How To Dry Firewood
If you're reading this blog, chances are that you already know that you should only burn dry wood in your wood burning stove. But how do you dry firewood? Not many people have the facilities to kiln-dry wood, so what is the alternative way to season wood? How long does it take to dry firewood, and what is the best way to store firewood? Read on to learn the answers to these questions and more!
To learn what the best firewood to burn in your stove is, read our dedicated blog post.
Why Is Drying Firewood Important?
Burning wet fuel is bad for a number of reasons. First off, it's going to produce very little heat, which defeats the object! Secondly, wet fuel will produce more emissions. Connected to this, as burning wet fuel will produce more smoke, you are much more likely to experience excessive tarring of your flue and blackening of your stove's glass. Additionally, burning wet fuel increases your chances of a chimney fire, due to the deposits of creosote it leaves in flues and chimneys. For optimal burning, wood should have a moisture content of 18% or less.
How To Dry Wood
There are two main ways to dry fire wood for burning in your wood burning stove. The first way is kiln drying, in which wood is dried in a kiln until it reaches a certain moisture level. However, kiln drying wood is an expensive process, and the vast majority of people don't have access to a kiln, so this is not the most practical option if you want to dry wood yourself.
The second method for drying wood is 'natural drying', which is also known as 'air drying', or 'seasoning'. As the name suggests, this method involves allowing the wood to dry naturally over time, using only the power of the wind and sun to draw the moisture out of the wood. Chopped logs are stacked and stored outside for long periods of time, seasoning the wood until it is suitable for burning.
How To Dry And Store Firewood Outside
Despite not being kiln dried, seasoned or air dried wood is just as good and just as dry, as long as it has been seasoned for long enough. Seasoning wood does take a bit more space, time and effort, but there's nothing quite so satisfying as a neatly stacked log store, ready for the winter's burning.
1. Split Your Logs
To dry wood quicker, you should cut and split your logs to the size that they need for burning. Smaller logs will dry quicker, so bear this in mind. That being said, you don't want to cut your logs too small, or else you will just end up having to reload your stove more often when it comes to burning it.
Wood will shrink as it dries, so remember this when you start cutting your logs. As you get the hang of drying wood, you will get an idea of how much different types of woods shrink over time, so you will be able to cut your new logs accordingly.
For splitting wood, there's no easier or safer method than using a Kindling Cracker. Specially designed to avoid any accidents with axes, the Kindling Cracker uses a simple design of an upside down axe. Simply place your log on the blade and hammer away!
Check out our Kindling Cracker starter bundles!
2. Where To Stack Wood
Whilst you may be tempted to stack your firewood in your shed, if it is newly cut, this will slow down drying. By all means, stack logs in your shed once they have been seasoned, but during the seasoning process, it is best to keep them outside where they will have the full benefits of the sun and wind to dry. Either stack the wood completely open to the elements, or use a log store. If you're feeling hands-on, you could also have a go at building your own log store.
For the best results, you should stack your wood in the open, where it will get lots of sunlight, and facing the prevailing wind, so that the cut ends of wood get maximum exposure to the wind.
3. How To Stack Firewood To Dry
Stacking wood is something of an art, and is very satisfying. Correct stacking is also key to drying wood effectively and quickly, and for keeping it dry once it has been seasoned.
You want to stack your fire wood in such a way that allows the wood to naturally dry out and naturally stay dry. With this in mind, we recommend that your log-stack should be:
- Positioned on a flat, dry platform, raised above moist ground. For example, this could be on a pallet, or a concrete slab.
- Covered. A lean-to or the overhang of a woodshed roof is ideal. Avoid covering a wood stack completely with a sheet or tarpaulin, as it will take longer to dry.
- Position the cut ends of logs outwards on at least one side so that they are open to the elements.
- Positioned in a single row and not too tightly packed together. Allow space for air to circulate and reach the wood to dry it efficiently.
- Facing the prevailing wind direction, to speed up drying.
How Long Does It Take To Dry Freshly Cut Firewood?
On average, it takes about two years to season wood fully, from freshly cut until ready to burn. Of course, the length of the seasoning process does depend on when you cut the wood, where you store it, and the conditions, such as the relative humidity. The best time to start cutting and stacking wood is in the early spring, so that the wood has the full benefit of the warm weather during spring and summer.
The length of time needed to dry also depends on the type of wood it is and how dense it is. Softwoods, as they are lighter, will dry much quicker than hardwoods, which will take longer to dry. Hardwood is the best fuel for a wood burning stove, as it has a much longer burn time, and we always recommend using hardwood as your fuel. Find out the best woods to burn in your log burner here. Here's a quick guide to some of the most popular woods for burning, and how long you should season them for before burning.
- Oak - 2 - 3 years
- Birch - 1 - 2 years
- Beech - 1 - 2 years
- Ash - 10 - 12 months
How Much Wood Do I Need?
The amount of firewood you should set aside for a winter's burning does depend on how often you use your stove. If your stove is your main source of heating and you use it everyday, you will obviously go through a lot more wood than if you just use it a few evenings a week. An Ecodesigned wood-burning stove, will burn through a decent sized log every 60-90 minutes, depending on how you are running the stove and how cold it is. If you are using your stove most evenings for a few hours, from October to March, you will likely need about 3 - 4 cubic metres of firewood.
How To Test Firewood For Moisture
Firewood should have a moisture content of 18% or less to burn, but how can you know when firewood is dry? Here are a few simple methods that will allow you to tell!
Using a moisture meter is the easiest way to test whether your wood is dry enough for burning. Simply insert the prongs into your logs to read the moisture content, and find out whether it is ready for burning or requires seasoning for a bit longer.
How To Know If Your Firewood Is Dry Without A Meter
If you don't have a moisture meter, you can use a few methods to test whether your firewood is dry.
Visual Check
If you look at the end of a dried log, you will notice that it has cracks in the end grain. As wood dries, the ends begin to split, with these gaps getting wider. Also look at the colour of the wood- green wood will still be bright, whereas dried and aged wood will look duller, and a bit grey.
Sound Check
Whilst green or wet wood has a solid sound when knocked, dry wood will sound more hollow, so give your firewood a good tap and see what it sounds like.
Smell Check
Wet wood smells strongly of sap, whereas dry wood has a much more delicate woody aroma.
Weight Check
With less moisture in the wood, seasoned firewood is lighter than wet wood. Do bear in mind the difference between soft and hardwoods, however, as softwood, whether wet or dry, is much lighter than hardwood anyway. To avoid confusion, don't compare the two.
How To Dry Firewood Fast
The short answer is that, without a kiln, you can't dry firewood quickly. It takes roughly two years of seasoning until wood is ready to be burned, depending on the type of wood you are drying. However, if you follow the above tips, you can optimise the drying process, ensuring that you dry out wood more efficiently. At the end of the day, seasoning wood is a process of nature, and as such, does take time. However, it is a very satisfying process that puts you in touch with the whole cycle of wood-burning that you and your stove are part of.
Happy stacking!
