How to tell if firewood is seasoned
Seasoned firewood reads 20% moisture or less. Here's how to check it with a meter, and the signs you can see without one.
Seasoned firewood has dried to 20% moisture or less. That's the level the EPA's Burn Wise program recommends. Wetter wood hisses, smokes, gives off less heat and coats the chimney with creosote.
"Seasoned" isn't regulated, and wood sold as seasoned is often still wet. It was the most common complaint in the Reddit firewood threads we read before building this site. Check it yourself.
Use a moisture meter
Basic pin type meters are inexpensive and sold at most hardware stores.
- Take a piece from the middle of the pile, not the top.
- Split it in half.
- Push the pins into the fresh inside face, along the grain.
- Read it. 20% or less is ready to burn. 20 to 25% will burn but poorly. Over 25% needs more time.
Don't measure the outside or the end. They dry first and read low.
Signs you can see without a meter
- Cracks on the ends. Dry wood shows splits radiating from the center.
- Color. Seasoned wood looks duller and grayer than freshly cut wood.
- Weight. A dry piece is noticeably lighter than a wet piece the same size.
- Sound. Knock two pieces together. Dry wood makes a hollow clack; wet wood thuds.
- Bark. It loosens and falls off dry wood.
- In the fire. Hissing, sizzling or water bubbling from the ends means it's wet.
How long seasoning takes
Split wood stacked off the ground, with the top covered and the sides open to the wind, usually needs 6 to 12 months. Oak and other dense hardwoods often need 1 to 2 years. Unsplit rounds dry much slower.
If you need wood ready to burn today, look for kiln dried firewood. Kiln drying takes days instead of months.