I have been burning firewood for years and greatly prefer to cut my own. Actually I really enjoy it so I know that makes me a sicko in many books. I know that drying wood off the stump usually takes from 6 to 9 months. I prefer to dry using a split, stacked , uncovered pile so the air can blow through it.
I have been cutting a large red oak today that blew down this summer so it is still very wet. Ordinarily this wood would be next winters, but I am running low on wood and do not want to buy “unknown” wood. I have checked on the internet for ideas on quickly drying wood and have come up with little except for one interesting idea.
Cut and split your wood and stack against a wood rail fence. (I guess a chain link would work too) Cover the pile with 4 or 6 mil clear plastic leaving a gap of about a foot on each side at the bottom for air flow. Peak the plastic up over the top of the wood pile so the condensation will run down the sides of the plastic and onto the ground. Of course I will tinker with this a bit so the plastic will not come into contact with the wood at all. According to the site this will dry wood in 4-6 weeks.
Has anyone tried this method or has any other tips?
Replies
The only way I know to accelerate drying is to split into smaller pieces, but it still takes time. Four to six weeks is unheard of around here, especially with the onset of Fall.
Scott.
What about lighting a small fire underneath the pile?
I think the plastic is a great idea as long as it gets sun exposure (greenhouse effect).
The breeze is also key.
if it works i want to know got some wood that needs drying myself.
all woodstove manufacturers recommend 2 yrs drying time
Oak is one of the slower drying species. Weather plays a big part. During the winter, the humidity is usually low and good for drying. I stack mine 2 pieces one way, 2 the other so lots of air can circulate. Keep the pile covered to keep snow and rain out. Stack as much as you can inside next to the stove. You can use a fan to move the air which also helps. If you have to burn green, check the chimney more frequently for creosote build up.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
You're talking about a version of a solar wood kiln.
In theory, yes, it works.
IMO, a lot is going to depend on the weather at your location during the time period specified. If it's sunny and dry and the rig is set up correctly, you could do a lot of drying in six weeks. Is the ground under the wood covered? It better be.
I live in a sunny dry climate and I cut and burn Gamble Oak. It dries slowly! I also have some Burr Oak from Iowa that my bro brought me... It dries slowly, too!
Good luck, and grab the pile of pallets next to that dumpster next time you go by....
My woodpile is set up where it will get full sun each day. I had begun to lay my logs on top of bricks I had set on the ground. I did not think about putting plastic on the ground first. That seems like a good idea. I have not piled much up yet, so I may get some plastic down. This tree is red oak so it is loaded with water and I need all the help I can get. If nothing else it will be a nice experiment.
I know of a guy who dries wood as you mention only he uses black plastic to increase the solar effect.
I have read of tests that show clear plastic creates a hotter spoace in the palstic.It lets more heat energy IN, while the black absorbs it to the plastic itself and then radiates the btus both directions. Since plastic has almost no thermal mass, you end up with less BTUs drying the wood
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yep... And what makes it work is that the incoming BTU's are absorbed by the wood and warms the contained air, which raises the temp of the wood and vaporizes more water out of the wood, the heated air is able to hold that moisture .
The chimney effect of having the heated moisture laden air exit exit at the top while drawing cooler dryer air in at the bottom dries the wood. I built a wood drying shed with old patio door glass on the south side, floor was built up on piers and had plastic on the ground, flooring was spaced by 3/4" so as to let air in the bottom and roof vents for exit air.
Even here in the PNW I could adequately dry wood from spring and use it in the winter.
Just an adaption of solar green houses ...
Life is Good
I like to have at least 8" for air flow under the pile. That way it he;lps drying, and I don't end up with the bottom pieces frozen into ice.
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Well, I'll be. I'll have to run this by my buddy.
Of course, you could always move your entire wood collection indoors. I'm sure family members wouldn't mind a chord or two in each bedroom. Huh? Crank up the dehumidifier and you'd be good to go in a month or so.....Scott.
I stopped reading when I found out you need sun.
Yeah, but yer from the Island.;-)Scott.
