How Long Does Wood Take to Dry?

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by Adobestock/Anastassiya

How long does wood take to dry? Use this guide for wood stacking techniques and all you need to know to get the best well-seasoned firewood for your time and money.

Firewood is better than money in the bank. It’s the tangible result of your labor, and it represents warmth and security through winter. If you know how to dry firewood properly, wood heat can be a clean, renewable energy that’s more accessible than solar or wind.

The three essential ingredients for efficient and environmentally appropriate wood heating are good woodstove technology, good fire-building techniques and good fuel. We’ve covered the first two topics in the past (links in this article). Now let’s look at what you need to know to have the best firewood.

Knowing how to dry firewood correctly is essential: Every serious wood burner must understand that wood dries slowly. Good firewood should have a moisture content between 15 and 20 percent, and it takes a long time for newly processed wood to dry to that level because the native moisture content of trees ranges from 30 to 50 percent. The efficiency losses resulting from burning wet wood can be as much as 30 percent, so drying firewood properly prevents a lot of wasted wood and results in wood that burns much more cleanly!

How Long Does Wood Take to Dry?

  • Updated on Dec 16, 2022
  • Originally Published on Aug 31, 2011
Tagged with: cutting firewood, stacking
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