Moisture content are a critical factor in how well firewood will burn. The moisture content of firewood will determine the quality of the heat that the firewood will produce when burn. Freshly cut wood contain a high amount of water.
Freshly cut firewood can contain up to half of it’s total weight in water. When burn, the fire will use the heat to evaporate the water inside the firewood rather than producing heat for the rooms. Burning wood with a high amount of moisture will result in the production of thick smoke and very little heat.
How to Check, Dry, and Store Firewood
Seasoned firewood contains less than 20% moisture. Seasoned firewood will burn easy and will produce steady heat without producing excessive smoke. Green wood contains more than 30% moisture.
Green wood will be difficult to burn and will continuously produce hissing sound and thick white smoke as the water in the green wood burn to steam. Moisture content can be estimated by using visual cues to inspect the firewood. However, visual cues is not always accurate in determining the moisture content of firewood.
Fresh firewood will be dark in color and heavy in weight due to an amount of water in the wood. As the wood seasons and loses moisture, the end of the firewood will crackle. This indicates that the wood cell are shrinking from the loss of moisture.
The seasoned firewood will feel lighter when handle. By listening to the wood while it is burning, dry wood will crackle while wet wood will sizzle. Certain type of wood will take longer to season than others due to the density of the wood.
For instance, hardwoods will contain more moisture than softer woods due to the high density of hardwoods. Oak wood will take up to two years to season proper while lighter woods will dry out in approximately six months. Softwoods will ignite quick when burned.
However, softwoods such as pine will spit and smoke when burned. Moisture content of the wood can be measured by using a pin-type moisture meter. You have to split the wood open to expose the interior of the wood as the bark may hide the moisture content of the wood.
Place the pins of the moisture meter into the firewood and take several reading of the moisture content so that you can determine an average moisture content of the firewood. Although there are non-contact scanners that can assess the moisture content on the surface of the wood, pin-type moisture meters offers accurate measurements of the moisture content within the wood. Proper seasoning techniques will allow the firewood to dry proper.
Split the logs into smaller piece to increase the surface area of the firewood. Stack the firewood on pallets so that air can circulate beneath the stack of firewood. Face the firewood toward the south so that the sun can reach the firewood.
Only cover the top of the firewood with a tarp so that the wood will dry proper. If you cover the sides of the firewood with a tarp, the wood will absorb moisture from the environment. Proper storage of seasoned firewood is important to ensure that the firewood does not reabsorb moisture from the air in the environment.
One of the best way to store seasoned firewood is in a woodshed with open sides. The shed will protect the firewood from the rain but will allow the firewood to dry proper. Store the firewood on racks that elevate the firewood off the ground so that the firewood will not absorb moisture from the ground.
Make sure that there is enough space between the logs so that air can move through the stored firewood. Burning wet wood will result in an inefficient fire. Moreover, burning wet wood will lead to the buildup of creosote in the chimney flue.
The buildup of creosote can lead to chimney fire. Burning dry wood results in less emission into the atmosphere. Additionally, burning dry wood will help to keep the glass on the fireplace window clean.
For indoor fireplaces, ensure that the moisture content of the firewood is below 18% to ensure that the fire produce the maximum amount of heat.
