Neatly stacking logs

[kev7937]

Ditto:thumbup:

 

It's had 10 months seasoning now in an almost south facing corner of the garden in a covered shelter that's pretty well ventilated

 

36% seems pretty poor to me

 

 

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[likeitorlumpit]

It's had 10 months seasoning now in an almost south facing corner of the garden in a covered shelter that's pretty well ventilated

 

36% seems pretty poor to me

 

 

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It's terrible:001_smile:

[kev7937]

Just tested another similar sized bit that has been split once - 30% in the middle.

 

Looks like I'm going to keep them on a minimum of a two year cycle and only keep stuff that needs to be split from now on.

 

 

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[s.varty]

Just tested another similar sized bit that has been split once - 30% in the middle.

 

Looks like I'm going to keep them on a minimum of a two year cycle and only keep stuff that needs to be split from now on.

 

 

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Quite simply kev , try them and see how they burn, ive been selling ash,oak , beech thats been air drying for 2 years and a couple of my customers say they keep them ouside so the rain can get to them and they last longer. leaves me thinking why the **** do i bother trying to get them down to 20%

[kev7937]

Gonna have to burn em, not gonna buy any they're bloody expensive you know.

 

Those log merchants must be millionaires

 

 

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[danroker1987]

just pile them up and burn em!

[muldonach]

It's had 10 months seasoning now in an almost south facing corner of the garden in a covered shelter that's pretty well ventilated

 

36% seems pretty poor to me

 

 

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It is so poor that it beggars belief - has it had something dripping on it? Chuck it on a fire and see how it goes.

 

Really amazing that it has not totally dried out through the ends!

 

Cheers

mac

[Woodworks]

Beech is one of slowest woods to dry so don't be to disappointed. We used to use very similar sheds for drying our logs (as in avatar) the only thing we would do differently is leave small air gaps between each row. As said before wood looses it's moisture fastest through the end grain so the air gaps make a big difference. Beech at 30% will still give off plenty of heat

[adowning7]

when was the Beech cut down? If it was mid summer when the tree is in full leaf that must make a difference?

[agg221]

Did you read that somewhere - if so please stick a link up - because as far as I am concerned it does not match experience - sorry.

 

If I cut large section timber into 10-12 inch lengths I can leave it for months and when I split it, it is still full of sap.

 

Quite simply - the smaller you split it - the faster it dries

 

Sorry for the delayed response - I missed the question continuation on the thread until now.

 

Drying through the ends is the primary drying route. Try leaving a log cut 6ft long, and another log cut as a 6in length, then split them both in half after a year and see which is drier.

 

However, as you've identified, there is also a secondary effect of drying round the rings.

 

I don't have a written reference I can stick up - we've been doing some development work on timber impregnation which is the same thing in reverse, and have been consulting Prof. Callum Hill of Napier University, who has published heavily on the subject but you would need access to Web Of Science (academic journal database) to see references, or borrow books from the library such as:

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wood-Modification-Chemical-Processes-Renewable/dp/0470021721]Wood Modification: Chemical, Thermal and Other Processes Wiley Series in Renewable Resource: Amazon.co.uk: Callum Hill: Books[/ame]

 

To address the question though, i.e. why does split wood dry faster than unsplit wood. Although the fastest route out for water is 'down the straws', there are little holes (pits) between the straws. Some have more holes than others, depending on factors including species, when in the growing season they were formed and whether the species has pronounced medullary rays etc.

 

There is a really nice image of this structure in Scots Pine on page 12 of the presentation in the link below:

 

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=hill%20wood%20modification&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEwQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.itto.int%2Fdirect%2Ftopics%2Ftopics_pdf_download%2Ftopics_id%3D2513%26no%3D2&ei=tW4OUYfbN8qb0QX7-oDICg&usg=AFQjCNGgFYWcJVlDEtuii9_6P8tVz2fQXw&bvm=bv.41867550,d.d2k

 

The pattern (shape and concentration) of pits is largely circular, going with the growth rings (except for the medullary rays which run radially to the centre). If you just strip the bark off, water can only escape either through the ends, or by passing out through every growth ring. Since some rings only have limited holes, they form a bottleneck and this is very slow.

 

If you split a log, the split will usually run right through the centre, so every growth ring is exposed. This means that water can now escape by running round a ring with lots of holes in. This allows water to be transported slowly from the rings with few holes into rings with more holes, then to escape quickly by running round the rings with lots of holes in.

 

So in summary, cutting short lengths has the most effect, splitting has a secondary effect.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Alec