Print

[trz]

I live in midwest Michigan where winters are a mere tease of what they used to be.   My question is ...... will cut firewood  dry throughout the winter months or does the moisture in the wood just freeze until warmer weather? 

[jerkash]

Frozen wood will not dry

[willieG]

cut in the winter, dry in the summer

[MattyNH]

Absolutely cut firewood will dry in the winter..That sun is still pretty strong in the winter.. Winter time too you got  a lot more windy days..I cut my parents grapple wood back in feb (12) and split it in the fall (12)...Thats a long period of time..Wood was perfect..

[Bondo]

Absolutely cut firewood will dry in the winter..That sun is still pretty strong in the winter.. Winter time too you got  a lot more windy days..I cut my parents grapple wood back in feb (12) and split it in the fall (12)...Thats a long period of time..Wood was perfect..

Ayuh,...   Agreed,...   It's all 'bout relative humidity...

The air is much dryer in winter, 'n water likes to equalize, so it migrates Out of the wood...

[Homerglide]

I agree that the cut wood does in fact season during the winter months. How much of a difference between equal summer months I wonder about. Could it be equal, 60/40 or some other differential. 

[tawilson1152]

Before they invented dryers women used to hang out the clothes to dry in the winter.

[willieG]

The air is much dryer in winter, 'n water likes to equalize, so it migrates Out of the wood...
[/quote]

i think i can agree taht there are likely more dryer days in the winter months. but also codler air can not hold as muich mosture so it may (i say may) not absorb moisture as fast as the summer months?

also there would be those "frozen days" temps below freezing when the moisture in teh wood is fromzen and may (again is ay may) not be able to be absorbed.

i can agree that wood will dry in the winter but i don think (just my opinion) that it dries any where near as fast as teh summer months?

[Scott7m]

Summer is definitely faster, hot breezes work well.. It's why airflow is so important


Try this tho, take a bowl of ice and set it outside, let it freeze and dump ice cube out.  Even if temps stay below freezing it appears to shrink, very slowly.    I have noticed that before

[hoardac]

We used to have to test our wood regularly for moisture at the mill, very little drying goes on in the winter when it is below freezing. Even on the sunny side of the pile the drying does not go very deep.

[whatsgnu]

I believe that if you cut it in the winter there will probably be less moisture in the tree than after it warms up and it starts drawing water. You will also get some drying via sublimation, that's the ice going straight to vapor and not turning to water first. How much drying , I don't know.
I just try and cut a good deal of my wood in the winter to give it as much time as possible to dry and the black flies less time to draw my blood.

[willieG]

I believe that if you cut it in the winter there will probably be less moisture in the tree than after it warms up and it starts drawing water. You will also get some drying via sublimation, that's the ice going straight to vapor and not turning to water first. How much drying , I don't know.
I just try and cut a good deal of my wood in the winter to give it as much time as possible to dry and the black flies less time to draw my blood.

Me too

[Scott7m]

lol I tried the ice thing again last week and it was cold, bought 5 at night, it didnt shrink much if any