries are full of water and other compounds. As it seasons those cells dry out and shrink. They can't be rehydrated so to speak. When wood gets wet the water just fills the voids between the fibers.
So can you burn it now? No, but it will dry out pretty quick. Usually an arm load brought in and set by the fire will be ready in a day or two. If you have other wood I'd just bring a bit of the wet stuff in the house and after a few days start mixing it in and see how it does.

Ok great that makes sense to me and I was planning on mixing it to start out just to be safe anyway cause I have other dry, good, seasoned wood. I figured once wood is cut the moisture inside of it eventually dries up and can't be rehydrated so to speak with rain, rain is more of a surface wetness than actually the inside of a log getting penetrated and prohibiting seasoning. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[rwhite]

There is still some capillary action occurring just by the nature of the "stickiness" of water but nothing compared to a green tree. It will give up the water fairly easy.
Just a tidbit from my encyclopedia of worthless knowledge; the capillary action in a live tree acts like a straw if you fill it full of water and hold your finger over the end. The adhesive properties of water keep it from running back down to the roots. As water evaporates from the leaves the bond allows water to be pulled up. A 60ft tree is about the equivalent of a the pump if it had to pump it up. Probably more than you wanted to know!

 

[Highbeam]

It's a different kind of wet if that makes any sense. When wood it's cut green the cells and capillaries are full of water and other compounds. As it seasons those cells dry out and shrink. They can't be rehydrated so to speak. When wood gets wet the water just fills the voids between the fibers.

I don't know about that. I leave my wood in the stacks uncovered for years until the summer before use. Those uncovered, but seasoned, stacks get mighty wet and heavy during the winter. The only way to know is to put a moisture meter to the wet wood.

 

[rwhite]

I don't know about that. I leave my wood in the stacks uncovered for years until the summer before use. Those uncovered, but seasoned, stacks get mighty wet and heavy during the winter. The only way to know is to put a moisture meter to the wet wood.

I agree but water filling the voids between the fibers is much more easily evaporated then trying to season wood.

 

[Destructor]

Just let it dry, a couple weeks maybe sooner out of the weather and it will be fine. If you cover it allow it to breathe.

 

[Woody Stover]

A pic would be cool.

 

[jatoxico]

There's wet and there's wet. An uncovered stack that dries between rainfalls is fine. An uncovered stack, under the trees, that is full of leaves that are mulching is another thing altogether.

 

[Sprinter]

I think it depends a lot on the species, too. Some seem be be more sponge-like than others (usually the softer stuff). But I agree with Highbeam that the only way to know is by splitting it down at some point and measure the inside. My own experience is that once well-seasoned, it is usually easier to dry out a rain-wet piece, but it still has to be done and may still take a while.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

We dry our seasoned wets in a semicircle around the hearth for at least a day n' toss them in.
(Wet, not soaked.) 2-3 ft from the hotbox.