For all the nay sayers

[dave_376]

I posted this on another site also.

Last year I was burning wood that was seasoned for about one year. One year was the magic time that was always preached to me, "Your wood needs to be cut for one year before burning!" After reading the advice on this site I decided to get more wood cut and split so I was a year ahead and my wood better seasoned. This burning year my wood will be 2 years cut split and stacked. I have to be totally honest! My wood heated the house great last year, it was plenty warm and the boiler only turned on to ad extra heat 2 times. I know its still early in the heating year but the difference in the way the stove burns is definitely noticeable.

Last year I would load the stove N/S of red oak and had plenty of heat with enough coals to restart after 10 hours. I also had to leave the fresh air opens slightly to maintain a good burn, 450F stove top which I thought was acceptable. This year I am loading the stove with silver maple and have plenty of coals for a reload after 12 hours. The biggest difference is I now am closing the fresh air completely off, the only air is coming from the secondary burn tubes. OHH yeah my stove top stays around 550F.

I loaded a few splits of oak when it dipped below freezing and it burned even longer. with a beautiful bed of coals and a 200f stove after 14 hours. The best part is how fast the DRY wood catches fire.


For all the old school folks who thing a few months is enough to season wood let me tell you YOUR WRONG. yes it will burn but it will burn so much better if you have the ability to let it season longer.

 

[Todd]

True dat! I bet 90% or better of the problems reported here are from wet wood.

 

[oldspark]

You are not going to find any nay sayers on this forum.

 

[Sprinter]

True dat! I bet 90% or better of the problems reported here are from wet wood.

Sure seems like it. That's why I preach moisture meters.

You are not going to find any nay sayers on this forum.

If there are, they get set straight pretty quick.

 

[wenger7446]

True dat! I bet 90% or better of the problems reported here are from wet wood.

and the other 10% are chimney or draft problems…

 

[PapaDave]

Sure seems like it. That's why I preach moisture meters.

If there are, they get set straight pretty quick.

Some quicker than others.
I can think of a few who tried desperately to argue they had "seasoned" wood for post after post.
Ha. I season my food.......firewood gets dried.

 

[bluedogz]

Best lesson I learned here... get 2-3 years ahead and stove problems just go away. If you're not careful the missus may just get into it and stoke the stove while you're not looking.

 

[CenterTree]

Some quicker than others.
I can think of a few who tried desperately to argue they had "seasoned" wood for post after post.
Ha. I season my food.......firewood gets dried.

All my pre-Hearth dot com life I was taught that seasoned meant that the wood was cut ONE SEASON prior to burning. One year was more than enough. 6-9 months was good to go.

Now that I know better I do agree that the terms "DRY, DRYING, or DRIED" would be a much better descriptor when pertaining to firewood.

 

[Dix]

Best lesson I learned here... get 2-3 years ahead and stove problems just go away. If you're not careful the missus may just get into it and stoke the stove while you're not looking.

This missus knows to put seasoned wood in a stove, get it seasoned, split it, stack it, haul it into the house, and cart away the ashes in a "non burning" manner.

If yours doesn't ( your missus that is) , I suggest getting her to read this forum, or send her up to see me for a few weeks in January.

I'll fix that problem right quick, you betcha.

 

[Sprinter]

Now that I know better I do agree that the terms "DRY, DRYING, or DRIED" would be a much better descriptor when pertaining to firewood

Yeah, I'm getting to hate the term "seasoned", it's so misused it's almost meaningless. It has to be tied to a quantity. I've said this before, but if states can require wood suppliers to follow a specific definition of a cord, they could do the same for "seasoned" and it's a more serious matter.

 

[fossil]

I can think of a few who tried desperately to argue they had "seasoned" wood for post after post. Ha. I season my food.......firewood gets dried.

Well, it's a meaningless argument, and one of those things that will never, ever be settled in some rigid, unbending folks' minds. The fact is, that when it comes to talking about firewood, the terms "Seasoned" and Dried" have become synonymous. Usage and tradition trumps unauthenticated preference.

