Holz Hausen-Dry Wood In Three Months?

[oldpilgrim]

I use 10 ft base of pallets. Place four of them at the corners of a 10 ft square with 2 feet between them. Take 2 more pallets and cut them in half, using the halves to fill in the 2 feet between the 4 corner pallets. That leaves a 2x2 foot 'hole' in the center which I just fill with a few pieces of sacrificial firewood. I find 10 feet stacks better and easier then an 8 foot stack.

 

[tcreeley]

Re: A chord?

I will disagree with the "neat stack" description.

A chord is a stack of wood in 4 ft lengths four feet high, and eight feet long.

If you can get "chord wood" to stack neatly, you are likely to have a calling as a stone mason ;-)

In my area this is what a cord is. Hard to come by unless you buy in 4' lengths. 16", 20" often are stacked 8x4x4 (2 rows!) and called a cord! People around here sell by the truck body - 3 cord, 4 cord body. Usually it stacks out to the right amount. Have to know who you are buying from. It is like finished lumber dimensions. 2x4 is really 1 1/2 x 3 1/2.

I stopped splitting wood 25 years ago - just added an extra amount of handling. The less handling I do the better. I'd just as soon burn round. Hard to come by, split means a dealer can up the price.

 

[tcreeley]

Are these round piles tarped for snow in the winter, or undercover inside? I bring wood in 1-2x weekly all winter (only burn wood) and use the tractor bucket to get my wood up on the deck, from there dolly it inside the house. I set my stacks so that I can approach from one side (plowed side) to load the bucket. How do you guys store and use the wood for winter from these round piles?

 

[oldpilgrim]

I left some uncovered that I didn't figure I'd get to, but covered the ones that I knew I'd use, so I wouldn't have to scrape snow and ice off them before I brought them inside the garage where I keep about 3 weeks worth.

 

[tnjind]

GREAT thread. I usually just leave in piles where I split (bad back, don't want to stack if not needed).
I am going to use pallets, hate trying to bust loose frozen wood, and am going to try the round stack this year and would like to try the heat house idea next year.

 

[forgeblast]

I didnt tarp until the first snow. .. and then just the top.

 

[lockhaven]

I leave the round stacks without any tarp until I start using from it. Then I throw a plastic cover over it to keep the snow and ice off. The reason I make them big is because of the lack of level ground. The few level spots I have I fill up. As mentioned the edge pieces need to be sloped inward accomplished by a ring of firewood placed end to end around the perimeter then the layers pointing towards the center stake slope down towards the center. What ever the reason the wood works back to being level making another ring necessary. I prefer to have a base so as not to lose any wood from ground contact. How to Build a Holz Hausen | Wood House | Beehive Woodpile | Holzmiete | Holz Haufen - YouTube

 

[doxford jim]

Interesting subject - would never have thought of making a round stack as described.
I very much doubt that would work very well where I live due to bears - both black and grizzly.
I made a lean-to wood shed and had it neatly stacked with wood for my workshop. One morning I went out and found the wood all scattered around. Each spring/summer, we have bears walk through the property looking for food - lots of berry bushes at the back area. Seem to be regular bears returning each year. This year for some unknown reason, the wood shed was pretty much emptied (wood scattered around) and several other piles turned over by the bears in their quest for food (rodents, grubs etc.). I also heard from the local post office, that one of the local s hot a black bear walking through property - wonder if it was our regular visitor ?

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Holz Hausens are neat ways to stack wood, but they will not produce dry wood within 3 months, unless you are starting with standing dead that is already nearly dry...or the Holz Hausen is in a kiln :laughing:

The key to drying wood is to allow air flow, which the Holz Hausen does better than piles or large stacks. I don't believe it will out perform loose stacked single rows though. The problem with single rows, is that they take up more space.

 

[tcreeley]

I imagine a lot also depends on the average humidity of your area. Around here wood needs up to 2 years to get the full heat out of it. Over three and quality decreases. A neighbor up the road brings his into the barn and lets it dry there for two years before it goes into the stove. Wood cut in the winter and burned the following winter still sizzles in the stove- too much moisture. I've bought kiln dried wood- better than green and the ends are showing splitting, but still heavier than it should be and feels green when compared to two year old wood.