What is the Best Way to Dry Firewood? Colin Craven, CCHRC CCHR

Transcription

1 What is the Best Way to Dry Firewood? Colin Craven, CCHRC CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi ing Research Center

2 Cold Climate Housing Research Center Promoting and advancing the development of healthy, durable and sustainable shelter for Alaskans and other circumpolar people

3 Motivations for Firewood Research Wet firewood is inefficient Using dry wood means less to cut, haul, store and carry Dry wood maximizes heat Dry firewood burns more cleanly

4 Motivations for Firewood Research Having dry firewood requires planning! Not much local research on: o Necessary preparation o Time to reach a full cure Does it take many years?

5 You Can Have Fully Cured Firewood in One Summer Cut early as possible! Split it at least once Findings from Firewood Research Cover it.partially

6 Wood types White Spruce Birch Aspen Study Setup and Methods Season Spring wood harvest Fall wood harvest

7 Goals Set up several wood storage scenarios Monitor wood piles until fully cured Study Setup and Methods Full cure means 20% moisture content or less Preparation Logs cut to inch lengths from freshly cut trees Half left as whole logs, half split at least once

8 Simulated wood shed Wood off ground, covered on top Study Setup and Methods Completely covered Wood on ground, tarp wrapped.

9 Uncovered Wood on the ground Study Setup and Methods Solar kiln Wood on ground, in plastic greenhouse

10 Study Setup and Methods Spring harvest Fall harvest 8 storage scenarios 5 storage scenarios

11 Solar Kiln Spring Harvest ing Researc ch Center 100% 80% Aspen Split Aspen Whole Full Cure CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistu re Content 60% 40% 1 20% 0% 13 May 2 Jul 21 Aug 10 Oct 29 Nov 18 Jan 9 Mar 28 Apr Date

12 Solar Kiln Spring Harvest ing Researc ch Center 100% 80% Aspen Split Aspen Whole Full Cure CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistu re Content 60% 40% 1 20% 2 0% 13 May 2 Jul 21 Aug 10 Oct 29 Nov 18 Jan 9 Mar 28 Apr Date

13 Solar Kiln Spring Harvest ing Researc ch Center 100% 80% Aspen Split Aspen Whole Full Cure CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistu re Content 60% 40% % 2 0% 13 May 2 Jul 21 Aug 10 Oct 29 Nov 18 Jan 9 Mar 28 Apr Date

14 Wood Shed Spring Harvest ing Researc ch Center 100% 80% Birch Split Birch Whole Spruce Split Spruce Whole Aspen Split Aspen Whole Full Cure CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistur re Content 60% 40% 20% 0% 13 May 2 Jul 21 Aug 10 Oct 29 Nov 18 Jan 9 Mar 28 Apr Date

15 Tarp Covered Spring Harvest ing Researc ch Center 100% 80% Birch Split Birch Whole Spruce Split Spruce Whole Full Cure CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistu re Content 60% 40% 20% 0% 13 May 2 Jul 21 Aug 10 Oct 29 Nov 18 Jan 9 Mar 28 Apr Date

16 Uncovered Spring Harvest ing Researc ch Center 100% 80% Birch Split Birch Whole Spruce Split Spruce Whole Full Cure CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistur re Content 60% 40% 20% 0% 13 May 2 Jul 21 Aug 10 Oct 29 Nov 18 Jan 9 Mar 28 Apr Date

17 Findings Spring Harvest Several methods cured wood fully in 6 weeks to 3 months Dryingwas much faster thancommonly expected! Whole logs dried much more slowly the split wood Uncovered wood is susceptible to rewetting Special efforts to dry firewood aren t necessary in Fairbanks

18 Wood Shed Fall Harvest CCHR RC Moistu re Content 100% 80% 60% 40% Birch Split Birch Whole Spruce Split Spruce Whole Aspen Split Aspen Whole Full Cure 20% 0% 10 Sep 30 Oct 19 Dec 7 Feb 29 Mar 18 May Date

19 Tarp Covered Fall Harvest ing Researc ch Center 120% 100% CCHR RC Cold Clim mate Housi Moistu re Content 80% 60% 40% Birch Split Birch Whole Spruce Split Spruce Whole Full Cure 20% 0% 10 Sep 30 Oct 19 Dec 7 Feb 29 Mar 18 May Date

20 Findings Fall Harvest Initial moisture content from trees in fall were higher than expected Drying over winter is only minimal to moderate for wood with high moisture contents No storage scenarios reached a full cure over winter No large advantage to starting firewood curing late in the season

21 Results It is possible to dry firewood in Fairbanks in a single summer Splitting and partial covering are key factors to success Species of wood is less important t Caveat our study area had ample solar input and air flow

22 Thanks for Your Interest! Questions? Colin Craven, CCHRC

23 Firewood Resources UAF School of Nat. Resources & Ag. Sciences AK Dept. of Natural Resources