Wetting wood for faster seasoning?

[Creekyphil]

Easy on the OP guys. If everybody had all the answers there would be no need for this forum.

I agree that, ceretis paribus, wet wood would dry slower. But there could be something here that nobody understands. Maybe the water causes the pores in the wood to open up and allows moisture deep in the split to take advantage of capillary action and move out. Do I think this is the case? No, I don't. Point being, its still possible that we could all be wrong. Stranger things have happened.

The wetting down of logs at sawmills sounds like a totally reasonable explanation for the origin of this.

 

[Jags]

All that is really needed to debunk this theory is to compare the rate of drying from the pacific north west folks to the people in Texas. There is your answer.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I think from the first few replies given,the OP now understands that wetting the wood stacks
will not speed up the drying process.

What I don't understand, is why people seem to enjoy knocking the guy even more. A couple
of smart posts gets a chuckle and the point across. After that, it's almost bullying and some of
you should feel a little ashamed.

The guy was just asking a question. I'm sure he won't make that mistake again thanks to some
of you.

Well, that certainly is one way to think about it

 

[flyingcow]

I took my medicine and things are now coming up all sunshine and roses . . . although I do have a hankering for Twinkies and Doritoes for some reason.

Incidentally . . . I am just kidding . . . I have never inhaled . . . seriously . . . actually never tried any mind altering substances . . . other than an occasional Woodchuck hard cider, cough syrup for sleeping at night when I have a bad cold and Moxie . . . but Moxie is non-alcoholic . . . just puts me in a different frame of mind.

Adabivak . . . are you still here? We didn't frighten you too badly did we . . .

Moxie?? Right frame of mind? Anyone who drinks that stuff ain't right. But you are FFJ.... nuff' said. :coolsmile:
Once you mentioned Moxie, you scared the OP off.

 

[flyingcow]

My outdoor cat sprays the wood pile. I will report back on if the bottom row is better seasoned.

Must make a nice "scent" for a fire.

 

[mecreature]

I wonder why when my lips are chapped if I keep licking them it gets worse.

 

[Delta-T]

I wonder why when my lips are chapped if I keep licking them it gets worse.

once the lips are chapped you need to add oils to help the skin actually hold the moisture, and saliva is not just water, it has enzymes that assist in digestion of food and dead skin cells.

 

[jdemaris]

. . .one would thunk covering to keep it from getting wetter would be logical oh fellow Vulcan's but then there's the leave it exposed and just give it time crowd with some pretty good data showing that covering doesn't speed the process up...

I kind of got lost in all the meandering comments.

I've been cutting and heating with hardwood for 40 years. Covered wood for me absolutely dries the fastest as long as there is air-circulation. Wrapping a wood-pile completely with a tarp doesn't help the drying process at all. It just traps the moisture in and makes things worse. Same thing happens if you try to cover a car or truck. I ruined a nice 60s sports-car that way.

From best to worst with red oak, hard maple, red maple, pignut hickory, white ash, etc.

Wood under a roof with no walls and stacked dries faster then any other method I've ever tried (not counting ovens).

Wood stacked outiside but not covered dries near as well in the summer.

Wood stacked and completey covered with tarps does not dry near at all. In fact, even wood that is first dried and then covered - gets pretty much ruined if it's sitting on bare ground and not sealed concrete.

As to the mills watering their logs? They have to, especially with certain hardwoods that will crack something awful if the sun hits them, before they get sawed. They have to keep the sprinklers going until they get them sawed out - and then either kiln dry at a controlled rate - or slowly air-dry in a dark covered shed.

By the way - the following is NOT in regard to the original question asked here, but . . . to say there is "no such thing as a stupid question" is ridiculous. I've heard many over the years. Especially from people who already thought they knew the answer but were asking as a sort of "test." Also applies to answers that are innately obvious if the asker actually gave the subject some thought before asking.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Uncovered means exposure to sun and wind. Covering just the top works as well.

There are some technically interesting points about water that was in the cells when the tree was alive, vs. other water introduced from rain etc, but suffice to say that the drying rate for dry wood that gets re-wetted (rained on) is a lot faster than just-cut wet wood. Anyone with just a pile of oak has probably experienced that.

 

[oldspark]

. . .one would thunk covering to keep it from getting wetter would be logical oh fellow Vulcan's but then there's the leave it exposed and just give it time crowd with some pretty good data showing that covering doesn't speed the process up...

IFrom best to worst with red oak, hard maple, red maple, pignut hickory, white ash, etc.


.

What does that mean with the Red Maple stuck in some woods that are much better.

 

[WoodPyro]

Whoever said it helps gray the wood I think hit it on the head. I have a stack with some loose plastic on the top, it is all red oak. Where the plastic is sort of limp and the rainwater dribbles down on the wood all the wood is much more grayish and "looks" more seasoned. Whether it is or not I really do not care as I didn't split it too big and I am 2-3 years ahead and have better things to worry about than whether it will be 16 or 14% MC.

 

[trailmaker]

If, during a hot, otherwise dry day, one was to spray their stack of seasoning firewood with a garden hose, would that somehow speed up the seasoning process? My father-in-law said that he heard this somewhere, and I told him I'd see if anyone here could confirm or deny this. I haven't heard this before, and it doesn't seem like it would work, but the hypothesis is that the water would get on the wood ends, and as it evaporates, would pull out more of the water/sap out of the wood.

Periodic "wetting" can alleviate case hardening. This could speed overall drying time, especially if one had whole rounds seasoning.

 

[benjamin]

I wonder why when my lips are chapped if I keep licking them it gets worse.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I have no idea if the spraying method works but I sure wouldn't dismiss the idea. OP wasn't talking about a sprinkler, there's no way you'd add any significant moisture by spraying a stack on a hot day, unless the wood was all punky.

An older, illiterate, superstitious numbskull once told me that the mud left from the frost coming out of the ground needs a good rain to firm it up, and I thought that was about the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. But a decade later it sure seems to hold true.

 

[oldspark]

Reality check, this quote is from a mill process web site.

"Preparation is done while the wood is still wet, and water may be sprayed over the lumber to keep it from drying out and shrinking"