How does one keep logs at 20% at this time of year ?????

[cessna]

To those of you that had logs down to 20%  say back in October for delivery through this winter,how do you  prevent the moisture content of your logs rising  through the winter months when the relative humidity of the  the outside air is  up to 95% plus most days?  I am sure that unless you have a heated or well insulated shed/barn the relative humidity inside the shed will be very high but perhaps I am incorrect. Personally I would think that the moisture content of processed logs stored in a barn ready for delivery  will fluctuate on an almost daily basis.   I do wonder if any of those people who conjure up  legislation have any hands on experience of dealing with the product that they are dealing with in the legislation.   

A bit like the Environment Agency  staff being so (Dim !!!!) dead against waterways  being kept cleaned out to keep water flowing well,  they cant seem to grasp the fact that a river is like a roof gutter, "If you let the gutter on your shed /house   fill up with leaves it overflows", rant over .   Sadly common sense does not prevail  any more.   

 

[Big J]

You can't. 

 

My 2 year split and seasoned (1 year stacked outside, 1 year stacked in a wel ventilated, completely protected from rain shed) ash, which came originally from dry windblown trees, is sat at 21.5%. 

 

Sub 20 is impossible in Devon in winter as the equilibrium moisture content is higher than 20%. 

 

The regulation needs to change to sub 25%, rather than 20%. 20% is fine and doable on the continent, with the drier and colder winters, but it doesn't take account of our maritime climate.

[difflock]

Must check some o mine tomorrow!

[Paddy1000111]

The only way to do it is with industrial dehumidifiers and climate control which probably more than offsets the carbon from the additional 2% moisture they would get fussy about

Edited January 19, 2021 by Paddy1000111

[Big J]

The daft thing too is that if you bring logs in at 22%, within 12-24hrs of being stored close to a stove, the MC drops to 20% or below. 

 

I've been doing that with spruce that I'm mixing in with the ash at the moment. It's not dry enough, as it was only felled 7 months ago (and recently split - it's averaging 28-30%), but within 8 hours of standing by the stove, it's 20% or so. I don't mind the addition of the moisture to the air either as our indoor humidity has been a little low this year (25-40%, depending on external temperature).

 

 

[Paddy1000111]

Are they basing this measurement on core humidity or external humidity? If you have a wave form humidity tester that can test upto 40mm deep then that's true humidity but what if they get put outside for a bit and the outer few mil is wet... If you use a pin type tester then its variable. I don't see how they're going to enforce it... 

[neiln]

Just a home owner here that does my own logs, but this winter had been really wet and I'm noticing the logs I'm pulling from my shed are slightly damp, they've been there 18-24 months, usually they'd be bone dry, but this year I'm having to faff about drying logs on the hearth and nursing the stove a little more.  Feel for you guys running a business.

[headgroundsman]

Either use a kiln wacking out heat to dry it and then vacuum seal it in industrial plastic or import it from the other side of the world. This is the obvious answer!

 

[woody paul]

Last week cover blow off 1 of my potato box's half full of  logs and got soaked covered it over and sat it on another full box and look at it the weekend and was surprised how they had dried.

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, Big J said:

The daft thing too is that if you bring logs in at 22%, within 12-24hrs of being stored close to a stove, the MC drops to 20% or below. 

 

I've been doing that with spruce that I'm mixing in with the ash at the moment. It's not dry enough, as it was only felled 7 months ago (and recently split - it's averaging 28-30%), but within 8 hours of standing by the stove, it's 20% or so. I don't mind the addition of the moisture to the air either as our indoor humidity has been a little low this year (25-40%, depending on external temperature).

 

 

On 6 Jan I brought a freshly felled piece of beech 1287 grams to the side of the stove at 48% mc and two days later it was 33%.

 

At the same time I brought a piece of holly into the house and it was 16% from my log store. This is similar to what I have measured from my log shed since I built it a couple of years ago.

 

Last Wednesday I washed my winch rope and strung it up in the shed, today, despite rain on and off all week, it feels dry but then I am in a dry part of the country.