Whether Firewood Can Go Bad (And How You Can Tell) (2024)

In order for wood to be used effectively asfirewood it needs to be dry enough. Lowering the moisture content of wood canbe done through seasoning, but seasoning can be a very lengthy process ofleaving the wood to dry out for multiple months or even years.

Firewood can also continue to be leftinside or outside for a number of years until it’s used on a fire, even if thewood has reached its optimum moisture content.

Ifwood is left for such a long time does firewood ever go bad?

Aslong as firewood is left to sit in the right conditions and free from moistureit won’t go bad for many years. Once firewood has been seasoned for the rightamount of time it should be stored off the ground, under a form of cover andopen to the atmosphere to ensure that it doesn’t rot.

We’ve explained below why your wood may gobad and what you can do to help prevent your firewood from going bad.

Does Firewood GoBad?

In order for wood to be used effectively asfirewood is must be low enough in moisture content for it not burn on a firewith any major issues.

When cut, wood can be much higher inmoisture content than what is recommended for firewood. The EnvironmentalProtection Agency recommends that firewood burns its most efficiently whenthe moisture content is between 15% and 20%.

Newly cut ‘green’ wood will typically havea moisture content that far exceeds the recommended 20%. As an example, we tooka branch from a tree on our property during the start of the spring season andmeasured its moisture content using our moisture meter.

Testing out a ‘green’ piece of wood showedthat this particular piece of wood had a moisture content of 45%: much higherthan the recommended 20%.

As such, this wood would burn veryineffectively on a fire. It would struggle to catch alight, struggle to burn,may produce more smoke than usual when burning, and would produce much lessheat than a dry piece of wood of the same size.

In order for wood to reach acceptablemoisture content levels for it to be used as firewood it must be dried outthrough a process known as seasoning.

Seasoning is the process of letting wooddry out over an extended period of time to allow the weather to naturally lowerthe moisture content of the wood to acceptable levels for use as firewood.

Seasoning is a long process that can takeanywhere from 6 months to two yearsdepending on factors such as the type of wood, the starting moisture content ofthe wood and how well the wood is exposed to the weather.

To help prevent firewood from going bad andto also help reduce the time it takes for wood to dry out through seasoning,there are some common practices for when stacking wood for seasoning,including:

• Allowing one side of the stackof logs to be open to the weather elements. The sun and wind will help to dryout the wood much faster than if it was completely covered.
• Placing the wood on a suitableplatform that’s impermeable and dry, such as concrete. This helps for anymoisture or rain to runoff into the nearby ground, while also helping toprevent ingress of water into the lower layers of wood that would cause it togo bad and rot over time.
• Stacking the wood underneath acover such as an overhang.

To help prevent firewood from going bad duringthe seasoning process it should not be placed directly underneath somethingthat would cover the entire stack of wood, such as a sheet of tarpaulin.

In doing so the wood can start to go badand rot due to moisture being trapped underneath the cover and the wood notbeing exposed properly to the sun and wind.

Firewood won’t go bad if it’s left in the right conditions, whichincludes ensuring that it’s kept off theground and covered from the majorityof the rain.

Once firewood is seasoned it can either bekept in storage within the same place or moved to another location that alsoprovides the right conditions. Firewood can go bad when placed in storage ifnot left in similarly dry conditions as when seasoning the wood.

To help prevent firewood from going bad, the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) recommends that ideal location to store firewood is in a wood shed.

Once our firewood has been properlyseasoned we place it into a wood shed that’s located in closer proximity to ourwood burning stove. Our wood shed helps to ensure that the firewood remains dryfor years

To help prevent firewood from going badover a long period of time the most important thing is to keep the firewood dry, by keepingthe firewood off any wet ground and shelteredfrom the majority of the rainfall.

Another important thing is to allow air tobe able to get to the wood. Keeping wood open to the air, especially the wind,will help the wood to remain dry and low in moisture content.

If a piece of tarpaulin or other from ofcover is used to protect the wood then one side of the stack of firewood shouldstill be left open and exposed to the weather. This will help to preventmoisture from getting trapped underneath the cover that can cause the firewoodto go bad over time.

Wood that isn’t stored correctly can startto rot due to regular and prolonged contact with moisture.

The CSIA states that you can keepfirewood stored for up to 3 to 4 years without any issues of the wood going badif you follow these recommended procedures for storing the wood.

How Can You TellThat Firewood Is Bad?

Firewood should be light in weight and dryto the touch. Other key indicators that firewood is ready to burn include:

• Course or splitting ends on thelogs.
• The bark is coming away or canbe more easily peeled off.
• The logs will be lighter thanwet wood of similar size.
• When banged together the logswill make more of a hollow sounding noise.
• The firewood will be a darkerbrown color with little or no hint of any green.

Here’s what properly seasoned and dryfirewood should look like:

In comparison, wood that is starting to gobad will:

• Have a wet smell andappearance.
• Will be softer to the touch andmay crumble when pressed.

Firewood that is too wet will burn highlyineffectively in a fire because the wood can’t be properly combusted. Thehigher the moisture content the more energy is required by the fire to burn offthe excess moisture before being able to combust the wood.

Wood that is too wet will produce less heat,be harder to catch fire and harder to burn, and can produce more smoke.

You can use a moisture meter to accurately identify whether firewood has been properly seasoned or is going bad. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that firewood should have a moisture content of below 20% to burn efficiently on a fire.

If the moisture content of your wood isstarting to increase rather than remain the same level or decreasing then it’sa sign that your wood is starting to go bad.

Whatever type of fireplace you have andhowever you get your firewood, a moisturemeter is an essential tool for any situation.

You can use your moisture meter to betterunderstand whether your firewood is too wet to burn and can help you toidentify whether your firewood is starting to go bad.

You can check our recommended moisture meters right here.