# Drying Wood Indoors in Hot Room



## svk (Aug 19, 2014)

With the boiler going, my furnace room is 110 degrees at waist level measured with a thermometer and almost no humidity.

Question is, at that temperature, how long would it take to season freshly harvested wood? I generally leave my seasoned wood in for a week to "final dry" before I burn it. Can fit close to 1/3 cord inside.


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## Cheesecutter (Aug 19, 2014)

A couple months? Off the top of my head, I'm guessing it would be similar to a desert climate. It would dry quickly if it was split small enough. Also depends on the type of wood.


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## zogger (Aug 19, 2014)

You need heat and airflow. If you move air out, it will drop the heat level some. 

Best bet..try it! All of us will be guessing.


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## Marine5068 (Aug 19, 2014)

I bring in about a half a cord of mixed hardwoods and keep it in a firewood holder I've built from an old wooden shipping container. It's in the basement where the wood stove is and gets pretty dry fast.
It's already seasoned when I bring it in and it's mostly Maple, Oak, Ash, Elm and my kindling (spruce, pine, butternut, poplar and the like). Works out good and burns nice.


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## blades (Aug 20, 2014)

From green 30 to 90 days species dependant as well as air flow + moisture content of same + size of splits. Kilns use more like 190 deg F or so . I have 2 cages that hold apx a 1/3 of a cord apiece that I fill and bring into shop let set for a few months- kind of finishes the drying process in the late fall and winter months and eliminates any surface moisture from rain and snow. About Jan I make sure I have then filled so I have a supply for a season like last spring.


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## Yooperforeman (Aug 20, 2014)

I wouldn't do it...let it air dry outside first.I put fresh cut beech in my fairly airtight woodshed and it got moldy very quick.I am leaving the double doors open now,
but still not enough airflow.


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## philoshop (Aug 20, 2014)

As stated above, airflow is everything. Unless you want a stinky, moldy sauna in your basement.


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## CRThomas (Sep 12, 2014)

zogger said:


> You need heat and airflow. If you move air out, it will drop the heat level some.
> 
> Best bet..try it! All of us will be guessing.


 I have a 1 cord kiln I only do Ash firewood I can put one rank in my kiln stick it and stack it. The wood be abour 40 er cent With air flow and heat and my deh. I can pull the wood down to 8 percent on the ends then split one piece and check the center will be 14 to 15 percent that is from noon to noon 24 hours. I get other wood free so I split it and pile it up I just pile it up and you come load it and pay me cash $35.00 a load. People complain cause it wet well I tell you what I'll do I'll dry it and you come back for a load and you only pay $60.00 a load OK My Ash knots i sell it by the all I can get on a one ton to some ladys across the river. My money maker is bundled firewood I leave the pick truck load to the other guys The buy my old wet hard wood at $35.00 a truck load and sell it for $50.00 to $70.00 a load but advertise dry wood. right now I am all out just a dry spot on the ground.


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## CRThomas (Sep 12, 2014)

zogger said:


> You need heat and airflow. If you move air out, it will drop the heat level some.
> 
> Best bet..try it! All of us will be guessing.


 
In my kiln I have a 4 foot fan I had to get my buddy the electrion to slow my fan down at the factory speed it was blowing the heat away now I have heat,Air Flow and Dehy. just right. I always stick my wood like it was lumber that improve the drying time ten fo. I think it let the wood dry out the side. Remember I only dry Ash for my bundled firewood business which is for looks only


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## bayard (Sep 12, 2014)

i keep 8 cords in the boiler room. if is under 20% i will bring it in summer and fall. when i get the boiler going wet or dry it goes in. most will dry in 2 or 3 weeks. ash ,locust, hickory ,maple, all dry fast.


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## CRThomas (Nov 19, 2014)

svk said:


> With the boiler going, my furnace room is 110 degrees at waist level measured with a thermometer and almost no humidity.
> 
> Question is, at that temperature, how long would it take to season freshly harvested wood? I generally leave my seasoned wood in for a week to "final dry" before I burn it. Can fit close to 1/3 cord inside.


If you put a Hydro in you furnace room to remove the moisture from the room. When I am in a hurry and use mine it has a 6 gal tank and I have to empty it every 12 hours. On a face cord


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## olyman (Nov 19, 2014)

svk said:


> With the boiler going, my furnace room is 110 degrees at waist level measured with a thermometer and almost no humidity.
> 
> Question is, at that temperature, how long would it take to season freshly harvested wood? I generally leave my seasoned wood in for a week to "final dry" before I burn it. Can fit close to 1/3 cord inside.


 well, as others have replied..........with that heat,,and near zero humidty,,a small box fan, blowing across the stack,,will dry it damn fast!!! one row deep for max drying....when that ones dry,,stack another!! and your house will love the humidity!!!!


