How Long To Season Firewood?

When choosing firewood for burning, whether a log is properly seasoned or not can make a huge difference. But how long do you need to season a piece of wood before it is ready to be used? There are a lot of factors that are involved, ranging from the species you are dealing with, to the temperature, among others Let’s take a look.

The major factors involved in seasoning firewood include the firewood’s moisture content, its species, how recently it has been cut down, and the climate you live in. While some firewood like Birch and Russian Olive can be seasoned in less than a year, some like Oak and Chestnut can take up to 3 years to properly season.

How Long to Season Firewood?

The time it takes to season firewood involves a lot of variables. But if all the conditions are the same, then the time difference will largely depend on the species of wood you are dealing with.

Below is a table of different time frames for seasoning different species of wood.

Wood Species	Seasoning Time
Oak	3-4 years
Sycamore	2 years
Honey Locust	1-1.5 years
Russian Olive	1 year
Tamarack	6-12 months
Fir	6-12 months
Poplar	9-12 months
Hackberry	6-9 months
Cedar	1-2 years
Leyland Cypress	1.5-2 years
Black Locust	6-8 months
Locust	1.5-3 years
Lodgepole Pine	6-12 months
Ponderosa	6-12 months
Pine	6-12 months
Basswood	6-8 months
Horse Chestnut	6-8 months
Douglas Fir	6-12 months
Hemlock	4-7 months
Chestnut	2-3 years
Box Elder	6-8 months
Tulip Poplar	1-1.5 years
Dogwood	1 year
Elm	1-2 years
Bradford Pear	1-1.5 years
Walnut	1.5-2 years
Sugar Maple	2 years
Red Maple	1.5-2 years
Silver maple	1.5 years
Maple	1.5 years
Magnolia	1.5 years
White Pine	1 year
Juniper	6 months
Cherry	6-12 months
Spruce	6-8 months
River Birch	1-1.5 years
White Birch	1 year
Birch	1-1.5 years
Sassafras	6-12 months
Mesquite	6-9 months
Liquid Amber	1 year
Catalpa	8-12 months
Blue Gum	2 years
Blackwood	2 years
Alder	6-8 months
Black Wattle	1 year
Hickory	1-1.5 years
Osage Orange	2 years
Cottonwood	6-12 months
Eucalyptus	1.5-2 years
Redwood	1 year
Weeping Willow	1-2 years
Willow	1-2 years
Mountain Ash	8-12 months
White Ash	8-12 months
Ash	8-12 months
Crepe Myrtle	8-12 months
Aspen	6-12 months
Apple	1-2 years
Beech	2 years
Mulberry	2 years

How to Test Firewood for Dryness?

There are a few ways you can check whether a piece of wood is ready for burning or not. if you are buying firewood, you can look for a Woodsure Ready to Burn logo. In case you are seasoning the wood by yourself, you can either use a moisture meter or test the dryness yourself.

To test the dryness, you should check the appearance of the wood first. Seasoned wood should be paler in color with some visible cracks. And the last test is the sound of tapping two wood pieces together. They should produce a clear knocking sound rather than a dull thud.

What is Seasoned Wood?

Sometimes people get confused when talking about seasoned wood. Seasoned wood is simply wood that has been properly dried to remove as much moisture as possible. While you can burn any firewood, it is recommended to use wood that has moisture content below 20%.

What Factors Should You Consider While Seasoning Firewood?

There are a lot of factors that can determine the time it takes for you to season firewood.

• The first factor is of course is the moisture content of the wood you are dealing with. Freshly cut wood from a healthy tree will likely have a lot of moisture within it. It will take much longer for this wood to completely dry up.

• On the other hand, if you choose firewood that has been cut from a dead tree, most likely it will already have lost a lot of its moisture. One thing to keep in mind is that a tree that has been dead for a long time may already be rotten, thus it has less heating value.

• The other factor is humidity and temperature while seasoning the wood. If you live in a region with high humidity or low temperatures, it will take a lot of time to season the wood. In this case, try to season the wood in an empty room with dehumidifiers or heaters. Seasoning the wood in a place with a nice airflow during the spring or summer will give you the fastest results.

• The third factor is the species of wood you are dealing with. Denser woods will take a longer time to dry but they will also produce the most amount of heat. For example, Quaking Aspen is a lighter species that will season much quicker when compared to White Oak.

• The last factor is splitting the wood as soon as possible. It is recommended to split the wood into at least 2-4 pieces. This will let more air circulate within the wood thus it will dry quicker.

Why is it Recommended to Use Seasoned Firewood?

Seasoned wood produces less smoke, burns cleaner and hotter while also catching fire more quickly.

On the other hand, using unseasoned firewood will end up using a large portion of the energy stored inside the wood you are burning on evaporating the water first.

How to Season Firewood?

You can check this article for a detailed step-by-step guide to seasoning wood. Here is a small guide for seasoning your wood correctly.

The first step is finding the right spot for seasoning your wood. You can store the wood both in and outdoors, however, make sure the room you choose is properly protected from any rain, snow, etc.

If you are storing the wood indoors, make sure that the room is properly ventilated.

The next step is to split the woods into smaller pieces. The size will depend on your requirements and the size of your fireplace, stove, or log burner.

The last step is to properly stack the wood pieces. There are a few techniques you can use here. Ideally, you should use a couple of longer pieces to build a base to keep the air circulating and keep the wood being in direct contact with the ground. Keep the stack of woods only one to two blocks thick to keep the air circulating.

Keep the bark downwards to make the moisture evaporating process faster, with the end of logs towards the wind. Keep this stack of woods in an area that receives the most amount of sunlight.

Conclusion

It is very important to properly season firewood before using it. While the time it takes for wood to properly season can depend on a lot of factors, most species take about a year to properly season. Some species such as mulberry, hickory, locust firewood, and oak can take more than 2-3 years.