Types Of Firewood That Dry The Fastest
Are you wondering which kinds of firewood season quicker than others? Well, you just came to the right place!
In this article, I will not only talk about different types of wood that gets ready for burning faster, but also give you insightful tips on how to do this thing the right way, so it actually seasons properly. Buckle up!
For east coast folks in America, hardwoods such as silver maple or ash are known to dry quicker than other hardwoods, like oak; when it comes to softwoods, you can’t go wrong with pine here.
As for west cost wood burners, I’ve heard good things about maple and alder, though a softer wood like douglas fir, lodgepole pine will season faster.
Now even though some types of wood will certainly dry quicker than others (primarily when comparing hardwoods to softwoods), you shouldn’t really stress it.
I mean, if it’s the middle of summer and you want to dry a winter’s supply of firewood in just 4 months, it’s not going to happen.
It’ll take at least 7 to 8 months, from early March to September, if you do the things the right way, that is. For the common homeowner, it generally takes at least a year for firewood to dry; 2 years if it is hardwood.
How to let firewood dry, the right way
It takes time to properly season firewood, we all know that.
But if you want to give a shot at seasoning it as quick as it can, doing a thing or two the right way can indeed speed up the process.
Choosing the spot
The right place for drying firewood is one that not only gets some sun, but also wind exposure. More open place in your property makes a great spot for firewood stacks.
Stack in longer rows
Considering that the goal here for you is to speed up the drying, you should stack the firewood in rows.
Bunching the wood in bigger piles prevents the wind and air from reaching all the nooks and crannies.
In the perfect world, the rows should be as long as you are able to make them, and if you end up needing to build another row behind it, try to space them appropriately. You really want the air to circulate through the wood nicely; it’s that important, especially so if you live in a place where there is more than enough rain.
Only cover the top
Generally speaking, you should only cover the firewood once the fall sets in.
You really want the sun to hit the firewood stacks from all angles, and tarping, or covering the wood in any way kind of prevents that.
When it comes to actually doing it, you should only cover the tops. That is, if you’ll be using a tarp, don’t extend to the ground too much, as you still want the wood to be aired through as much as possible.
Now if you do live in rainier climates (like the pacific north west or what have you), you may cover earlier as you see fit, but you really should do that only when it’s necessary.
Only a moisture meter can tell
The only real way to know whether or not your wood is ready for burning is to use a moisture meter.
Take a split from a stack that had been seasoning for a set time, split it in half, and then measure the inside content of that wood you just split.
It might be that all it took for your wood to dry is 6 months. Again, there are just too many variables here for me to say exactly how long it’ll take for YOUR wood to dry, specifically.
The only thing you can do is stack the wood as well as you can, and hope that it dries enough before the cold comes.