Firewood drying time - INSANE CLAIM?

[arboriculturist]

One of the boys said a customer of JAS Pprocessed a batch of their wrapped netted pallets of Hardwood up on the hill with just a tarp over, open each end dried from unseasoned to 20% moisture level in 3 months in the winter months! Is this an Insane claim - or a possibility?

[Stubby]

One of the boys said a customer of JAS Pprocessed a batch of their wrapped netted pallets of Hardwood up on the hill with just a tarp over, open each end dried from unseasoned to 20% moisture level in 3 months in the winter months! Is this an Insane claim - or a possibility?

 

Its the open each that might do it if there was enough wind ...

[matt99]

I had some sycamore couple winters ago left in short lengths sheeted on top but so wind could get through had only been down few months was ready to go out when cut and split can only think the really harsh winter freeze dried it plenty of cold wind on it

[s.varty]

I had some sycamore couple winters ago left in short lengths sheeted on top but so wind could get through had only been down few months was ready to go out when cut and split can only think the really harsh winter freeze dried it plenty of cold wind on it

 

:thumbup1:sycamore does dry really quick as does birch, I doubt you could get these results with green beech or oak

[nepia]

Depends on the hardwood but it was up on the hill (= windy) and tarped with open ends so I'd say definitely possible, yes.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I've had 6" dia 2.3m roundwood beech dry under black visqueen in under 6 months, well happpy

[Big J]

One of the boys said a customer of JAS Pprocessed a batch of their wrapped netted pallets of Hardwood up on the hill with just a tarp over, open each end dried from unseasoned to 20% moisture level in 3 months in the winter months! Is this an Insane claim - or a possibility?

 

Not possible in winter. Air simply cannot carry enough moisture to strip enough from green timber in winter. This is why high value hardwoods are cut in winter as they have a very slow start in terms of drying.

 

For instance, average temperature and humidity in say (December, January, February), the Midlands is about 7 celcius and 80% humidity. At those stats, each cubic metre of air can only carry 0.6g per cubic metre before reaching saturation point. Conversely, a cubic metre of air in summer (20c average temp, 60% average humidity) can carry 10.06g of water (or 16.77 times as much).

 

I've got firewood dry in about 3-4 months in crates in my lower barn in the height of summer. In winter, I often find that my air dried sawn timber will go up in MC to around 22%, from 17% in summer.

 

Jonathan

[arboriculturist]

Ah, so that's the answer for all the Sycamore and Oak logs with the lovely white mould all over it - get it sheeted down up on the hill!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Not possible in winter. Air simply cannot carry enough moisture to strip enough from green timber in winter. This is why high value hardwoods are cut in winter as they have a very slow start in terms of drying.

 

For instance, average temperature and humidity in say (December, January, February), the Midlands is about 7 celcius and 80% humidity. At those stats, each cubic metre of air can only carry 0.6g per cubic metre before reaching saturation point. Conversely, a cubic metre of air in summer (20c average temp, 60% average humidity) can carry 10.06g of water (or 16.77 times as much).

 

I've got firewood dry in about 3-4 months in crates in my lower barn in the height of summer. In winter, I often find that my air dried sawn timber will go up in MC to around 22%, from 17% in summer.

 

Jonathan

 

[Mark Bolam]

I find a small cheap calculator, with a couple of prongs superglued to the end with '20%' typed onto the screen is excellent for achieving good results.

 

 

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