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## CRThomas (Nov 19, 2014)

When you try to dry wood in a in closed area with heat always remember the discharge of moister do not pull to much heat out will waste heat unnessary. It tool me years to get the intake of heat and the discharge of moist heat I run a hydro in my shop on normal


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## 066blaster (Nov 19, 2014)

Have enough cut ahead so you don't have to worry about. I could see finishing some that's close to seasoned., but not green wood.


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## svk (Nov 19, 2014)

066blaster said:


> Have enough cut ahead so you don't have to worry about. I could see finishing some that's close to seasoned., but not green wood.


The stuff I am burning this winter was, at the latest, cut/split in April or May. Last fall's aspen, scrounge spruce, and black ash are on the menu first. This post was more out of curiosity if a guy needed to do such a thing.


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## stihly dan (Nov 19, 2014)

My 1st year burning I had a stove in the basement to heat the house. I was told at the time that 1 summer was all that was needed to burn wood. My wood was css by 5/31. Soft maple was ready but not the red oak. I had a cord of red oak in the basement That I let sit there till feb at 90-100 deg. They were dry then but I had water issues everywhere in the house that winter. Skylight was actually dripping on my daughters bed, and it was not a leak and hasn't happened since. So no, to much water for the house to take.


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## zogger (Nov 19, 2014)

svk said:


> The stuff I am burning this winter was, at the latest, cut/split in April or May. Last fall's aspen, scrounge spruce, and black ash are on the menu first. This post was more out of curiosity if a guy needed to do such a thing.



I had a jerky/dried veggie rack over my stove in maine, and first winter there, I dried my green wood over the stove. I had not much at all for dry wood except for some branches I found in the woods, so everything was felled/cut/split, hauled inside near the stove. Kept a load over the stove and baked it! Then into the stove, reload the rack. Tedious, but it dried well enough to burn OK. Oh, I split real small and no overnight burns unless I got up twice and fed it. 

I got hustlin the next summer and got way ahead and stayed there then.


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## svk (Nov 19, 2014)

Zog,

I'm so tempted to "roast" my 1/3 cord of red oak I scrounged up this summer so I can burn it this season. Was still at 30 plus mc in August.


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## zogger (Nov 20, 2014)

svk said:


> Zog,
> 
> I'm so tempted to "roast" my 1/3 cord of red oak I scrounged up this summer so I can burn it this season. Was still at 30 plus mc in August.



Hmm..you said you had a sauna, maybe stack a bunch up in there and sweat them out!


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## ponyexpress976 (Nov 20, 2014)

I have small racks on either side of the hearth for holding wood. Last week I filled the right side with oak. Big chunks and pieces for overnight burns. Been using the left side to hold the cottonwood and pine. It's closer to the door and needs filling more often. No sense burning the good stuff during the day when someone is around to feed the beast. Well, I just had to refill the oak rack. I was amazed last night how much the cracks in the wood had opened up. This was in wood that was split and stacked in a reasonably breezy/sunny area of the yard well over 2 years ago.


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## olyman (Nov 20, 2014)

066blaster said:


> Have enough cut ahead so you don't have to worry about. I could see finishing some that's close to seasoned., but not green wood.


 depends on the green wood...ive read,,that oak of any type,,and a lot of other hardwoods,,retain up to 80% moisture thru the winter. and ive read ash holds only 28 %.......


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## olyman (Nov 20, 2014)

svk said:


> The stuff I am burning this winter was, at the latest, cut/split in April or May. Last fall's aspen, scrounge spruce, and black ash are on the menu first. This post was more out of curiosity if a guy needed to do such a thing.


 I was thinking whitey said something about doing it last year....


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## svk (Nov 20, 2014)

On that note I have 5 dead ash on my property that are going straight from standing to the boiler when I cut over Christmas vacation. Save a couple of steps in the process.


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## svk (Jan 17, 2015)

Spending quite a bit of time out of town lately, my boiler room has been a little closer to 95 degree average with the electric boiler instead of 110 with the wood.

Here's green white birch that was put in two weeks ago to test this theory.




This was uniformly at 25-26% on the mm. On fresh splits its now reading 16% towards the ends and 24% in the middle. Will retest in two weeks.


