Drying split wood inside - advice needed!

[Ben Y]

Evening gents,

 

Quite new to firewood so bear with me. I have a sealed unit that I run the business from, and have been splitting and storing all hardwood inside. I have no alternative place to season it unfortunately.

 

It used to be a potato store so does have air flow ducts running across the floor but not sure if these have been sealed off..[emoji849]

 

Anyway, some of the logs towards the middle of the pile have predictably started to grow mould. Are these a write off? I’m getting it all on pallets this week to get it off the ground but wonder if the fact that they are inside with limited air flow -I might just be pissing in the wind..?

 

Thoughts, advice and methods all muchly appreciated. Cheers.

[Dan Maynard]

I don't think a bit of surface mould will be an issue, maybe turn the pile over to bring the worst ones up to the top while you are putting the pallets in.

The thing is that around a third of the weight (up to half for some woods) that you have put in the shed is water. If you think of it as several bathfuls that's got to get out of the shed then you can see the need for ventilation.

Possible the existing vents could be ok if they are opened, you might have to force the airflow though. Does it smell damp?

If there's really no choice on location, maybe some small DC fans would be good, that would be relatively cheap and quiet so could be left running all the time. This is what people have to do with kilns.

[Jcarbor]

Stick your logs in empty Ibc cages, the air will get through them , I store my wood in the outside .

[Ben Y]

Cheers. Unfortunately I don’t have much choice but to keep them inside, farmer I rent from would charge a fortune for outside space and it’d all go missing fairly quickly.

I also can’t modify the building in any way. Hopefully getting them off the ground and stacked more efficiently will make a difference.

No it doesn’t smell damp or mouldy in there so there must be some, if minimal, airflow.

[dumper]

If it was mine I would look at the ducts and try to put a fan or fans to draw the air out from under the pile 

[Rob_the_Sparky]

If you can't get any more air through the room then the only choice I see is to run a de-humidifier to remove the water.  Not sure what the running cost would be though versus the income generated.  Possibly not economic.

[devon TWiG]

put it on pallets , also have pallets on edge every so often creating vents , so to speak , also another layer of pallets every metre in height to minimise the bulk of the pile , also leave doors and windows open as much / often as possible 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by devon TWiG

[Ben Y]

Cheers guys. Got it all on pallets today, surprising how much more space it takes up. Will see if it makes a difference, can’t see how it won’t.

Only started the firewood side in November so with lots of wood coming in but none ready to go out, space is becoming an issue.

[Squaredy]

23 hours ago, Ben Y said:

 

Evening gents,

 

Quite new to firewood so bear with me. I have a sealed unit that I run the business from, and have been splitting and storing all hardwood inside. I have no alternative place to season it unfortunately.

 

It used to be a potato store so does have air flow ducts running across the floor but not sure if these have been sealed off..

 

Anyway, some of the logs towards the middle of the pile have predictably started to grow mould. Are these a write off? I’m getting it all on pallets this week to get it off the ground but wonder if the fact that they are inside with limited air flow -I might just be pissing in the wind..?

 

Thoughts, advice and methods all muchly appreciated. Cheers.

 

I think you need to buy a hygrometer and see how moist the air is in the building.  In this weather it is around 40% to 50% outdoors, I am guessing your building could be in the nineties.

 

You did not mention what your main business is - I am assuming not firewood?  Whatever it is have you thought about the implications of all the moisture you are releasing into the air?  It will cause tools to rust, paper to get musty and all sorts of problems with electrical items if there really is no ventilation.  It sounds to me like you have a totally unsuitable situation for drying logs.  Each loose cubic metre of fresh sawn logs will release about 200 litres of water into the air, or if the air is already saturated it will just go mouldy and rot.

 

I think the other arbtalkers are being helpful but too gentle - unless there is good continuous ventilation your wood will not dry.

 

Photos might help with advising you.

[Ben Y]

Cheers square. I run an Arb business primarily. I’m in talks to get some outdoor space but unfortunately it may not happen. I am fully aware it’s not ideal where it is.

I’ve attached some photos that I took pre-moving in. It’s watertight and secure but air does get in, noticeably a little colder and not stale inside this morning.

Not sure if the air ducts are sealed or not. Will have a better look tomorrow.