Thats a real idea. Perhaps I could stack a cord in the bedroom so I would always "wake up with wood".
>>>I could stack a cord in the bedroom so I would always "wake up with wood".Hahahahahaha.... mighty good excuse, "Honey....look, I've got wood...."ROFLMAO..... but YMMV....Scott.
Edited 10/21/2009 11:14 pm by Scott
will dry wood in 4-6 weeks
That would require a kiln in coastal OR or WA
Like you say, interesting experiment.
I'm going to break with the pack just a little here.
IMO, clear plastic will work better than black. You want sun on the wood, not to place it in the shade. A black tarp on the ground will both exclude ground moisture and catch a little more sun ... just be sure it drains well.
More important, you need air circulation around the wood. Placing a fan under the plastic to make the air move will help quite a bit. Or, perhaps, you could arrange the tarp to create a chimney at one end, and all that sunshine will make the air move.
yes, air movement is the key. Heat helps but air carries the moisture away. Elevate the plastic above the wood and allow air to flow under, through,and over the pile. I find a good woodshed will dry seasoned but wet wood nicely
by mid to late winter all on it's own.
This project seems to be getting more interesting with the post. When I read about his method on a website that I have now forgotten, the theory was that the sun caused concensation to build up on the underside of the plastic carrying the moisture away by dripping down the sides of the plastic. My idea was to do some additional rigging with some 2x2's to create sort of a tent over the wood so the condensation would not contact the wood.
Ordinarily I would be all for letting as much air as possible contact the wood. But with the above described method, condensation would be retarded. I guess the question really is whether the sun, through condensation, will pull out more moisture or will the wind carry away more moisture.
Suddenly this project is more interesting than I thought. I think I will get a moisture meter and try different methods and give a report. But at this point I think the bulk of my wood will have the full cover method.
Report back I'd be interested too. I'll stand by my experience though.
If you retard the air movement you'll end up with a humid
environment (Yes like a green house) that will not dry as fast. So, on the one hand you have a pile of wood with a big fan
blowing on it. The other a pile wrapped in plastic with solar gain. I'm taking bets...
I think if you wrapped green wood too tight around here, you would end up with moldy wood before you ended up with firewood
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You could wrap the whole wood pile with plastic and put a dehumidifier in there draining to the outside.
Never actually done it but it would be cool to see if it works!
Fastest way I know is loosely stacked in one row going east-west in full sun, and with plastic over the top. I wouldn't expect 4-6 weeks, but it would be decent in 6 months.
Pete
Probably too late for you, but one way to get a big jump on drying is to leave the leaves on the tree/branches once cut until they are dry and crumbly. The leaves pull moisture from the wood as long as they can.
Beyond that, drying in the fall is tough because the humidity is higher. Once the temperature falls below freezing, the moisture will not move out of the wood at all. In this case, you need to build some kind of wood kiln. A south-facing insulated glass like an old sliding glass door panel is great. Insulating the kiln walls will help keep the wood warm so moisture can continue to migrate even when sun is not on it. A solar-powered fan will keep air moving when it needs to, and a crawl space vent door - the kind that open when it's warm - will help regulate fresh air intake. Taunton has a book called Wood and How to Dry it that outline much of this.
Once inside, keep some logs near the stove. If it still does not burn well, you are better off buying dry wood. While it may be unknown, you can judge dryness by end checks and cracks. Wet woods gives much less heat because vaporizing the water uses so much of it.
Not trying to pick a fight, but I have to disagree with some of that.don't know how leaving leaves on can help. Faster drying comes from exposing wood surfaces to the air. That means bucking and splitting it ASAP. I can't figure out how to do that with the leaves on.And maybe it is different in Chicago - never been there, but fall is one of the drier times of year in most places I have lived. August is the most humid and you get drier from there to feb.I also finalize drying inside. I have two stacks near the stove in teh basement. As I carry in, the nice dry pieces go in the burn it now box, while any that still seem a bit green or damp go on the dry stack where they can do a lot of drying in 3-6 days.
