drying loblolly SYP question

[Jacob Reverb]

I just bought 400 bf of 1"x6" loblolly yellow pine, green.

I've bought this stuff before and stickered it in the barn with no trouble at all, it's real stable and straight, and I've heard that loblolly dries much faster than most woods, and that you can generally use it after a few months of drying on 1" boards, versus a minimum of 1 year per inch for air-drying oak, for example.

My question is, is it possible to dry this stuff without stickering it? I seem to recall seeing big piles of it in the yard at the sawmill and it wasn't stickered...can I do this without fear of too much trouble in the barn?

My problem is, all my stickers are currently being used, and I'm too lazy and cheap to feel like ripping up a whole pile more...

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Dick Strauss]

Jacob,
More than likely the piles you saw were dry lumber. I would not want to risk it.

[Scott T Smith]

Jacob, the only what that I know of to dry lumber w/o stickering it is to stand it up vertically in a location with good airflow, and turn the boards every day. A lot of lumber milled and dried in Africa and South America is dried in this manner.

Loblolly will not dry flat stacked - period. And, you will experience all types of mold growth once the weather gets warmer.

Loblolly is one of the 4 species that make up southern yellow pine, and it does dry extremely fast. In a kiln you can safely remove up to 15% moisture content per day, versus 3% for 4/4 oak. That works out to be 4 days in the kiln from green to 6% - not bad.

You can use a variety of different materials for stickers. One very inexpensive option for a small quantity of boards is to use 1/2" or 3/4" pvc tubing.

[Jacob Reverb]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the feedback.