Firewood Preparation

It is not easy to cut winter firewood. Due to weather conditions and the inability to season the wood before usage, this is actually the most difficult and ineffective time of year to cut firewood. Anyone who heats with wood, on the other hand, has almost certainly run out at some point. No matter how well you prepare and how much extra firewood you think you have, you always manage to run out of firewood.

Yoder smoker pellet grills are the only cookers which can BBQ low and slow like a traditional wood smoker in which dry woods were used for burning .When cutting firewood, a decent rule of thumb is to cut enough for the whole year. Then, to account for unforeseen weather and other shocks, they cut roughly 30% more wood. So what do you do if you run out of firewood in January or February while the ground is still covered in snow?

Here are some tips for finding winter fuel, as well as some potential hazards.

Firewood for the Winter

Snow and a lack of drying time to season the wood before use are the two main issues that make winter firewood cutting difficult. In ideal weather conditions, felling a tree is hazardous enough. Snow on the ground diminishes traction and makes it difficult to walk about. In knee-deep snow, it’s difficult to avoid being hit by a falling tree.

Furthermore, once the tree is on the ground, it is buried in snow, making it even more difficult to break up.

Another major disadvantage of cutting winter firewood is that it cannot be seasoned before use.

• You can’t just cut down a live tree and expect it to burn.
• We ran out of firewood in February, the first year we used our outside wood stove.

Always have dry firewood on hand!

If you want to burn the wood right away, you’ll have to chop only dead standing trees in the winter… which is most likely the case if you’re out cutting firewood in sub-zero temps. 

Is It Possible to Dry Firewood Throughout The Winter?

Given the difficulty of storing enough fuel to survive the entire winter, most people consider this question. Burning dry wood is essential because wet wood produces smoke, sparks, and creosote.

Following the instructions below will allow you to dry winter firewood, albeit the process will take longer than in other seasons.

• This is due to the lack of sunlight, which is necessary for wood drying, throughout the winter, even though the dry winter wind extracts some moisture from the wood.
• The lack of sap and moisture inside the tree during the winter months is one major benefit of cutting firewood in the winter.
• As opposed to firewood cut in the spring, the majority of the sap and starches inside the tree are below ground in the winter, resulting in reduced total moisture content.
• The sap and moisture moving through the tree in the spring is significantly higher than in the winter, and the initial moisture level inside the wood is substantially higher.

How To Tell If Your Winter Firewood Is Ready To Burn

• Firewood with a moisture content of 20% or less is ideal for burning.
• Color can help you identify dry firewood.
• Wood is typically brown or bright green when it is freshly cut.
• The hue fades to a drab grey as it dries.
• The hue changes to white or bright yellow in the presence of a lot of direct sunlight.
• When dried, the peel easily separates from the wood for dry fuel.
• In fact, when you handle dry firewood, the bark frequently slips right off.
• The cambium layer between the bark and the wood, which appears green if the wood is still wet, can be inspected with a knife.

Stacking Winter Firewood

Regardless of the season, sun exposure is critical for firewood drying

• If possible, aim your firewood toward the southern wind.
• Logs, cinder blocks, or pallets can be used as building materials to start the firewood stacking platform.
• The idea is to raise the bottom row of firewood off the ground to limit the likelihood of the wood absorbing ground moisture while still allowing wind to reach all sides of the wood.
• The wood should be covered after stacking to protect it from snow and rain.

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