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## MechanicMatt (Jan 17, 2015)

Steve, I use a box fan to blow the air on my inside stacks, after two days they are VERY dry. I don't have a moisture meter, I go by the no sizzle out the end method........


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## svk (Jan 17, 2015)

I'm sure a fan would make a difference. I've got other wood to burn just wanted to see how long it would take from green to under 20%. Once it gets to that point it's going in.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 17, 2015)

What does that even say?!



CRThomas said:


> I have a 1 cord kiln I only do Ash firewood I can put one rank in my kiln stick it and stack it. The wood be abour 40 er cent With air flow and heat and my deh. I can pull the wood down to 8 percent on the ends then split one piece and check the center will be 14 to 15 percent that is from noon to noon 24 hours. I get other wood free so I split it and pile it up I just pile it up and you come load it and pay me cash $35.00 a load. People complain cause it wet well I tell you what I'll do I'll dry it and you come back for a load and you only pay $60.00 a load OK My Ash knots i sell it by the all I can get on a one ton to some ladys across the river. My money maker is bundled firewood I leave the pick truck load to the other guys The buy my old wet hard wood at $35.00 a truck load and sell it for $50.00 to $70.00 a load but advertise dry wood. right now I am all out just a dry spot on the ground.


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## MarylandGuy (Jan 24, 2015)

svk said:


> Spending quite a bit of time out of town lately, my boiler room has been a little closer to 95 degree average with the electric boiler instead of 110 with the wood.
> 
> Here's green white birch that was put in two weeks ago to test this theory.
> 
> ...


 I am sure you would speed up your process greatly if you split that wood once. From your photo, it looks like some of it isn't split. The bark is holding a lot of that moisture in. Slowing down your process greatly.


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## svk (Jan 24, 2015)

MarylandGuy said:


> I am sure you would speed up your process greatly if you split that wood once. From your photo, it looks like some of it isn't split. The bark is holding a lot of that moisture in. Slowing down your process greatly.


For maximum drying, I agree. Only problem is smaller splits go up like paper in my boiler so I'd rather it take a little longer since I don't need it until its ready.


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## MarylandGuy (Jan 24, 2015)

svk said:


> For maximum drying, I agree. Only problem is smaller splits go up like paper in my boiler so I'd rather it take a little longer since I don't need it until its ready.


 Sounds good. I thought you were looking at this more of a scientific experiment than real life. But it makes perfect sense to dry the wood you actually plan to burn. I am loving your test by the way. Thanks for doing the research!


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## Dogsout (Jan 24, 2015)

CRThomas said:


> I have a 1 cord kiln I only do Ash firewood I can put one rank in my kiln stick it and stack it. The wood be abour 40 er cent



I am surprised Ash has 40% moister even cut green off the stump. I would have guessed that it would dryer then that like somewhere between 20% and 30%.


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## benp (Jan 24, 2015)

This is red oak and Tamarack I stuffed in the stove house that I cut and split last week. 










Drying wood in a hot house works awesome!!!


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## svk (Jan 24, 2015)

benp said:


> This is red oak and Tamarack I stuffed in the stove house that I cut and split last week.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How warm is it in there? Looks to be drying fast.


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## benp (Jan 24, 2015)

I have no clue. 

Warm. Maybe 70 or 80. 

I have been stashing the serious sub zero over night, just cut and split, wood in there for years. 

The wood in the pictures is 9 days post cut and split.


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## CRThomas (Jan 24, 2015)

By kiln drying wood I have dry wood when every body around here is out I get high dollar for my dry wood.


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## CRThomas (Jan 25, 2015)

I must kiln dry wood I sell thousands of bundle of firewood year round summer and winter


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## NSMaple1 (Jan 25, 2015)

Still waiting for the show & tell on that kiln of yours. I think lots would find it interesting & informative.


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## Mr Black (Feb 5, 2016)

After 1 & 1/2 hours of sitting in my living room... Red Elm with waxed faces.... Just to show how much water you'll be introducing... This is only a 1.3"x 14"x 10" slab.... 6 of those per log... How many gallons of water do you want to have in your house?


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## Oldman47 (Feb 5, 2016)

Looks better than the average humidifier does to me.


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## Mr Black (Feb 5, 2016)

Here they are 4 hrs later... Far left is .25" thicker


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## olympyk_999 (Feb 6, 2016)

Mr Black said:


> How many gallons of water do you want to have in your house?


firewood aint gonna let water out like that...it will evaporate out the ends...and in the winter, more moisture the better!
I steam off 3-5 gallons a day on my stove, and it barely does anything to counter the dry air in the house...


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