How to Season Fire Wood
Season your firewood several months before you will need it. Generally, you will need six months to one year. Fresh or "green" wood's cells contain 50 percent or more water. Seasoning wood simply means letting green wood dry out so that the water content drops below 20-25 percent and the wood burns efficiently without creating excess creosote.
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Things You'll Need
- Fresh or "green" wood
- Splitting axe or maul
- Splitting wedge
- Gloves
- Roof or other impermeable cover
Instructions
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Chop the wood into rounds 12 inches or longer using your axe if you are working with new felled trees. Wear gloves to protect your hands.
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Split the wood into small logs that will fit into your fireplace or stove if it has not already been split. Use your axe or maul for fresh, moist wood. If the wood is particularly knotty or tough, use your splitting wedge. The more pieces you split your wood into, the faster it will season.
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Choose a woodpile spot that will benefit from wind and sun.
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Stack logs neatly under a roof or other impermeable surface, such as a tarp, with one to two inches of space between your logs for air to circulate. Stack logs in rows perpendicular to one another, crisscrossing rows as you go. This arrangement allows air and wind to move through the pile, which will expedite the seasoning process. Do not cover the woodpile's sides. Allowing wind in is more important than keeping every raindrop out.
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Check your wood after several months to ensure that it is seasoning properly. If it remains very moist or appears to be rotting, you may need to re-pile your wood to allow more air to circulate or move it to a drier spot that gets more sunlight. Toss out rotten wood.
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Tips & Warnings
Seasoned wood is darker that green wood, and it will feel lighter due to its decrease in moisture. Furthermore, the bark should be loose or breaking off and the exposed wood should show small cracks. Use your wood within 1-2 years or it can become host to fungus and bacteria that will degrade the wood and make it much less efficient to burn.
Burning green wood that has not been properly seasoned can cause excess creosote to develop in your chimney, but note that creosote forms no matter what kind of wood you burn. Excess creosote buildup can cause a chimney fire. Clean or have your chimney cleaned every year if you burn well-seasoned wood, and do it more often if you burn wood that is not fully seasoned.
