Firewood Questions

[40_acre_mule]

#1 Do y'all cover your firewood after it is split? Tarp, shed, what?

#2 How far do y'all stack the wood from your house?

#3 How long do you let it sit before using it in the fireplace?

 

[moored4]

1 Do y'all cover your firewood after it is split? Tarp, shed, what?

No! my stacks are out under the fir trees around the house

#2 How far do y'all stack the wood from your house?

I keep 2 cords 25' of the house that is under cover(shed roof) that is for use this year! I'll fill it 3 times during the season. The rest is 50' to 100' from the house depending which tree it's under.

#3 How long do you let it sit before using it in the fireplace?

what I'll be using this fall/winter I cut 2 summers ago. so it's almost 1 1/2 to 2 years split drying before use!

 

[Youare]

I pile mine on pallets in rows about 20 feet long. The piling method I use allows me to have two rows about 4 feet high and I build a pitched roof with pieces of fire wood along the top to shed the rain. Just before snow I cover the top of the piles with plastic.

I have a space located about 100 feet from the house where I can stage at least 20 full cords of wood in piles. That is a little over two years supply so I can have wood that has been "seasoned" for two years. I burn mostly hardwood. During the winter I pile wood on the back porch which holds about 1 1/2 cord the wood stove is right inside the door in a "mud room".

Randy

 

[Ken45101]

Yes, I keep it covered. Either in a shed about 1000' from the house, or in racks I made that go in the barn (400') away.

I prefer to season the wood at least 18 months. It really burns better. However, we have had really wet weather the last two years and I'm behind...way behind.

Ken

 

[KennyG]

I used to stack nice neat piles. Now it's in a heap at the edge of the woods. I throw a plastic tarp more or less over the pile and put a few logs on top to hold it down. In the winter, I put a nicer looking rack by the basement walk out door to hold a half face cord or so. I like to season for at least 18 months after splitting but I use mostly wood that's been down for a year or more before I cut it, so I don't worry too much.

 

[kco]

I keep the wood under a roof in an open shed and cut it at least one year in advance. That is, I have this coming winter's wood in one side of the shed and am trying to get the side I emptied last winter filled before July. I often don't get the empty bin filled until late fall. I also split the wood fairly small so it is very dry by time it is burnt.

I don't have a fireplace but heat entirely with a wood furnace (has electric furnace backup) and use about 2.5 full cords (pine, fir, birch) per year. The furnace has a thermostat-controlled air supply which helps regulate the burning. If I burned in an open fireplace I would likely need to change a bit so it did not burn too quickly.

Burning dry wood helps avoid smoke and creosote problems.

 

[jnelson]

Seasoning your wood at least two years is very important. You will be amazed at how much better heat you get from 2 year wood. Also know that seasoned two years means that it has been cut to length and split that long. Some people think that if the wood has been down several years that it is seasoned. Nothing could be further from the true. It makes little difference how long the tree has been down. The seasoning process does not start until the wood is cut to expose the ends. Most logs will rot through laying on the ground before they give up the moisture that seasoning removes.

I pile my wood about a quarter of a mile from the house because I stack it on the top of a hill in the back of our property where it can get the most sunshine and drying breezes. In the fall I start to 'stage' it stacking about half a cord against the garage where the outdoor wood furnace is and the rest near my pole barn. If I cover the wood out back it is only over the top leaving the sides open so the log ends are exposed to the drying breezes.

JN

 

[DAY]

Some woods dry faster than others, just as different varieties have different BTU ratings.

But I have another question: What month(s) do you fell? Before the sap is up? Summertime, in full leaf? Dead of winter? Whenever you get A Round Tuit?
I have a lot of standing dead locust trees, so I fall into the latter camp.

 

[Little_Grizzly]

Personally I "Fell in the Fall and Split in the Spring" I burn mostly Oak and the six months of wintering drives the sap out enough to make splitting easier.

 

[randy41]

my pile is 50' or so from the house. i cover the split part with a plastic tarp. the split part is about enough for a week depending on the weather. i get firewood as i need it with plenty of standing dead locust around.