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Piffin
Now I understand why we are in such disagreement about things.
Here in the midwest fall is the time of rain!
all summer the lake level drops.. By fall it starts to fill up again and just before snow fall the lake will be at it's highest level..
August can be humid some days but it also can be tinderbox dry..
I know that's the case in Calforinia as well. You'll seldom see a major fire in Calfornia in the fall and winter but late summer? That's when they rage..
Just remember to adjust for a shorter winter in Calfornia
"Now I understand why we are in such disagreement about things. Here in the midwest fall is the time of rain!"Yeah, I knew you were all wet! LOL;)
And I use pallets too!
To stack the wood off the ground on
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I hadn't given it too much thought before but I've heard that a vigorous growing tree can evaporate up to 150 gallons of water a day - can't verify that and I'm sure it would depend on species and size but I would expect that while the leaves are still turgid and even somewhat wilted that they are pulling moisture out of the tree like crazy. Of course when the leaves are dried, their function is over. One would have to compare that scenario to that of evaporation from the pieces of the split wood.
google 'holzhausen'
It's a euro method of stacking in a circular mound, wood leaning in on itself as you go up--the center is basically hollow and creates a minor draft of sorts that accelerates drying.
I did it once. Fun.
I don't know that things dried out much quicker than a clean stack in the hot sun tho.
Here's a great resource to build your own. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WoodDrying/wood_kiln.htm
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Where are you at in relation to the emerald ash borer? If in a state where it is already why not take a couple ash trees which dry really fast? Even if the ash borer isn't there yet the ash would be a nice choice. Cut the oak for the next year.
According to the Gov't print bible on kiln drying hardwoods it takes oak 30 days at 180º whereas maple will kiln dry in 7 days. Course that's talking 7% MC whereas you'd be happy to see 20%, but it gives an idea of oaks slowness in drying time. Just a thought in case you do have some ash available. Mesic
If you are burning wood for heat - not for show, then the drier it is the more heat you get. I have heard that it can take over half of the heat produced in burning to drive off the moisture for wood off the stump. Sure green wood burns, but if you can store it over summer and preferably two summers you get more heat with a given amount of wood. For best use of your labor, you can't beat a big open shed stacked loosely. If you have to use plastic, use the black plastic as it will generate a good bit more heat than the clear.
Edited 10/22/2009 12:06 am ET by Tinkerer3
Black plastic will make the plastic hotter, but not the wood. The plastic will loose heat by convection to the outside where the wind is blowing on it. It will radiate heat in all directions, but by blocking the sun, the wood will only be able to absorb the fraction radiated at the wood from the plastic. The fraction radiated everywhere else (probably about half) is lost. With clear plastic, the sun's rays hit the wood directly, so it is the wood that absorbs the heat. A good analogy would be a closed car with clear windows vs. same with black windows
Pallets.. wood pallets. are what you want.
I heated my whole house for a year using nothing but wood pallets. Go find someplace that has a lot of them and offer to take all the broken pallets they have.. (some might even pay you if you do it on a regular basis)..
Pallets to meet GMA standards have to be made of hardwood like oak etc.. Don't try to pull the nails. They won't come out. (and way too much work).. I used my skil saw to cut the pallets into fire place sizes and tossed them in.. when they burn down the nails are extremely easy to "pull" In fact I tossed my nails into a drum and sold them to a scrap metal dealer to pay for the blades I used cutting up the pallets..
"Pallets"I thought I was the only one with square logs. Pallets are all I've used for a few years now. We buy a lot of specialty sheet metal at work and they come on large hardwood pallets, mostly oak.Same as you, I leave the nails. Scoop them out with the ashes.
Do you have a spot inside? Stack it outside as normal but start a pile inside.
If it is inside even for a short time I've found that it dries real quickly.
You would just have to keep rotating and feeding the pile inside.
I had a nice area in my old basement with a 2X4 rack so the wood was near the wood burner.
Another benefit is the wood is warm when you throw it on the fire.
Will Rogers
Edited 10/22/2009 10:45 am by popawheelie