How Fast Can You Dry Firewood & How To Dry Firewood Faster & Using A Moisture Meter

[@earlsimon8474]

Just get a moisture meter people. It’s cheap and doesn’t give you false information. All these videos about drying firewood are totally obsolete.

[@BCole-bj4lv]

I live in New England and I did a lot of experiments with drying firewood. I learned a lot and still have other experiments I'd like to run. Wood dries fast right at the start (the first 3 months). I also found that frequent rain will really retard drying and I now cover my wood with tar paper, right away. It dries almost as fast in the middle of the cold winter as it does in summer. It also dries about equally well when full piece or halved or quartered (you made me go look at my data and I found that, surprisingly). I did all my experiments by weight, incidentally. I put my data in a spreadsheet and graphed all my results. It was interesting to see. I still need to test things like double stack vs. single, sun vs. shade, and more. Let me give you an idea what the graph showed: in 3 months (summer) the wood lost about 27% in weight. In another year, it lost about another 5% so down 32% in weight. If it happens to rain on the wood every other day during the first 3 months, it won't loose anything (I'm extrapolating from 3 weeks where it rained like that and I loss 0% on fresh cut wood). You are right too that it will regain water once it is dried, if it gets rained on. All testing with red oak. Happy burning! 😉

[@voiceone2922]

I live in Texas. Average temp in my mid-east location during summer is about 95° + . We had a tornado come through in May this year, and i ended up adding the finest white and post oak,pecan, maple and hickory to my wood collection. It was like manna from heaven. Anyway, i figured the only way i have a chance at burning it in December is stacking only 13 inch long pieces 8 ft high, cover before even a hint of rain and hope for wind to augment the drying. It was all stacked by june 15th. 8 ft high and 16 ft long ×2. This vid was super helpful. I so appreciate how thorough you were! Now i realize i at least have a shot at burning this Holiday season.

[@stevenputney8790]

You must be in east TX.

[@voiceone2922]

@stevenputney8790 it's actually Central, in Temple. Nice and hot.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Hill country, nice. My wife used to live in Burnet and work in Marble Falls.

[@johnRfarrer]

Thanks for the great info. I live in the river valley West of Russellville. Its surprising how those dead trees will wick moisture out of the ground. I have cut some that's been dead for about a year and will be saturated all the way to the top. I know why you cut that Blackjack green. I have seen sparks when cutting dead fallen Blackjack. Tough on the chain.

[@rayray9620]

Use house wrap for a tarp, it lets the moisture out but keeps the rain from getting in.

[@KAMP8505]

I can get maple to dry less than 20% in 3-4 months

[@johnbutler5208]

You sir are right. I split all my wood small

[@rockyraccoon3630]

I trust this man.

[@privateuploads-geo2625]

Thx for the video. Up in the foothills of California, our summers are in the 80s, 90's, and 100's from mid-May until late October, and the weather is dry (that's why I can cool our house 25-30 degrees on a 100 degree day with an Evap cooler). Last year I stacked my firewood, cut 16" long, on 6 elevated drying racks, (learned from KZbin) each holding about 1/2 cord (16"x4'x12'). Surprisingly the oak was 10-12% by November. I moved as much as I could into my firewood shed before the reasons, which is closer to the house than my drying stacks. It is airy, with one side completely open, but I stack the wood tightly, so I don't feel it's a good drying. But it does keep dry wood dry, and handy. It was my first year with a wood stove. Last year I did allot of splits like the wedges of a pie, about 4-6" on the wide side. I found these a bit unwieldy, although they burned fine, after I started with cedar. This year I just split 2 cords, and I am aiming for more rectangular splits, 2-2.5" x 4-5". They should dry faster, be easier to handle, and be much easier to stack in my somewhat small Jotul stove. I do have some larger pieces (4x6"), which may work well for over night burning, but I've gotten away from the large triangular splits. I think the drying racks speed up drying, but I have to then move a couple cords to the shed before winter. The rest I cover, and can move to the shed later in the season. It takes a couple afternoons using my truck. I realize that from cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking, shedding, then stacking on the porch, then putting them in the stove, I move each piece several times. But I enjoy the process, love the wood heat, and that I didn't get one propane bill this winter, compared to 3 or 4 at $300-$400 each last year to heat our radiant floors. And I feel like I'm getting paid to work out. I got a 32 Ton CountyLine splitter from tractor supply and it easily handles the largest 20-24" oak rounds I can roll over to it. It's 11 second cycle with auto return works well. It is on the heavy side, but with the ram in the extended position, I can pick up the tongue and move it by myself on gravel. Not bad for a 70+ dude.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Staying busy helps keep you young, that is for sure.

