How to Properly Dry Your Firewood
Most people don’t know this, but freshly cut firewood is made up of over 50% moisture. This newly cut wood is termed “green firewood’ and it is not suitable for burning in this moist state. Wet firewood just does not burn, and thus you need to dry this green wood out for a number of months. This process, known as seasoning, is not terribly difficult, but it does require about 6-12 months and it also requires vigilance so the wood does not get wet on a constant basis. Here are some tips to get the best out of your firewood:
Proper size: The size suggested for cutting the individual pieces of firewood for use in wood burning stoves and fireplaces is between 6″ to 8″ in diameter and approximately 16″ to 18″ in length.
Storage: The green firewood, which contains significant moisture, is not ready for use in the fireplace as is. Rather you should store in the wood in a good outdoor firewood rack. A firewood storage rack keeps the wood off the ground, so it cannot suck in the ground’s natural moisture. Never stack the wood tightly since the wood also requires ventilation as it gets seasoned. Covering the top layer of the logs of wood in your firewood racks with a good firewood rack cover is a significant step as it would protect the wood logs from the damages which may be otherwise caused by the weather conditions.
Types of wood: Different types of wood require different amounts of time to dry out. Usually, soft woods such as pine will be ready for your fireplace in about six months, while oak and other hardwoods can take as long as a year to season. The time of year that the wood was felled can also impact the time it takes to season. In general, wood that was logged in winter is dryer than wood felled in summer, and so it may season a few months earlier.