Holz Hausen-Dry Wood In Three Months?

[ctpres]

How to build a fancy wood pile. Locate 7-10 foot dia. spot with max. sunlight. Seven or ten foot vertical pole (above ground) in center of circle. Paint mark at 80% up on pole. This mark is drying indicator. Once pile shrinks to expose mark it is supposed to be ready to burn. Form outer edge of circle with scrap treated lumber, bricks or just split logs (place circle on tin, plastic, trated soil.) Lay wood around circle, only one stack-course, with outer end on raised edge of circle and inner end pointed at pole, ie spokes. After completing one or two layers it will be necesssary to place pieces as spacers at the outer rim to raise outer edge again, many inner ends will overlap causing inner edge to build higer-faster than outer edge.
Inside of stacked ring is filled with vertically stacked pieces. Supposed to act as chimney. Air in sides and out top.
Save thin bark covered pieces to be used like shingle roof for top-bark up.
I started with seven foot circle for two plus cords. After several days of cutting and stacking I realized pile would result in more wood than I could possibabvly use in one winter on the TX Gulf coast. So I started slowly moving ends in a little each layer building a partial dome like top.
What I learned. Building takes more time than just stacking a row along the fence. A bunch of wood in very small space. Very attractive looking pile when done, could be helpful with close or picky neighbors.
Will follow up with pic's in AM using hi speed connection at work. Bar-Bob Ranch is so far out in the country that we think 30 K is hi-speed

 

[roermo]

Sounds good, would like to see picture, always looking for a better way to dry the wood. I have a pile 20f x 50 and a bunch to split and dry, would like to see a pic when you have time. Would help to see it.

Roger

 

[daTeacha]

Good theory, letting the chimney effect move more air through your wood should speed the drying process. The time involved would depend on humidity, how small the wood is split, temperature, things like that. Around here, I would tend to use a tarp of some kind as a roof on the pile just to keep the rain out. While I was at it, I'd probably tarp the top several feet along the sides, too, leaving about a 12 inch space at the bottom for air to come in and a hole in the center at the top for it to go out.

What would be ideal is a shrunken version of an old round wire corn crib. They worked the same way, with a wire chimney in the middle and you just dumped the cobs in from the top.

 

[ctpres]

Holz Hausen-Wood Pile pic's as promised. Looking for trees to finish pile. Should be done this weekend, if Head Honch dosn't "find more important things for me to do." Orange paint mark on pole is dry wood indicator. Wood is piled to top of pole and mark is uncovered as the pile shrinks during the drying process. Note Tin Boy guarding almost finished pile. Tin Boy was adopted as a ranch hand several years ago. He thinks he may be related to Tin Man. Anyine knowing whereabouts of Tin Man and if he had a son, lets us know.

 

[dholly]

Aww, now ain't that purty? It's amazing how much wood you can stack in a small holz hausen footprint. I'm glad you tried it, don't forget to report back in 3 months!

Thanks for the pics!

P.S. That wood looks darn near burnable as is, what kind is it?

 

[L3650]

I have seen piles like that at a Finnish farm museum. It was referred to as a beehive woodpile. I found several pictures of them and always wanted to pile one, but found it faster and easier to do the row.

 

[daTeacha]

Another advantage I see over the straight pile is that this one is going to be more stable as the wood dries and changes shape. I tend to stack my wood considerably more than the "official" 4 feet. More than once I've found the pile shifting and leaning one way or the other, and a few times there have been major sections fall down. I put mine in a lean-to on the west side of my barn/shop, a double stack about 8 feet high and 20 feet long, most of which has spent one year stacked out in the weather before being brought into the shed for the final summer prior to use.

That wasn't the original plan, but the introduction of livestock changed the access patterns to the woodshed and thus the stacking method.

 

[ctpres]

Pic. of finished Holz Hausen. Old man on ground is one tired Bar-Bob ranch foreman. Felling trees including stump, cutting and splitting two plus cords is real work.
And now on to next project. Washout concrete floor for tractor barn.

 

[ctpres]

Status report @ 2.5 months. Pile is almost at paint mark. Recent 40 degree nites make fireplace a good option. Wood from top of pile (was covered with tarp when rain expected) is burning nicely. Some stacked normaly as a test case is not ready. Summary. It works. Stacking takes longer, the pile foot print is much smaller and it generally looks nicer. Was it woth it? YES

 

[dutch and lovin' it]

Hi,

We are getting ready to build a Holz Hausen. Had a few more questions . . . should it be done with one type of wood? Different woods dry differently.

Have you ever made a smaller one? Like 5 feet?

I have beech, maple, cherry, black walnut to use for the Holz Hausen? Would you order them in any particular way?

Thanks!