[@Thekoffrekup]

Thank for the video. Advice, with social media, its hard to retain viewers in a faced paced video time.... get to it.

[@lefthandedleprechaun8702]

I dont know why people stack wood outside where it can get rained on and wonder why it takes so long to dry firewood? Am I missing somethong here?

[@ajjenga4316]

Several reasons 1) no space to stack under cover 2) wind exposure. This is my biggest reason. Wind dries wood more than anything 3) sun exposure to heat and dry wood

[@thejerkofalltrades3862]

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest. It's wet here always.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Welcome! Yes, I would say a covering of some kind would be a requirement there...

[@nodbod-b2t]

What's that handle you're holding for?

[@springhollerfarm8668]

You mean the selfie stick?

[@indrekkpringi]

I have my wood stove in what I call the furnace room... The room is large enough for me to stack an entire year's supply of firewood. ( I live in Quebec, so the time I need to heat my 2-story house is at least 6 months) As long as the first few months of firewood is 15-20% it doesn't matter what % the humidity of the rest of the wood is because my wood stove kiln dries it out in no time. Usually by end of Jan, I notice the air is dry because the wood has evaporated most of its moisture, so I stick 2 large pots full of water on the wood stove that act as humidifiers for the rest of the winter up to April.

[@SirDadbod]

In my first fireplace insert ever...not knowing anything...just learning to start a fire...i burned 5 to 6 chords of wet wood..im talking sizzlean bacon wet in maybe half the pile...i burned 24 /7 with maybe only a few hours in between start ups....when it was time to clean...i have straight walled pipe to the roof. I can fit 24 inch logs...wet..hahah He only brushed less than a cup of soot from my chimney because my insert has a catylic converter mesh right before exiting to straight walled chimney...i have a lopi insert..great insert ...

[@WoodchuckCanuck]

Good overall video. Do you find the crown limbs in your piles (small limbs not split) dry just as well? As for kilns, they are worth it if you are producing kiln dried firewood to sell, so long as the operator is charging enough to cover costs.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Thanks for a good question! Usually, I leave whole the limbwood about the size of my wrist, maybe a bit larger and I have checked it and under about 3 inches dries below 20% in a season, usually. A kiln is expensive and solar ones are cheaper to run and make yourself but for the homeowner it's just as easy to stack and wait. As you mentioned, though, for the seller it may be an option that is worth it but he will need to charge extra to make up the cost, as you said.

[@lnproductions3159]

I split my wood like yours and find it’s ready in 6-10 months. Oak and black locust 10 months, everything else, maple, cherry, ash, 6 months in my woodshed. I live in New England and other than summer, it’s dry weather. Only humid in late June, July, August, for the most part. Great video.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Thank you. Many people don't realize oak only dries about 1-1and a half inches per year. (on both sides)

[@jeroengoetstouwers8574]

