How early is too early to start putting wood in for winter?

[Johnp33]

I will be getting wood, as soon as the roads are open, I have over 8 cords now, and will get anouther 8 this spring. I burn about 5 a year, and I store it in garage and the wood shed. Both are cement areas, and any wood that has bugs I leave in the bush, I split it in the bush, leaves all the bark and chips. I get dry standing wood, and it will be stacked for at least 2 two years. You can never have to little. I have a wood forced air furnace, it is my main heat system.

 

[90cummins]

I have some wood that was cut & split last year that is looking good (ends checked) that I would like to put in now so it doesn't get buried under the newly cut & split wood.
I've just started cutting & splitting green wood and will start moving it to my pile with my loader to season until fall. I don't stack the green wood.
I've rarely been a year ahead & probable never will again, most of the time my wood is cut & split the same year.
Last year my wood was cut & split very late in August/September then stacked on a trailer and covered with a heavy vinyl cover. The trailer was parked in the open with a squirrel cage fan forcing air through the pile to force the process. It worked quite well given the situation I was in.
I don稚 want to do that again.
So there is no problem putting wood in during the summer if reasonably dry!
I will also spray borate on the wood.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Johnp33]

My wood stays outside, I have a rack that I load up with about three days supply, that is what is in the house. The wood shed is about twenty feet from the back door, the garage is about 5 ft. I never take green wood, hear that is illegal. I get all my wood on crown land, free if you get a free permit.

 

[Thomas]

Some of old wood burners like to have there wood cut split stack before Mem-Day,drying time until Labor Day than stck inside.

far as the bugs go thats toughy,ant traps do work.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The best time to cut trees is after the sap is down in the fall until the sap starts to rise in January or February. Once you fall the tree, you can cut and split it any time. I sympathize with your wife. I burn wood, but store it in a wood shed 75' from the house. I bring it in one wheelbarrow load at a time, once every day or two days, depending on how cold it is. I don't store firewood in the house.

 

[MossRoad]

I am fortunate in that we have about 10 acres of locust trees 14" diameter or less and average 50' tall. I drop about 50 every fall and leave them lay there all winter long. As soon as the snow melts in spring, I drag them out with the tractor and cut them into 16" lengths and take them home, split them and stack them in a Holz Hausen fashion. They are nice and dry by the fall. However, I like to get a year ahead, because you never know when some event will happen that will prevent you from gathering wood some years. This was our third year of heating with wood. The mild winter was nice (but no ice fishing ). We burned about 6 cord the first two years but only about 4-4.5 cords last winter.

As for bringing it in the house, I don't bring it in until October 1st, when I usually start burning. I can keep about 2-3 weeks worth inside, but I top off the inside store on any sunny day in winter. :thumbsup:

 

[Pete Judd]

Last year. Depends on the firewood, but we burn a lot of western red alder around here, and it will turn "punkey" after 3 years and provide almost no heat. Fir and spruce, hemlock will last almost forever in the wood shed.

 

[Ron JD670]

Last year. Depends on the firewood, but we burn a lot of western red alder around here, and it will turn "punkey" after 3 years and provide almost no heat. Fir and spruce, hemlock will last almost forever in the wood shed.

Pete made an important point. Depending on the wood type you will have different issues. I have a wood shed along side the garage for my winter supply and built a wood box for the porch which I can remove in the spring. It hold a weeks wood and acts to protect the porch from weather.

I try to stay a year ahead on the cutting to give it time to season. The soft wood I cut as soon after dropping as practical and stack in rows off the ground as I split it leaving it on my lot exposed so it shrinks in the fall and expands during the winter. Next summer when I move the wood to storage as it dries I can discard the bark in the field which usually falls off due to the shrink / expand cycle. I don't want soft wood with bark on it in my wood shed or house if I can help it. Soft wood dries easily but can have more limited shelf life and tends to get more bugs from my experience.

For hard wood (oak an madrone here) I cut in lengths (4' to 8' ) when I drop them so I can use my forks to move to my wood cutting pile which I tarp for the winter. I cut split and move seasoned wood to storage for minimal handling. Madrone has almost no bark so I prefer it. I seldom have bug issues with these woods.

Any punkey wood I put in a separate pile and tarp it. That gets burnt early in the year.

Good luck. RoN

 

[turnkey4099]

I cut/split/stack outside, uncovered year round whenever I have located some to cut. Winter's supply is moved from ouside stack to the woodshed and 2 cords approx into the 3 season porch.

We are in the dryland winter wheat country here (annual moisture around 16") so wood dries nicely in summer time.

About 10 years ago the Locust Borer moved in an proceeded (still going on) to kill all the Black Locust. Those trees are imported species and are only found around farmsteads. So....I have been cutting like crazy building my stash so when I become unable to cut any more I will have years of supply to take from. Current count is 40 plus cords and still building.

77 and still humping the saws and wood.

Harry K

 

[Jstpssng]

If you bring the wood in green there won't be any bugs in it. Wait until it's seasoned and you're apt to have more problems.

What you will have though is a lot more moisture in the house from the drying wood.

A lot of old timers would be cutting it now, to put in for winter 2013-2014.