This is my first year cutting our own firewood after 4 years of burning the 12 cords that we bought with our house. We had pretty horrible ice storms last winter, so finding wood is a piece of cake - I have 2 cords of burr oak, 1 of ash and 1 of elm and maple mix. All of this came down in January with the ice, but has only been bucked/split/stacked since the last week of March. Will the oak be near ready to burn come January/February when we have our coldest weather, or should I plan on cutting some more of that ash and some hickory and hold that oak another year? It is all stacked in a single file line along a fence line with 100% sun and wind exposure. Thanks in advance...
Will my wood be ready?
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I would not hesitate holding that oak an extra year. The ash/elm/maple should get you through in good shape. It works well for us. We use the ash only when the night temperatures get to 20 or lower. Lately is has been all soft maple.
Wood burners don't exactly agree on seasoning time. I opt for three full summers of drying and I keep enough on hand to do this. Just finished cutting wood for use in 2011-12. Others go with one summer, some two. I like dry wood because it burns so predictably and evenly, and creosote possibility is way down.
Did I mention that I split that oak into smaller pieces than I would have prefered, trying to hasten the drying process? Oh well, hopefully I'll get enought of that ash cut and I can hold the oak for 09. Hey experts - can I dry the hickory for 1 summer and get by with burning it? I don't have to have a perfect fire, but want to avoid the mess/hazard of cleaning the pipe a few extra times...
Do the best you can to cut, split, and stack firewood this year and following years with the goal of always having firewood that has dried 2-3 summers. I'm not aware of any wood stoves that burn better on less dry wood, but perhaps there are some. Keep in mind that air dried wood stored covered outside will have a moisture content of around 15-20% no matter how long it has been drying. It only will get drier if stored indoors, and that is not necessary for good burning.
Thanks Jim-
I'm working on getting enough wood put up for the next 2 years, then I can stay ahead allowing all wood to dry for 2 summers, I just don't have the ability to dry wood for 08-09 over 2 summers and I really don't want to buy wood when I have 80 acres of wooded draws staring at me out my back window. Plan is to let the wood sit stacked outdoors over the first summer, and then get stacked inside for the second year of drying ( I have enough room for 2 seasons under roof)... Just wished I had started this a year ago and we'd be a little better off. Thanks for the advice.
I'm working on getting enough wood put up for the next 2 years, then I can stay ahead allowing all wood to dry for 2 summers, I just don't have the ability to dry wood for 08-09 over 2 summers and I really don't want to buy wood when I have 80 acres of wooded draws staring at me out my back window. Plan is to let the wood sit stacked outdoors over the first summer, and then get stacked inside for the second year of drying ( I have enough room for 2 seasons under roof)... Just wished I had started this a year ago and we'd be a little better off. Thanks for the advice.
Why do you burn ash then? I've been doing it opposite- ash for mild days, hard maple for longer overnite burns. I find the ash goes real fast and leaves no coals.Backwoods Savage said:
Go on and get your wood cut for 09-10. You will be ok to burn the wood you already have this winter. It will be ok. Might be better with an extra year, but you can only do what you can. Wood that you buy will not be seasoned any more than what you have.
That Hickory isn't going to be real well dried in that time.
Hickory is best cured for 2 years or more. But then I'd burn white oak in two years as well.
Curing time has a LOT to do with the length you've cut your wood to. Splitting can help speed the drying to, but not nearly as much as keeping the length modest.
Even hickory & oaks can burn pretty well in one year of cure if cut to only 12" lengths or less. This means cured under a leanto roof or tarp where rain is kept off but the breeze blows over the wood, even better if the lean-to is sited so sun also can play a role. But cut to 18-20" and you'll need a full two years.
My father N law has a lean-to that's south facing, roofed in black shingles & painted inside and out flat black to warm the wood as much as possible for best curing. South face of the lean-to is wide open, but a lattice covers the other 3 walls. All I can tell you is his short cut oak stored in this wood shed burns real well in 1 year. But longer cut 18-20" oak gets a second year even in this set up. (his workshop burner won't take longer than about 14".)
Hickory is best cured for 2 years or more. But then I'd burn white oak in two years as well.
Curing time has a LOT to do with the length you've cut your wood to. Splitting can help speed the drying to, but not nearly as much as keeping the length modest.
Even hickory & oaks can burn pretty well in one year of cure if cut to only 12" lengths or less. This means cured under a leanto roof or tarp where rain is kept off but the breeze blows over the wood, even better if the lean-to is sited so sun also can play a role. But cut to 18-20" and you'll need a full two years.
My father N law has a lean-to that's south facing, roofed in black shingles & painted inside and out flat black to warm the wood as much as possible for best curing. South face of the lean-to is wide open, but a lattice covers the other 3 walls. All I can tell you is his short cut oak stored in this wood shed burns real well in 1 year. But longer cut 18-20" oak gets a second year even in this set up. (his workshop burner won't take longer than about 14".)
derbygreg said:
12 months is a good stage for the osage (hedge). It is very dense and somewhat low moisture wood to begin with, so it actually seasons faster than oak. I am my own worst enemy with osage, because I leave it in pretty good size splits or chunks, which of course requires longer than normal drying times.
I should be asking the question but I alrady know the answer! Sicne the loggers around here are still mudded out, I cant get my logs until early May! good think I still have about 2 cord leftover from this year!
brooktrout said:
Why do I burn ash?
1. We have lots of it and the ash borers are killing all the trees.
2. Even without the ash borer, we find that ash does heat excellently and it does indeed leave a very nice coal bed. In fact, we sometimes have trouble getting the coals burned down because there are so many. Same with the maple, but elm does not leave the large coal bed.
3. Ash does not go fast and it does leave coals.
Perhaps you are burning a different ash than what we have?!
We do not have much oak here and white ash and elm are out better woods. Our maple is all soft maple; we do not have a hard maple on the place. We have been burning this combination of ash/elm/maple for well over 30 years and have had no problems.
I cut my douglas fir to 16-18 inch lengths and it is ready to burn in 7-10 months (20-25% moisture content). Depending on the size of splits. Would I be correct to say that this is because it is a softwood and not as heavy or dense as the hardwoods most of you burn back east? Western red cedar is even quicker drying 4-6 months and it is prettry much bone dry.
I believe it has to do with the cellular structure of the wood. I get similar results with doug fir. Madrona on the other hand requires at least 2 years to dry.
Yeah Sonny, I think BG is on to it. I believe it has more to do with cell structure and how much moisture a given species typically carries (i.e. oak is a pretty high moisture wood, osage is not).
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