Have you ever heard of a log rack
?
What is it? Why should you know? If you burn firewood for heat or just for the enjoyment of a fire in your wood stove or fireplace, you definitely want to store your wood properly for maximum benefit.
Splitting firewood can be hard work. But it’s oh so important! This task can be accomplished the “old-fashioned” way, using an axe, or you can rent or buy a hydraulic log splitter, which takes most of the physical labor out of the job. You won’t get as much of a workout with a splitter, but you’ll get a lot more wood split in a shorter amount of time.
The reason we split our firewood is because split wood dries much faster than whole logs. Wood that is freshly cut has a very high moisture content. As much as 60% (or more) of the weight of a tree is water. The idea is to get as much of that water as possible out of the wood, so it will burn cleaner and hotter. Otherwise, a good percentage of the heat must be used to evaporate all that moisture before the wood fibers can burn. Burning green wood will smolder and give off a lot of smoke. It tends to produce a lot of creosote and pollution, but will not produce much heat.
When you are splitting logs for firewood storage, always split them vertically in half or in quarters, depending on the size of the log. The best time to split a log is when it is still green, before it has had time to season. If the wood has had time to dry out after being cut, it’s much harder to split.
The best wood to burn for a good hot, crackling and efficient fire is wood that has been seasoned, or dried, to get the moisture out of the wood. The key to good firewood is how well seasoned it is. If you purchase firewood, the supplier may have told you that it has been seasoned. However, if the wood has not been stored properly, it could still retain a large amount of moisture. Perhaps it was just thrown on the ground in a pile instead of being stacked in a firewood rack. This will lead to moisture retention.
The very best way to dry your firewood is to stack it on a log rack, also called a firewood rack.
How long does it take wood to season if stacked properly? There are people who insist that wood should be dried (seasoned) for at least one or two years. Experimental evidence has proven that that is almost always unnecessary, as long as the pieces of wood are cut to length and stacked. If one-foot long logs are stacked in a firewood rack, they generally dry to acceptable levels in just two or three months. Two-foot long cut pieces take approximately six or seven months for similar acceptability. Four-foot long cut pieces DO require at least a year.
You can measure the moisture content of wood with a wood moisture meter. Ideally, you should aim for a moisture content of around fifteen to twenty percent.
Different types of wood can take longer to dry than other types, and if you live in a wet climate, your wood may require a longer drying time. Just make sure the wood is cut and split well, and that it is given the right amount of time to season. Once the wood is seasoned, it will burn clean and hot to safely heat your home.
For firewood storage, be sure you are storing the logs in a dry, covered condition. If at all possible, store your wood outside. A log rack is the best way to go, because it will hold your wood off the ground and allow the air to circulate, as already mentioned. Natural air flowing through the stack, and particularly through the cut cells of the logs themselves, dries them much more quickly than if it is not stacked properly.
It’s also wise to keep your wood covered to protect it from the weather. Most log racks come with a canvas cover
Another tip: If possible, bring the wood into the house a few days before you plan to burn it, in order to help remove any remaining moisture.
There is a log rack for every need!