# Seasoned vs. Dry wood.



## jpl1nh (Sep 3, 2007)

I'd like to define "seasoned" and "dry" wood. I think of seasoned wood as wood that has lost as much of it's interior moisture as possible. Typically well seasoned wood would be at least an entire summers worth of drying in good sun and breezes in cut and split condition. Two years would be more reliably and thoroughly "seasoned".  Dry in my mind defines whether the wood surface is wet or not. In other words, it would be possible to have dry but not well seasoned wood (not good stove fuel!) as well as seasoned but wet wood. It is my experience that drying wet but seasoned wood does not take long at all, perhaps as little as a couple of days in good conditions.  Therefore, the goal of all of us wood burners is to properly "season" our wood.  For anybody using wood as fuel, I believe the only really reliable way to do this well, is to always be working at least a year ahead on your wood supply so that it has a chance to truly "season".


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## Firewoodguy.com (Sep 3, 2007)

jpl1nh said:
			
		

> I'd like to define "seasoned" and "dry" wood. I think of seasoned wood as wood that has lost as much of it's interior moisture as possible. Typically well seasoned wood would be at least an entire summers worth of drying in good sun and breezes in cut and split condition. Two years would be more reliably and thoroughly "seasoned".  Dry in my mind defines whether the wood surface is wet or not. In other words, it would be possible to have dry but not well seasoned wood (not good stove fuel!) as well as seasoned but wet wood. It is my experience that drying wet but seasoned wood does not take long at all, perhaps as little as a couple of days in good conditions.  Therefore, the goal of all of us wood burners is to properly "season" our wood.  For anybody using wood as fuel, I believe the only really reliable way to do this well, is to always be working at least a year ahead on your wood supply so that it has a chance to truly "season".



You should inform the NH Dept of Agri of your definitions. Acording to NHDA, they don't have any regulations/definitions of dry and or seasoned. Furthermore, they may disagree with you. I read one of the commissioners articles a few years back in the WMB, and they claim that 4 or 6 months is suitable for seasoned firewood. They do have a regulation of green firewood, meaning freshly cut.


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## wg_bent (Sep 4, 2007)

Well, 4 months won't do squat in my opinion for most hardwoods.  I don't care if you have the wood stacked on the beach the summer in the desert.  4 months will not properly season wood.    I've had oak and apple go over a year with out being properly seasoned.  Ash is good in a year.


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## Eric Johnson (Sep 4, 2007)

"Seasoned" is a worthless term, IMO. Wood is either dry or it's not dry. The deal on hardwood is that it takes a full year to dry, and two years to dry completely. I've found that to be generally true, pretty much regardless of conditions. That's why if you want to burn dry wood you should always have enough room to stack and store two full heating seasons worth of wood--if not more.


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## babalu87 (Sep 4, 2007)

Yeah but you can charge more for "seasoned" wood like they do with steaks and chicken at the grocery stores


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## Henz (Sep 4, 2007)

it is a very grotesquely used term..Many aroiund here sell wood as "seasoned" meaning that it has been bucked up into rounds and has sat there for a couple of months..(Not even split)..Others say seasoned wood is split and stacked for at leat a couple of months..

If I were you, I would ask what you are buying..Better yet, if your always gonna be buying your firewood, invest in a moisture meter.


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## Eric Johnson (Sep 4, 2007)

Reminds me of the lumber business. You can buy "kiln dried," "air dried" or "partially air dried" lumber from a sawmill. "Partial air driying" generally occurs during the period after the lumber comes off the saw, is loaded on the truck and arrives at the customer's yard.


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## BurningIsLove (Sep 4, 2007)

Totally agree w/ Eric....that unless you've buck/split/stacked the wood yourself, or know your supplier extremely well, you wont know if it's good fuel or not.  Advertisers of 'seasoned' wood vary far too much to be trusted at face value, as their definition can be as little as 4-6 months.  I have some ash from a grapple load this year that was standing dead, reads low on the moisture meter, bark comes off easily, etc., and it's still only going to be backup for end of season if I need it.   The red oak common to these parts, even though it sits in the sun all day on the dry ground, will at best be ready by next year, even though it is nicely checked.  Dry perhaps, seaoned?  hardly.


