Can firewood be too dry?

johney

Hello Folks,

I have a large amount of trees which were cut down 2 years ago. Pine,spruce,alder and old palm trees.I now need to get them off site as needs to be leveled and graded so I have just finished cutting it into rings approx 1 foot long.Was planning on splitting it now and storing but someone has mentioned that ideally I should have left it in long logs and only split 6 months ahead, otherwise the timber will be too dry like paper,turn dusty and be next to useless. I have probably enough wood for 4 years. I always thought that if the wood was well aerated it would last for years. When I lived in Germany it was very common to be at least 3 years ahead and sometimes more. A bit baffled. Advice please.

Many Thanks

patsy_mccabe

First of all, the quicker you split it after cutting, the easier it is to do. As for drying too much, don't worry about it. After all, firewood is regularly kiln dried. So that would be drier than any air-dried stuff. Just close in the damper in the stove if it's burning too quick.

jack of all

As already said by patsy_mccabe- it's easier split it just after cutting, increased surface area increases drying and drier timber reduces possibility of cresote build up in the flue when you burn it. There's no good reason why you wouldn't want the timber as dry as possible before burning- the drier it is the less creosote risk and the less heat energy that is wasted burning off excess moisture in the wood being burnt. I can't see the point in buying kiln dried firewood though- unless you can store it in ideal conditions- wood is hygroscopic and will readily absorb moisture from the air, so no point buying kiln dried timber to go and store it in an unheated, damp shed! The drier the better I say and split it as soon as you can!

J.O. Farmer

I don't think it could be too dry if you want heat. If you think about it water is what's being lost and last time I checked it doesn't burn well.
Hardwood will burn longer and better than softwood but as patsy says close off the fire fairly well if it's burning too quickly. A shovel of coal will help too to keep the fire from burning out too quickly.

Justjens

No matter how long I leave mine to 'season' it still has a moisture content of about 20%, there's no fear that timber will get too dry in our climate.

jack of all

Justjens wrote: »

No matter how long I leave mine to 'season' it still has a moisture content of about 20%, there's no fear that timber will get too dry in our climate.

Pretty much sums it up!

patsy_mccabe

Justjens wrote: »

No matter how long I leave mine to 'season' it still has a moisture content of about 20%, there's no fear that timber will get too dry in our climate.

How do you check The moisture? Have you a meter. I know a Hurley maker with one.

Username John

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

How do you check The moisture? Have you a meter. I know a Hurley maker with one.

Bought one on ebay or Amazon for around $20 a good few years ago, very handy yokes. You'd be surprised how wet timber is at times...

TheBody

Moisture meters come into Lidl every now and then too. I bought one about a year ago. Can't remember how much I paid for it.

99nsr125

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

How do you check The moisture? Have you a meter. I know a Hurley maker with one.

Weight a sample piece before you put it to dry

Put it over the range where you dry other stuff

Weight it in the morning after a typical overnight range burn

Percentage difference in weights is your unbound moisture content

patsy_mccabe

Bought this moisture meter out of curiosity. Cost me €7.15.
Tested it on different bits of timber as follows;

Whitethorn growing in hedge - 44%
Firewood cut summer 2018 - 25%
Firewood cut summer 2017 - 21%
Underside of all timber chair in house - 4%


https://www.ebay.ie/itm/351335176344?ViewItem=&item=351335176344

The man in red and black

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Bought this moisture meter out of curiosity. Cost me €7.15.
Tested it on different bits of timber as follows;

Whitethorn growing in hedge - 44%
Firewood cut summer 2018 - 25%
Firewood cut summer 2017 - 21%
Underside of all timber chair in house - 4%


https://www.ebay.ie/itm/351335176344?ViewItem=&item=351335176344

Fits with Justjens comment above that you will struggle to get it below 20% in this country. When I lived in Canada the air was so dry, no damp. Firewood a year old would be bone dry. You could start a stove with newspaper and 2-3 sticks 1 foot long and 2-3 inches diameter then throw big blocks on top of it! Some difference to here and you need really dry, light kindling.

patsy_mccabe

Just out of curiosity, I measured the moisture in timber I cut yesterday. 38% in fresh cut stuff, but down to 8% in timber cut a year ago, but in an airy shed.
It looks like the moisture in the timber in the shed, goes up and down with the moisture in the air.

mr.stonewall

Timber is like a sponge. It will vary its moisture content according to its surroundings, equilibrium moisture content. its like that external timber door that will swell and stick in winter. After all the recent dry weather there has been very little damp in the air so it will be lower.