 

[stejus]

My chimney sweep just came by this weekend. First thing he noticed was the wood drying area. He said how much wood do you have. I told him a total of four seasons of wood. One season is in the wood shed (just stocked). The other three seasons are drying out. I told him it took a while to get to a full 3 years of seasoning, but there's nothing better to see wood take off within a few minutes. He reported my liner looks brand new after 5 years. I guess I can't complain.

 

[Sprinter]

He reported my liner looks brand new after 5 years.

That's excellent. You're sure doing something right.

I'm probably at about 4 years now (including this year), mostly because I can't stop taking free stuff when I find it. Plus I only use less than 2-1/2 cords a year which helps. I think I may be adding more than I'm using. But it's money in the bank and I'm fortunate to have the space.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I burn about two cords a year. Have 9 right now. 3 are ready and 3 are oak and locust in the second year. The rest is very new. This wood management thing is getting complicated.

 

[red oak]

When I let my wood season a couple of months I burned 6-7 cords per winter.
Now that it's seasoning for a couple of years I am burning 3-4 cords per winter.
Cutting my fuel needs in half is definitely something I can live with!

 

[shoot-straight]

When I let my wood season a couple of months I burned 6-7 cords per winter.
Now that it's seasoning for a couple of years I am burning 3-4 cords per winter.
Cutting my fuel needs in half is definitely something I can live with!

i am hoping i can do the same thing. a 8x32 woodshed is a good start. its full and ive got over 12 cords split and stacked. i just hope it dries enough in the shed. ive got a bunch more to split, and nowhere to put it!

 

[red oak]

i am hoping i can do the same thing. a 8x32 woodshed is a good start. its full and ive got over 12 cords split and stacked. i just hope it dries enough in the shed. ive got a bunch more to split, and nowhere to put it!

It dries better outside. The shed is for when it's already dry. I have no shed and mine dries fine.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

For sure it is best to dry it outdoors then move it to the woodshed.

Remember the 3 year plan. It never fails! Get 3 years ahead on your wood supply and you've whipped over 90% of all wood burning problems.

 

[shoot-straight]

i agree for sure its best left outside, but the shed is very open to the wind. the whole idea of the shed is to not have to move the wood twice, and neaten up the wood area. if you leave it out, and top cover (which im told is the best), then why even have a shed? i will have a whole bunch all stacked around anyway, as i have no more room.

yep, 3 years ahead, and i will have 0 problems.

 

[firefighterjake]

i agree for sure its best left outside, but the shed is very open to the wind. the whole idea of the shed is to not have to move the wood twice, and neaten up the wood area. if you leave it out, and top cover (which im told is the best), then why even have a shed? i will have a whole bunch all stacked around anyway, as i have no more room.

yep, 3 years ahead, and i will have 0 problems.

Why I have a shed is the ability to not have to shovel off the snow and ice off the tarp and/or wood . . . plus it's kind of nice to be able to be under cover in the freezing rain, snow, etc. and be able to pick and choose which splits you want.

That said . . . woodsheds are a luxury, not a necessity when it comes to burning wood.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

i agree for sure its best left outside, but the shed is very open to the wind. the whole idea of the shed is to not have to move the wood twice, and neaten up the wood area. if you leave it out, and top cover (which im told is the best), then why even have a shed? i will have a whole bunch all stacked around anyway, as i have no more room.

yep, 3 years ahead, and i will have 0 problems.

As Jake stated, the reason we move our winter's supply into the barn is so that we don't have to dig through the snow to get the wood. It is understandable why folks want to limit the labor involved but we just look at it as part of the whole plan. For us, moving 2 1/2 - 3 cord of wood into the barn every fall is not a lot of work and we actually look forward to it.

 

[red oak]

As Jake stated, the reason we move our winter's supply into the barn is so that we don't have to dig through the snow to get the wood. It is understandable why folks want to limit the labor involved but we just look at it as part of the whole plan. For us, moving 2 1/2 - 3 cord of wood into the barn every fall is not a lot of work and we actually look forward to it.

I don't have a shed, but I move a cord or 2 under the deck at the beginning of each fall. Again, this is to be able to get wood when it's raining, snowing, or I'm sick and don't want to go all the way to the wood stacks. I also look forward to moving the wood in early fall as it means that winter is on the way and the summer humidity is close to being over.