Seasoning Firewood

[4570Man]

Most species won't dry all the way down standing dead, they still need to be split and have some drying time.

They are just dryer than live. (green)

SR

I’ve cut and split some standing dead that was still squirting water when you split it which is most often the case. The few standing dead that actually do dry are so hard they eat chainsaw chains.

 

[gsganzer]

I’ve cut and split some standing dead that was still squirting water when you split it which is most often the case. The few standing dead that actually do dry are so hard they eat chainsaw chains.

In central TX, these standing trees are dry as a bone. You can almost light the end of the log with a match. I'm easily able to burn the wood I cut the same day. They do eat chains though! Especially if the ants or termites have started into the base and brought the mud/dirt with them.

 

[Bronco82]

... Not really room for a larger woodshed near the house, or at least one that would be acceptable to the chief aesthetics officer.

Oh such true words.

I have two winters worth in my 16' by 16' wood shed. All oak and maple. Have the door right in the middle, so left side is this winter and right side is next winter, next year repeat. Throw in a little poplar now and then to supplement as it's free from stuff I cut down out back to make room for "the barn".

 

[WinterDeere]

Pine (and most other conifers) pitch is flammable and will burn even if it's relatively green. Hardwoods, not so much.

Careful, there. This could be misconstrued as some really bad advice. In fact, this is the basis of why so many errantly believe you should not burn pine.

Yes, Pine will burn when wet, more a problem than a feature, as burning wet wood is the best way to end your season (or home ownership) in a chimney fire. It is fine to burn pine, but it must be dry to do it safely.

When burning wet wood of any species, you're putting an enormous amount of thermal energy into converting water to vapor. This vapor, the droplets of which condense onto creosote-producting particulates (just like rain drops!) travels up your chimney, where it will condense and deposit creosote in the chimney. The wetter the wood, the more energy lost to conversion, the cooler the exhaust, and thus the higher fraction of particulate-carrying water droplets end up condensing on the pipe before reaching the top and exhausting. It's an exponential problem.

So, yes... wet pine will burn. It also carries a higher fraction of resins that lead to creosote production, making the fact that it will burn while still wet even more dangerous. But be safe, don't do it. Burn DRY wood, no matter what the species. This will minimize the energy lost to conversion, minimize the water you're putting into the exhaust, and keep your exhaust temperatures higher such that the small amount of water it still contains will safely make it to the top of the pipe before condensing.

As an aside, if you ever wondered why flue probe thermometers have a "too cool" range, this is it.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

This is my neighbor's home; it happened a couple months ago and is what happens when you burn too green of wood!

as in a chimney fire!

SR

 

[BnRidge]

The byproducts of combustion are co2, h2o, along with others. For every lb of wood, 50% is produced as water in the form of steam. Add the moisture content to that. That's a lot of water that can condense in a cold chimney. It only takes a few days to completely plug a pipe with creosote if you let it. As a beekeeper, I was able to create, and burn back off creosote in the smoker. Puff the bellows hard and away it goes. Fun to watch, volitile stuff.

 

[Oaktree]

This is my neighbor's home; it happened a couple months ago and is what happens when you burn too green of wood!
as in a chimney fire!

I had a chimney fire once, maybe 30 years ago. Man was that scary! Fortunately, the chimney had a liner and at the time lived where the fire dept. was only ~10 min. away. No damage.
As it turns out there was a slight restriction about 2/3 of the way up, and creosote built up there. Made sure to be extra careful cleaning it from then on!!

 

[Jstpssng]

I've had a couple of chimney fires in my life. When I was growing up the house we lived in had a relatively new brick chimney and fireplace; my father had a steel insert made so that we could put a wood stove in the living room. One Sunday I couldn't get the fire t burn so I stuffed some newspaper in, touched it off and let it burn. It went, all right! Things started warming up fast. The insert started expanding and popping out. My father was in his shop, 150 yards down the road. I called my sister, who lived in another house just beyond him and asked her to tell him. He walked out, looked at the chimney, and said "Yeah, I was supposed to clean that", then went back to working. He said he knew the chimney was good, the house was less than 15 years old at the time.

 

[WinterDeere]

New thread started on @Sawyer Rob's thumb here, so as to not de-rail this thread: The "thumb"

 

[Jstpssng]

A lot of people believe that ash is a great wood to burn green. (Ashwood wet or ashwood dry, a king can warm his slippers by)
I have never found that to be the case. For the past week I've been burning About 6 weeks ago I brought home some ash which was cut in the fall of 2021 and left on the log landing in various lengths. I cut and split it, and putit in the wood shed. I tried burning a few pieces this week and there was more water running out of it as it sizzled than I've ever seen.