For the occasional fire-maker, one who makes summer firepits or stokes up a big fire in the fireplace on cold winter evenings, finding good seasoned wood can be a pain. The little bundles you find at the convenience store are often green and practically worthless for burning.
Trees can be as much as 80% water by volume. Seasoned firewood refers to wood that has been allowed to dry until its moisture content is reduced to 20% or below, usually achieved over a period of 6-12 months. This drying process is essential because it directly impacts the wood’s burning efficiency, safety, and heat output.
This is because less energy is wasted on evaporating water, allowing more heat to be released as usable energy. Seasoned wood also tends to light easier and produce more pleasant natural wood odors, enhancing the overall experience. Conversely, unseasoned firewood, which typically has a moisture content above 60%, burns at a much lower temperature, making it less effective for heating. Moreover, it produces more smoke and creosote, a substance that can accumulate in chimneys and pose serious fire hazards.
So how can you tell if you’ve got the good stuff?
When Was It Split?
The easiest way to find out whether the wood is seasoned is to ask when it was split. Hardwoods take longer to dry out than softwoods like fir, but on average they need to be split for at least a year before they can be burned efficiently.
How Does It Look?
The second way is to take a good look at the wood. The wood should be gray and weathered looking. But it should also be dry– in fact, it should be so dry you should see cracks in it, all the way to the inner rings. If you should have a chance to split any, seasoned firewood will be white on the inside, not yellow like a 2×4. If it is yellow, the wood is not finished seasoning yet.
Feel Before You Buy
Seasoned wood generally has a lighter weight, a dry and chalky appearance, and may have cracks at the ends. It emits a hollow sound when knocked together, unlike the dull thump of green wood. A highly effective method for determining wood moisture content precisely is using a moisture meter, which can confirm if the wood is below the 20% moisture threshold considered ideal for burning
For occasional firewood purchasing, that should be all you need to know to find seasoned, dry wood. But if you burn fires regularly, it can be far more cost-effective to buy unseasoned wood a year in advance and store it in a shed (not under tarps because the water can’t evaporate that way). Then it will be seasoned and ready to go during the very first cold snap.
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