How to Season Firewood the Right Way

Freshly chopped firewood is surprisingly moist –it can have a water content of up to 50%, which is referred to as “green” firewood.  Wood this moist will not burn in your fireplace and you can in fact cause damage by trying to do so as the creosote buildup could lead to a dangerous chimney fire.

Firewood has to be seasoned, a process that takes quite a while but is not hard. Here are the basic steps you need to follow:

Chopping the Wood – The best size for individual pieces of firewood is somewhere between 6 to 8 inches in diameter and about 16-18 inches in length – the perfect size for use in wood stoves and the average fireplace.

Storing the Wood – The green firewood is going to have to sit for several months before it is ready to use so therefore having it sit directly on the ground is not a good idea. Instead stack the wood in a good firewood rack . Do not stack it too tightly since it will need to breathe as it seasons. Covering the top layer of logs with a good firewood rack cover is an important step as it will protect it from the ravages of the elements.

Waiting – How long you have to wait before the firewood in your log holder is ready to burn will vary according to the type of wood it is. In general, pine and other soft woods require around 6 months to season, while hardwoods such as oak require up to a year before they are ready for the fireplace.
When the wood was originally felled can make a difference to the seasoning time as well. If the logging was done in the winter the moisture content of the green wood is almost always going to be lower than it would have been in the summer so this winter wood may be ready a few months earlier than that felled in the summer months.