If split my 9" inch logs small(6cm square) will they dry out a bit,within a few (Winter )weeks?

[cessna]

As above.I ask as due to my own mismanagement I didnt get round to covering my cordwood up in September !!!! 

 

 

[rapalaman]

How long has it been down? What species? Where in the country are you? Can it be stacked with maximum airflow and possibly catching the last of the warm days sun?

[Muddy42]

If it was felled from green, chopped, split and stacked in rows the sun and wind before say February 2023, you might just be able to burn it this winter. The sap will have been washed/evaporated out and any moisture will be skin deep and you can simply wait for 2-3 dry days and bring it indoors.

 

That said a moisture meter is really useful.  Split a log and test the inside.

 

And the drier you get wood the better.  Some people say you can burn wood at 25%, but I don't like it.  Im not sure how, but I (we!) ended up with some greenish 25% wood in the logshed this year. It is difficult to light, hisses and doesn't really give off much heat.  This is more noticeable in open fires than stoves. Whereas the well seasoned, 'crumbly-at-the-edges' 17% moisture logs are a dream to burn

 

 

[Steven P]

Yes. Simple answer.

 

Consider that to dry the insides of a log the moisture has to travel through the outer layers to the surface and evaporate. As the surface dries the moisture moves outwards to make it all equal inside. The reverse is also true that to make a log wet then the rain water has to go in reverse. It is a slow process. If you make the journey shorter for the moisture than it will get to the surface and evaporate quicker.

 

However what moisture content you get to depends on a lot - how wet the wood was in September (so how long it has been split for), the species (denser wood is harder for the moisture to travel), where you stack them, and if they get any wind blowing through the stack (wind blows the moist air away, drier air makes it easier to evaporate into)

 

Also note that if the logs were dry in September then it is likely that only the outer 1/2" will be wet, the inner of the log will still be dry, covering the stack in a windy location might be all you need to do - for this years wood - for next winters wood I would just leave it as it is

[cessna]

23 hours ago, rapalaman said:

How long has it been down? What species? Where in the country are you? Can it be stacked with maximum airflow and possibly catching the last of the warm days sun?

Some since March this year some been down a year.

Mainly Ash.

Gloucestershire.

Stacks get  Autumn/Winter  sun from about 10.00 am till about 15.00hrs.  

[Steven P]

ash will burn

 

[nepia]

Ash will burn indeed. Remember that the smaller you split the logs the tighter they'll pack and less will be the airflow.  Something to consider.  But with ash - not a problem

[Steven P]

Last night I was doing this with some leylandii - stacked onto bricks (4" off the ground), 2 long logs length ways and the bricks in the 4 corners - loads of air space and air flow under the stack (also off the wet ground, no pooling water). Onto that there are logs cross ways normal style, next row is 2 logs lengthways and on top normally stacked cross ways and so on - creates tunnels in the stack for the wind to blow through.