What I like to see!

[bsj425]

Started moving some wood into my shed and took some readings with the meter to see where to stack in the shed came across a cord of spruce in the back I forgot about last year about a cord worth..

(broken image removed)

Nice and dry! Opposed to the 40% birch I cut lAst weekend

(broken image removed)
Don't know why this one came out upside down.

 

[ajreid]

Better turn that birch upside down and let the water run out.

Started moving some wood into my shed and took some readings with the meter to see where to stack in the shed came across a cord of spruce in the back I forgot about last year about a cord worth..

(broken image removed)






Better turn that birch upside down and let the water run out.

Nice and dry! Opposed to the 40% birch I cut lAst weekend

(broken image removed)
Don't know why this one came out upside down.

 

[bogydave]

That spruce will burn great.
Nice Demonstration
It would be nice to track one birch split's weight cut now VS what it weighs 2 years from now.

I learned that 2 yr old seasoned birch burn significantly better than 1 yr seasoned birch.
It has allot of water to shed before it's close to the 10% the spruce shows.

Don't know what the moisture reading is on the birch I've cut this spring & summer
but I know it's allot heavier than the 1 & 2 yr old splits in the shed. I bet close to your 40%.
1/2 a cord is a good load on my trailer. (almost 1/2 the weight is water )
Another reason to leave it S&S where it is till late Fall, it'll be allot lighter & easier to move
Makes sense why birch logs & rounds will start to rot, It's got no where to breath except the ends with the water tight bark.

Also spruce dries much quicker & has less % moisture to start with.

 

[boisblancboy]

To get an accurate reading your supposed to split the piece again correct? I haven't got a meter yet but I'm thinking about it.

 

[bsj425]

To get an accurate reading your supposed to split the piece again correct? I haven't got a meter yet but I'm thinking about it.

Yep split again take from the Inside Not the ends

 

[bsj425]

Dave the birch I cut last week is 2014 wood. I usually buck and split my birch right away to start the drying a lot of people up here will leave it in rounds for a year splIt then let it sit for another or burn it.

 

[katwillny]

Ive been meaning to run some tests on some of the wood that I split earlier in January and even some from last year. Ill give it a shot tonight.

 

[bsj425]

That spruce will burn great.
Nice Demonstration
It would be nice to track one birch split's weight cut now VS what it weighs 2 years from now.

I learned that 2 yr old seasoned birch burn significantly better than 1 yr seasoned birch.
It has allot of water to shed before it's close to the 10% the spruce shows.

Don't know what the moisture reading is on the birch I've cut this spring & summer
but I know it's allot heavier than the 1 & 2 yr old splits in the shed. I bet close to your 40%.
1/2 a cord is a good load on my trailer. (almost 1/2 the weight is water )
Another reason to leave it S&S where it is till late Fall, it'll be allot lighter & easier to move
Makes sense why birch logs & rounds will start to rot, It's got no where to breath except the ends with the water tight bark.

Also spruce dries much quicker & has less % moisture to start with.

Yep I cut a spruce the same day as the birch last week and it had a reading in the 27-29% range green I also found a good beetle killed spruce as well that was standing dead that had a 19% Moisture reading SCORE! I think it is interesting the drying times of different species that are cut at the same time in the same area perhaps I will keep a log of moisture readings when it was cut and do weight every other month or something.

 

[ScotO]

It is crazy how different species of wood season at different rates. As anyone on this site that lives in the lower 48 will tell you, you can cut an oak tree and a silver maple tree on the same day in early May, get the wood split and stacked right away, and chances are that silver maple will be ready by late fall. That oak, however, won't even be close! It'll take a couple years for it to be ready. All in the density AND the cell structure of the tree, and also the water content to a degree. Then you have to factor in your areas' climate, weather, temperature, etc. There's A LOT of things to factor in as far as seasoning firewood.

 

[bsj425]

Where I live wood dries faster in winter due to sublimiation. When it is -50 f out all of the water can sublimate out of a round in just a month or 2 it is definatly interesting for sure.

 

[smokinj]

Heck its almost time to build a table with that piece!

 

[ScotO]

Where I live wood dries faster in winter due to sublimiation. When it is -50 f out all of the water can sublimate out of a round in just a month or 2 it is definatly interesting for sure.

Maybe what we need to do instead of building woodsheds is to build deep freezers for our firewood. Cut in the spring, put it in the deep freezer for two or three months in the summer, and it'll be ready by fall!

 

[Locust Post]

Maybe what we need to do instead of building woodsheds is to build deep freezers for our firewood. Cut in the spring, put it in the deep freezer for two or three months in the summer, and it'll be ready by fall!

Don't even think about building a freezer Scotty until you get that remodel job done or you might have to move a cord over by the dog house to stay warm this winter.

 

[infinitymike]

Hmmm..... sublimation..... interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublimation_(phase_transition)

 

[bsj425]

Yep sublimation is very interesting it is also the reason why trees with a higher moisture content literally explode far below 0 bEcause of all the pressure built up from the water freezing inside and starting to sublimate with nowhere for the gas form
To go.

 

[bogydave]

All in the density AND the cell structure of the tree, and also the water content to a degree. Then you have to factor in your areas' climate, weather, temperature, etc. There's A LOT of things to factor in as far as seasoning firewood.

Yep !
Proves how intelligent we here on hearth are
It's very similar to "Rocket science"

bsj425:
Cool to watch the driveway ice & snow disappear when it -10° & very little sunlight.
Outside humidity is around 75%, inside the 72° house, with out the humidifier running , it's less than 15%.

Wonder what the moisture content of a live spruce & birch is mid winter. Spruce may be burnable right away if cut late fall or mid winter.
Trees here have to get rid of most of their water to survive the winter.
I know it splits easier at -10 or colder

In Fairbanks, you folks burn "freeze dried" wood
Last winter was bad here,
Fairbanks was brutal

"It's a dry cold" LOL

 

[bsj425]

Dry cold Is an understatement! We're a special breed up here hell if we had natural gas like they have down there I probably wouldn't even have a wood stove! You're right on about it splitting easy in the cold I could probably judo chop some rounds with my hand in winter and split em' open

 

[infinitymike]

Im no scientist but I would tend to believe a tree will naturally reduce it's water content towards the fall in preparation for the winter hence why it loses it's leaves, therefore it would be better to fell trees in the winter and they would season faster.