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Do you have a space heater at home, and wonder if you can use it to dry out your firewood? You can dry firewood with a space heater, and a convection space heater will likely do the best job. The appliance removes some moisture from the air and blows heat over the wood. To get the best out of using the space heater, you will need to stack the logs with plenty of space between them. While you can technically do this at home, it will take a lot of power to run the space heater constantly. You will need to do it carefully if you decide to go with this route. There is a lot to consider when using a space heater to dry wood. Be sure to continue reading if you want to use this method to season your firewood this year. Here is what you need to know about using a space heater for wood seasoning! How to Dry Firewood With a Space Heater Set up your wood evenly spaced out and at a safe distance from the space heater. You will have better luck with a space heater that uses a fan. It will dry the wood by blowing warm air over the top of it. This process works best if you run the heater in an enclosed space- such as your garage or the basement. The wood will dry better when stacked properly, allowing the warm air to reach throughout the stack. You will need to spend some time stacking the wood correctly so that it seasons evenly throughout. That means leaving air gaps and using small pieces of wood. Plus, throwing everything into an unorganized pile in front of the space heater isn’t going to do much for you. Smaller logs in smaller stacks will also dry much quicker. If you have plans for a campfire soon but no dry wood, you can quickly prepare a few smaller stacks using the space heater. It works the best on pieces that are as thin as your wrist or a bit thinner. We recommend using a space heater with a fan like this one. Its portable and compact design means it can go almost anywhere and still efficiently dry your firewood. How Long Does It Take to Dry Firewood With a Space Heater? When seasoning wood naturally, it can take about six months to completely dry. You won’t be able to burn it until then. However, you can start the normal seasoning process, then use the space heater to dry the wood out the rest of the way. Since running a space heater constantly is going to be inefficient, you will want to use the heater at the end of the seasoning process. Doing so ensures the wood is entirely dry before you use it. If the wood you are using is already very dry, you will want to check it hourly. However, if you are trying to season slightly damp wood, make sure to check on it after a few hours. This process does not do much for greenwood, so we recommend using it as a method to speed up the end of your seasoning time. Usually, it will take between two and four hours to dry out a small wood piece. Larger wetter pieces will take a lot longer to season with this method. You don’t want to leave your space heater running 24/7, making it inefficient to dry a large amount of wood at once. When to Dry Wood With Heater You will want to use this method as a last resort. That means you should be seasoning your wood properly outdoors when it’s warm and sunny. This method will provide you with the best possible seasoning overall. However, the weather might leave you with no other choice during the wintertime or rainy seasons. Use the space heater to re-season your wood if it gets wet or you suspect that it absorbed moisture from the snow. That means the heater method is going to be the most useful during the cold months. During that time, you might also be using a space heater at home to help keep your rooms warmer. You can also dry your wood out while keeping your home at a comfortable temperature. In short, the space heater method is going to be the most useful during the winter and the rainy spring months. Although, you should try to get the wood outside for seasoning as soon as possible, as it dries the best outdoors. Tips for Drying Wood Always use small pieces of lumber when using a space heater for seasoning. Fresh cut wood won’t dry in front of a space heater unless it is a very tiny piece. While drying wood with a heater works in a pinch, you will have much better results using traditional seasoning methods outside. The best sizes are as thick as your wrist or smaller- which is pretty thin for firewood. However, this size will dry the most efficiently when near a space heater. To support the best possible airflow levels, you can place flat stickers between the wood pieces. That way, gaps are left in the stack, and air can pass through the firewood easily. Make sure that you check the moisture levels of your wood often. While you can’t over-dry your firewood, you will want to still keep an eye on it. That way, you don’t have to run the space heater longer than necessary since it can be very expensive if left on for long periods. Overall, space heaters work the best at finishing the seasoning process, not starting it. You can also use them to re-season wood that happened to be in the rain recently, making it a good option for many circumstances. Safety Information Firewood is combustible, which means you will need to be very careful if you are heating it with a space heater. You wouldn't want to accidentally start a fire! Always place the wood a good distance away from the heater; you never want it to be touching the space heater. On top of that, it’s a good idea to have a fire extinguisher in the room. That way, you are prepared if an emergency occurs. Never leave the heater on when you are drying wood with a space heater. Final Thoughts At the end of the day, using a space heater is only good in a pinch. It works when you need to heat a few small pieces of wood. However, it’s not good for seasoning green wood or large pieces. It can be very expensive to run a heater for a long time, so you will want to use batches that can dry quickly. This process is a good idea when your options are limited like they are in the winter. You can use it to re-season wood that was in the rain recently. Space heaters are great to use in tough situations where your only other option might be to not burn any wood at all. Overall, this is not an efficient way to season wood. But, it can work if the seasoning process is nearly complete and you want to speed it up by a few days. Plus, you will want to be safe when seasoning firewood with this method. Make sure you do it at times when you know you will be home!

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