What to do when your wood is soaked through?

Lauren Black • Apr 01, 2022

Unseasoned or wet wood can be a real non-starter when it comes to wood heaters and cookers. But if you know what to do you can still keep the flame alive.

Unseasoned or wet wood

Recently, I received a load of wood from a wood merchant that had previously supplied me with top quality wood - owing to the fact that he lives on a large property flush with yellow box. #woodperfection

 

However, when trying to get a fire going I was having the most incredible trouble. The wood itself was very heavy, felt soggy to the touch and was a darker colour; not the light honey colour I was used to. When I started my fire it would take A LOT of kindling, woodchips and paper/cardboard to get the heat I required to light the logs (roughly 5 x times the normal amount). And, no matter what angle I laid the wood or how carefully I stoked the embers it would only smoulder, slowly burning through and hardly producing any heat.

 

So what could i do aside from giving up or sourcing my wood elsewhere in future?

 

First step was to split the wood logs in half to check the quality. Inside you could see the colour was a darker yellow, almost red like the colour of yellow food colouring. This told us that the wood was waterlogged - partly because of the rain we had recently received and partly because it has not been cured (dried) long enough. Keep in mind I keep my wood pile dry, so this wood had been wet for some time previously and had no time to dry out due to the wet cold weather.

 

TIP: Remember, a perfect log of wood will have been dried out for between 2-4 years (depending on the type of wood) before it is ideal for burning. Wood with a moisture content of 20% and below is best and you can even buy yourself moisture meter if you really want to go pro.

 

If, like me, you don’t have 2-4 years to wait, then there are steps you can take to get your wood burning hot in no time:

 

Split Your Wood



Split your logs into much smaller pieces. An average size log weighs around 4kg. You will want to split that down into quarters at least, if not 8ths.


Fill Your Wood Box

Christo Grand Heat Slow-Combustion Wood Heaters


Load your indoor wood box with as much wood as possible so it has a chance to dry out in the warmth of your house before getting used.


Prep The Wood


Line up the next three or so pieces of wood that you want to use right beside your fire. Make sure they are upright as they are drying out. You may even notice on the floor/hearth underneath the pieces a patch of condensation as they dry out.


Arrange Your Kindling


When loading your wood heater build your fire as normal starting with wood chips, dried leaves/branches, cardboard/paper at the bottom, make a teepee with kindling (or arrange pieces across each other like a game of jenga) and open all air vents. When the wood is wet you may also consider using commercial firelighters as they give you that little bit longer to get the heat you need to light your logs and keep the fire going.


Fire Building With Thermalux

Thermalux Grand Cuisine


If you own a Thermalux heater, boiler or cooker you can also leave your door ajar until you see those beautiful red coals glow. This can take up to 15-20 minutes before you will want to load your fire up with larger pieces and lock the door. If you own a Gourmet Cooker for example, the handle can be turned upright and the door pushed closed. The latch on the inner side of the door will act as the perfect spacer for air flow.

 

You may see what looks like a lot of smoke being created in the firebox as you try to light wet wood, this is in fact the moisture evaporating and is a large part of why you will get little heat from soggy wood. The energy of the fire will be spent trying to dry out the wood instead of radiating heat.

 

And one last tip: to avoid this for future cold seasons, order a load of wood at the end of the winter season, and split some to check if it is damp inside. If so, it is best to leave it uncovered through the heat of summer to let the sun help dry it out. Then keep it stored in a dry wood shed or covered with a tarp during autumn and winter. Like a slow-cooked meal it will be perfectly seasoned for when you light your first fire the following winter.

Try Our Gourmet Cooker

Lauren Black is a Marketing & Communications Specialist and has lived with slow-combustion heating and cooking all her life due to the family business. She LOVES radiant heat sources and will always extol the virtues of sustainable heating, cooking and hot water systems in all its forms.

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