You are correct, I split and store my wood in an open storage shed. It has no walls I used rebar netting as sides. I also stay about 10 inches from the roof to keep airflow going. Also keep a few inches between the rows to improve airflow. What depends as well is the area you live in. Where I live oak will take about 2-3 years to dry. Depending on the size of your chunks. Its quite a wet area. There are loads of myths around pine where I live. People seem to avoid it for the most part. Also saying you need to let it "rain out" for two years as logs before splitting and stacking it. But personally I don't believe that. Best is to get the moisture level down to less then 18/20% but 15 or lower is most desirable.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

You are correct. Most of my oak cures down to 12-15% in a season but that is likely because I usually cut standing dead which has already dried from 40% to 25-30% before I cut it. Many people do not split wood small enough to dry below 15% in a year. I find it burns better and cleaner when it is below 15%. 20 is still too wet for a good clean burn.

[@stevet8121]

I live on the coast of northern CA. (think giant Redwood trees). It stays cool and damp even in the summer. I have a wood shed built like you say one should be built with lots of air circulation. I burn mostly Douglas Fir and Tan Oak. I have a two year rotation going. I'm cutting wood now that will be burned the winter of 2025. I also work in a sawmill that allows me to collect an unlimited supply of kiln dried 2X4 and 2X6 trim ends, usually 12-24" long. I always mix that in. You have inspired me to get a moisture meter now.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

That two year rotation is what I'm working toward... No more rush to get it done, especially if something happens.

[@janicekamalu1852]

This has been the most information on drying wood I have seen,along with explaining size and cut. I Thank You.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

No, I thank You.

[@johnnycycle69]

Yup pretty much on the head about wood wetness. smaller split faster dry depending on weather. and how its stored and stacked it needs good airflow and out of the rain. if the days are not humid great, dries quicker but if its a soggy day it will soak it up. Moisture meters are your best friend and keeping core moister around 10 to 15% is ideal for best heat.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Thanks. It's mostly just common sense. Everybody wants to get it dry in a couple weeks and that's not happening without using a kiln.

[@uprightfossil6673]

Hey. Happy new year! Glad to learn about this from someone who does like me and lives on the other side of the river. I’m tired of the creosote smell.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Thank you. I find splitting the wood a bit smaller than most do is the trick as a 6 inch thick piece will take a few years to dry. It's why they are "overnighters" beecause they are still wet inside and smolder.... Keeping it covered starting in the fall helps a lot, too. Which river?

[@brianniziol6479]

In northern Alberta, I cut green wood in April and do not split it stack it in my woos shed and burn it in the winter. No problem burns good.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

That's surprising..

[@brianniziol6479]

@springhollerfarm8668 white poplar some big ones. I have a couple of cords of dry pine I mix in. The poplar goes in the stove in pieces, some of which will barely fit through the door of the stove. I think I am doing everything wrong, but my little house is warm. Lived in the NWT for almost 30 years, heated a 27 x 40 foot house with big spruce cut green, not split stacked outside one summer house was warm. Some of these logs we bucked up were 14 inch split it with a monster maul at -30 split easy. I am going to change to a different system of better drying I have more time now and not as much access to free firewood.

[@nodbod-b2t]

Ya done good, real good!

[@springhollerfarm8668]

thanks!

[@paulkavanagh5393]

Great video in depth stuff

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Glad you liked it!

[@WoodchuckCanuck]

02:04 very true

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Yep. SO many times I see ads for firewood online and the wood is freshly split. I know it is most likely from a standing dead tree they just cut and is probably 25% moisture... I used to call them on it but that rarely has a good outcome. So, I made a video. Different types of wood can make a HUGE difference, too. Watch for an upcoming video on that one.

[@montanashooter8125]

Is cottonwood a good wood for burning?

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Thanks for asking. Not really. It burns fast and puts out little heat.

[@tesoro2250]

It will take a lot more cottonwood for the same amount of heat in a better wood. It is wood and will burn. If it's all you can get, burn it.

[@matsterwxyz]

well done. glad you did the epilogue.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

Did it help?

[@matsterwxyz]

@@springhollerfarm8668 no I was waiting for you to make that point and you didn't and then you did the