Camping is a thrilling experience filled with adventures at every corner.
However, this fun might be soiled by the pouring rain.
Typically, when out camping, people carry wood to act as a source of fuel.
In addition, they use wood when making food and to light fires to see in the piercing darkness.
Sometimes, when it rains, the fire wood might be on the receiving end of the showers, get wet and not dry out, and thus it might be challenging to get a fire going.
In my experience, I have learned that the best camper should always be prepared for any circumstance.
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So How Long Does It Take For Firewood To Dry After Rain?
From a general point of view, wood can take up to a week to dry up after a typical rainstorm.
You should, therefore, always cover your firewood with a waterproof material to avoid this inconvenience.
Seasoned wood should always be kept from the rain, but a little bit of water will not hurt it if it gets rained on.
Further, if your wood gets rained on, it can take 2-3 days to dry out in the sun.
If there is a hot summer sun and a solid breeze to compliment it, your wood will dry out relatively fast.
However, if the wood was soaked entirely up in the rain, that will take a more extended period to dry out.
Therefore, as a precaution, cover your firewood always.
Factors that affect wood to drying period
Several conditions will affect how long it takes for wood to dry up.
They include:
• The duration of the rain shower- this is how long the firewood was exposed to the rain.
• What is the current weather- here, if the weather is sunny and windy, then the wood will dry faster. If it is relatively humid, the wood will take even longer to dry up.
• Is the wood hardwood or softwood
• For how long was the wood seasoned before it was exposed to the rain.
• The size of the wood logs- more extensive logs will dry up slower than the smaller ones.
• Was the wood off the ground and adequately ventilated.
The above factors will certainly affect the duration of the drying process.
However, in my vast experience as a camper, I have discovered ways of speeding up the drying process.
How to speed up the wood drying process
The first way to speed up this process is by splitting the more extensive wood logs into normal-sized pieces.
That will enable the sun to penetrate deeper into the wood.
The second way of hastening the process is by stacking the wood up on a rack.
The ground typically has its moisture, which may sometimes slow the drying process.
Therefore, stacking the wood on a stand will help.
Covering up the wood with an adequately ventilated material will get warm air flowing freely.
Therefore, the wood will dry out faster.
How to tell if the firewood is dry after the rain
Wet wood is easy to tell, and it is hard to burn.
Therefore, you will find that getting a fire going will be more complicated and take longer than it used to.
The damp wood will smolder at low temperatures and constantly keep going out even after the fire is lit.
Lastly, damp firewood produces a lot of smoke.
So, How Long Does It Take Fire Wood To Dry After Rain?
After a typical rain shower your wood may take up to 1 week to dry out depending on weather conditions.
Always ensure you cover up the firewood even as you go to sleep.
Further, if the wood gets rained on, you can split it into smaller pieces and place it on a rack to speed up drying.
I am an independent safety and survival expert and consultant. I have over 15+ years of experience working with corporations and individuals to help identify, remediate and prepare for threats and and disasters. I help clients understand risks and blog about my thoughts and techniques at DisasterShelters.net