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## Henz (Sep 4, 2007)

yeah, and that all comes down to this..figure out exactally what you are comfortable with burning each year, and then one year buck up and pay the money to get a year ahead..that way, you know that your gonna be burning dry wood every year..You can even buy green each year and save some $$ rather than buying dry. For those of you who say "we dont have the space"...Ask a friend or a neighbor if you can store it..Yeah, its gonna be alittle more handling but will worth it..


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## Gunner (Sep 4, 2007)

Seasoned to me is sprinkled with salt and pepper.

I season my steaks and dry my wood! :lol:


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## Henz (Sep 4, 2007)

typical Canadian


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## jpl1nh (Sep 5, 2007)

Firewoodguy.com said:
			
		

> jpl1nh said:
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Much of my basis for this definition is based on my experience with standing and lying dead wood which I'm fortunate to have a nearly limitless supply of. As such, I've cut and split everything from live (green) to punky. In between I've found all sorts of variations of wet because its fresh, to wet because its ready to rot. As such I've learned that if its wet towards the ready to rot stage, it dries to really burnable much faster than wet because its green. This experience has helped me understand the difference between the challenge of getting rid of interior moisture versus drying wood that has already lost its interior moisture but has gotten wet from weather exposure. I'm not sure the commis's perspective is a disagreement with mine. 4-6 months might produce "suitably" seasoned wood, but for optimally seasoned, I think it takes substantially longer. Why accept passable when you can produce excellent?  You just need the luxury of enough wood to let it season and dry ;-)


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## BrotherBart (Sep 5, 2007)

I know that my wood is seasoned and ready when it starts getting cold in the house.


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## hardwood715 (Sep 5, 2007)

> I know that my wood is seasoned and ready when it starts getting cold in the house



Who used to burn his furniture when the wood ran out???
HEHEHEHEHe


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## BrotherBart (Sep 5, 2007)

hardwood715 said:
			
		

> > I know that my wood is seasoned and ready when it starts getting cold in the house
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Whadda ya mean USED to? If it is cold, something is going in that stove. My furniture, the neighbors furniture, telephone poles...

"Hello Goodwill? I need to pick up a trailer load. No French Provincial this time. Stuff smokes too much."


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## jpl1nh (Sep 5, 2007)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

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Your theme song could be "Burnin down the House"  Talking Heads.  Quick heat, but not long lasting!! :lol:


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## Gooserider (Sep 6, 2007)

I had a friend that did use her house for heat - literally!  She passed papers in the AM, that afternoon walked in the door and fired up the chainsaw and gutted the place, used the material for heating fuel that winter as she rebuilt the entire interior....  Did a really nice job of it.

Gooserider


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## hardwood715 (Sep 6, 2007)

Honey I'm home! Whew it sure is hot in here! Oh My God, call 911 we've been robbed!! My new dining room set, its gone! Honey, whats with all the sawdust on the floor, you been butchering deer in here, while someone steals my beautiful antique dining set right under your nose Honey , ......


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## jpl1nh (Sep 6, 2007)

Gooserider said:
			
		

> I had a friend that did use her house for heat - literally!  She passed papers in the AM, that afternoon walked in the door and fired up the chainsaw and gutted the place, used the material for heating fuel that winter as she rebuilt the entire interior....  Did a really nice job of it.
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> Gooserider


Brother Bart, yet another potential source of wood for you to consider :lol:


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## BrotherBart (Sep 6, 2007)

jpl1nh said:
			
		

> Gooserider said:
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Hmmm... One really cold February around here and we will have an "open floorplan" in this house.

Story somewhat along the same lines. Neighbor lady wanted a "country kitchen" a few years ago. She wanted a big bay window in what was a solid wall. One Saturday her husband and his friend got to drinking a few beers and discussing the kitchen. They scribbled a list of stuff on a piece of paper and sent her in the truck off to Home Depot. Just as she pulled back into the driveway the entire wall of her kitchen fell out into the yard accompanied by the roar of a big old thirty year old commercial Poulan saw.

By Sunday night she had a beautiful big bay window.


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