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Pookie129
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 10:11am
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Tips, suggestions and things learned over time are greatly appreciated.
How long does it really take to fully season wood? And does that change by wood type?
Thanks in advance for any comments or thoughts.
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Just
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 12:00pm
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at least 1 full year, better if kept covered from water with open sides
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Pookie129
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 12:20pm
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I have been told 3 years for fully seasoned wood, so that is good to know.
We would like to build a covered wood shed with shadow box sides to allow airflow but keep the elements out.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 12:33pm - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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A woodshed, open on the ends, semi closed on the sides. You can put up a wall, but make it slats, so it breathes. This will help to stack it vs no wall. Burn from one side, while replenishing from the other side. So when one side becomes empty, you burn from the other side, while replenishing green wood to the empty side ie burn wood from the left side, right side is seasoning and will be ready next winter.
I'd say 6 months to season wood minimum. Air must be able to flow through the pile. So good roof with overhang, sides open.
If its your only source for heat, have surplus to carry you through the winter, as you may get sick one summer and lose some time to get the wood in for the winter. But restock it when feeling better. Get the wood in during the summer when its more accessible and the roads are dry. You dont need to do it all at one time, but its just a constant nibble for wood all summer long.
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Pookie129
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 02:14pm
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Good info and thoughts - much appreciated TMT.
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Nirky
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 02:42pm
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If you fell an oak, cut & split and wait a year, I don't think you'll be happy with the way it burns.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 03:42pm
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If you are seasoning wood to use for building, the rule of thumb is that it will reach moisture equilibrium with the surrounding air in one year per inch of thickness. But it doesn't need to be that dry to burn well
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 06:00pm
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To add to this, there is superior woods while others are inferior. Burn quality, etc. Cedar has a great burn quality, but not a good firewood, it burns too fast, leave little coals behind. Around my cabin area, Tamarack (western larch) is a good wood. Look at the BTU's also.
Not all firewood is created equal as pointed out by Nirky.
My favorites are Douglas Fir and Alder. But at my cabin, those are not as easy to come by.
A good website for wood heating:
http://www.woodheat.org/good-firewood.html
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Pookie129
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 07:18pm
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All very informative - on our property we have a pine tree plantation on some of the acreage and we had hoped to do both, burn it and use it for odd building things here and there, so this is helpful.
We also have hardwood but the hardwood is out sized by the pine trees...lol.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 08:27pm - Edited by: Don_P
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Pine typically dries fast, split any wood to greatly speed drying. Rules of thumb for drying are very generic, pine dries fast, white oak at about the rate glaciers flow, then the drying conditions play another huge role, through the majority of the year we have high humidity which slows drying where the arid places are, well, arid. The BTU's per pound of dry wood is very similar. If the moisture content is equal, the heavy stick contains more heat, locust, beech, hickory. If the wood is not dry a large portion of the btu's is consumed vaporizing water. It's ready when 2 sticks knocked together ring rather than thudding. For one indicator when you cut off a fresh end if you see moisture the wood is above "fiber saturation point" about 25% or higher moisture content. If you see a dry shell surrounding a moist core you are seeing the "moisture gradient" as the wood is drying from the surface and core moisture is migrating to the drying shell. The wood will begin to ring then that free water has dried out of the cell lumens. From there down the moisture is leaving the cell walls themselves, the "bound water" is chemically part of the cell wall. As each molecule of bound water leaves, the fibrils that make up the cell wall can move a little closer together. So shrinkage begins after wood has lost all the visible free water (~25%) and loses the bound water(<25%).
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Pookie129
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2014 09:44pm
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The brain power on this site harnessed together - might possibly save the world 
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