Most of the drying will still take place from May through September or October.
Any idea if the mild winter in the northeast is helping my wood to season in less time than if we had a cold wet winter?
I think this winter helped alot as it was pretty mild with lots of sun and wind and relatively dry too..I moved around 3 cords into my shelter that been outside uncovered for a year and was nice and dry..Any idea if the mild winter in the northeast is helping my wood to season in less time than if we had a cold wet winter?
I don't understand this. Round here the humidity is like 70% in the summer and it rains all the time. I figure winter, spring and fall are the best times for drying. Bonus in my yard with the leaves off the trees as well.
I don't understand this. Round here the humidity is like 70% in the summer and it rains all the time. I figure winter, spring and fall are the best times for drying. Bonus in my yard with the leaves off the trees as well.
Yep, heat makes for quicker movement of the moisture out of the wood. That said, if you get wood split and stacked now the wind will pull a lot of the initial moisture off in a hurry, then the summer heat will work on the remain moisture as the wood-drying curve flattens out.someone onceposted a chart with months and how much wood dried per month in the northern states, very little in the middle of winter and the most drying was done in July and August, must have to do with sun and heat as opposed to humidity. Dew points are a better measure of moisture in the air than humidity.
This winter has been exceptionally mild and above freezing for the most part so I feel it has been advantageous to the wood drying process. I find it hard to believe if the temps remain below freezing for the most part though.. In my shelter it seems to do pretty well as the sides are tarped in but air gets in as well and the tarps actually create somewhat of a greenhouse to keep the temps up when the sun hits them.. After the burning season ends I roll up all the tarps ans secure them so full wind and sun can get to the wood but the roof keeps the wood dry for the most part.I have measured a tremendous amount of drying through the winter months - I validated this with a very accurate moisture measurement. Based on this, I personally believe that the winter months don't differ at all from the summer months when it comes to drying wood.
+1 I agree with you!I've not done any scientific experimenting but can say without a doubt that in our neck of the woods the drying happens a whole lot faster in the summer months. It is sort of like the ground. I've always noticed that the ground dries a whole lot faster once the temperature gets over 70 but with the temperature, say, at 40, that same ground just doesn't seem to dry up very fast at all. I've also noticed that if we get a rain in the winter and the wood gets wet it takes a lot longer to dry than it does in the summer months.
I have measured a tremendous amount of drying through the winter months - I validated this with a very accurate moisture measurement. Based on this, I personally believe that the winter months don't differ at all from the summer months when it comes to drying wood.
+infinity, everything dries quicker with warmer temps so not sure why wood could possibly be an exception never mind the 30+ years of drying wood to back the fact up.If you can't convince anyone else you might as well convince yourself. Eh?
This winter has been exceptionally mild and above freezing for the most part so I feel it has been advantageous to the wood drying process. I find it hard to believe if the temps remain below freezing for the most part though.. In my shelter it seems to do pretty well as the sides are tarped in but air gets in as well and the tarps actually create somewhat of a greenhouse to keep the temps up when the sun hits them.. After the burning season ends I roll up all the tarps ans secure them so full wind and sun can get to the wood but the roof keeps the wood dry for the most part.
Ray
As I mentioned, wet wood will dry in less than optimal conditions but once the easy moisture is gone and the drying curve flattens out, heat helps. Going from 27 to 22% is easier than dropping the same 5% from 22 to 17%.From November 1st to January 1st, wood moisture content went from 27% to 22%.
From January 1st to June, wood moisture content dropped from 22% to 17%.