DRYING AND STORING FIREWOOD
Drying Firewood
Wood for burning in a wood stove must be “dry” to burn with maximum efficiency. “Dry” means the wood must be aged, so it is not “green” and also not “wet” from rainwater. When a tree is cut down, the wood is “green,” or saturated with water through the normal capillary action needed to keep the tree alive. Depending upon the exact tree specie, it can take well over six months of normal storage for the wood to “season” and no longer be “green.” If you harvest your firewood in late summer or early fall, you can cheat and speed up the seasoning process. I am assuming you use a stick for measuring* where to cut, so all the pieces are the same length and therefore will stack reasonably well in a single row.
The quickest way to season firewood is to stack it in a single row along a fence, if possible, and slightly lower than the height of the fence. At that point, clear plastic sheeting, 4 mil thickness recommended, can be draped over the fence and the firewood. To keep the plastic tarp from blowing off, place a piece of lead or a smooth rock on the edge of the tarp, roll the tarp over the rock, then tie the tarp beneath the rock with heavy twine. Repeat every 4 feet and at the corners. The smooth folds of the tarp will prevent if from tearing, while the weight of the rock or lead ingot will keep the plastic sheet from blowing away. The plastic sheet need only cover the top of the wood stack and down to a foot or so off the ground. The sun heats the wood, condensation form upward against the plastic sheet, then drains down the side.
What you have done is create a miniature greenhouse! The fence keeps the tarp above the wood, and being draped over the fence, it does not touch the wood on that side. The heat of the sun is trapped by the plastic tarp, the wood heats up, and natural condensation forms on the plastic tarp, draining moisture away from the wood beneath it. With this method, it is possible to dry “green” wood into a burnable condition within only 4 to 6 weeks, and it will be ready for use in the winter. The firewood may then be stacked for storage and use.
A “CORD” Of Wood:
A “cord” of wood is 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, or 128 cubic feet. A stack of 16” wood 4 feet high and 8 feet long is 1/3rd of a cord, and is also called a “face cord.” It takes three “face cords” to equal a cord of wood. Therefore, a stack of 16” pieces of wood stacked 4 feet high and 24 feet along a fence is a whole cord. If loosely stacked, 18” lengths of wood also can add up to 1/3rd of a cord, as the “volume” is deceptive because the wood can be stacked loosely.
If you have wood delivered “by the cord” make sure it is stacked up, not just dumped in a pile, or you may well find that your delivery is NOT a whole cord of wood – what you paid for.
Freshly cut green wood is very heavy, If you order wood delivered and it comes in the back of a 3/4th ton pickup, you are NOT getting a whole cord of wood, period. The truck cannot carry that much weight safely (3,000 to 5,000 pounds), nor can it hold the volume of a cord. A standard long pickup bed is 8 feed in length, 5 feet in width, and less than 2 feet in height. That is 80 cubic feet of wood, not the 128 cubic feet in a whole cord. Even if the wood is stached up higher on the pickup bed, say to an average of 3 feet high, it is still less than a cord, and the weight would have the bed of the pickup right down on the rear axle with the front end almost off the ground – very unsafe driving conditions.
Storing Firewood:
Firewood should be stacked off the ground so air can pass beneath it, or the bottom layers will stay wet and moldy. It is relatively simple to lay down long, straight branches, and stack the wood on them – just be sure the branches ) or old 2 x 4’s, whatever is available) are parallel to the stack and near the outer sides of each row or rick.. in other words, about 15 inches apart. That way, the stacks will still be stable.
The entire stack of firewood may then be covered with a tarp to keep it dry. Lashing a tarp over a stack of firewood does not work well, as wind will enter somewhere and tear the tarp. Weights tied to the grommets on the tarp will work vastly better.
SPECIES MILLION BTU/CORD* CORD WEIGHT (pounds)** DRY CORD WEIGHT (pounds)** GREEN
Alder, Red 18.4 - 19.5 2000 - 2600 3200 - 4100
Ash
24.5 - 26.0 2680 - 3450 4630 - 5460
Aspen 17.0 - 18.0 1860 - 2400 3020 - 3880
Beech 28.6 - 30.4 3100 - 4000 4890 - 6290
Birch 25.9 - 27.5 2840 - 3650 4630 - 5960
Cedar, Incense 17.8 - 20.1 1800 - 2350 3020 - 3880
Cedar, Port Orford 20.7 - 23.4 2100 - 2700 3400 - 4370
Cherry 22.3 - 23.7 2450 - 3150 4100 - 5275
Chinquapin 23.2 - 24.7 2580 - 3450 3670 - 4720
Cottonwood 15.8 - 16.8 1730 - 2225 2700 - 3475
Dogwood 28.6 - 30.4 3130 - 4025 5070 - 6520
Douglas-Fir 23.5 - 26.5 2400 - 3075 3930 - 5050
Elm 22.3 - 23.7 2450 - 3450 4070 - 5170
Eucalyptus 32.5 - 34.5 3550 - 4560 6470 - 7320
Fir, Grand 17.8 - 20.1 1800 - 2330 3020 - 3880
Fir, Red 18.3 - 20.6 1860 - 2400 3140 - 4040
Fir, White 18.8 - 21.1 1900 - 2450 3190 - 4100
Hemlock, Western 21.6 - 24.4 2200 - 2830 4460 - 5730
Juniper, Western 23.4 - 26.4 2400 - 3050 4225 - 5410
Laurel, California 24.6 - 26.1 2690 - 3450 4460 - 5730
Locust, Black 29.5 - 31.4 3230 - 4150 6030 - 7750
Madrone 29.1 - 30.9 3180 - 4086 5070 - 6520
Magnolia 22.3 - 23.7 2440 - 3140 4020 - 5170
Maple, Big Leaf 21.4 - 22.7 2350 - 3000 3840 - 4940
Oak, Black 25.8 - 27.4 2821 - 3625 4450 - 5725
Oak, Live 34.4 - 36.6 3766 - 4840 6120 - 7870
Oak, White 36.4 - 38.0 2800 - 3710 4890 - 6290
Pine, Jeffery 19.3 - 21.7 1960 - 2520 3320 - 4270
Pine, Lodgepole 19.7 - 22.3 2000 - 2580 3320 - 4270
Pine, Ponderosa 19.3 - 21.7 1960 - 2520 3370 - 4270
Pine, Sugar 17.3 - 19.6 1960 - 2270 2970 - 3820
Redwood, Coast 17.8 - 20.1 1810 - 2330 3140 - 4040
Spruce, Sitka 19.3 - 21.7 1960 - 2520 3190 - 4100
Sweetgum (Liquidambar) 20.6 - 21.9 2255 - 2900 4545 - 5140
Sycamore 21.9 - 23.3 2390 - 3080 4020 - 5170
Tanoak 25.9 - 27.5 2845 - 3650 4770 - 6070
Walnut, Black 24.5 - 26.0 2680 - 3450 4450 - 5725
Western Red Cedar 15.4 - 17.4 1570 - 2000 2700 - 3475
Willow, Black 17.5 - 18.6 1910 - 2450 3140 - 4040
