Firewood storage

[Weedy Fields]

I'd be leery about storing/stacking in a garage. I have done that and depending upon weather I got mold growing on the wet wood. Not enough air venting around the wood.
Most of my wood is stored outside under a roofed shed. I have 2 of these that I made. Each one holds about 3 cords if I remember right.

 

[tcreeley]

Storing wood inside can bring out carpenter ants hidden in the wood and open you up to an infestation. The cold keeps them dormant in the winter. I check every piece I bring in for little tell tale signs.

 

[SDiver40]

How much do you figure they weigh loaded? and Where did you get them?

LD1 is pretty close on the weight. A normal tote cage is 5 sections high. I have shortened mine to 4 high so I can reach the bottom. ( i'm short ) I use a side grinder to cut the bars then tack weld the top back on. Stacked tight with wet / damp wood i'm guessing close to 1000 pounds take or give a little.
I get them from work. Anytime we have a customer with one that leaks or shows signs of the plastic jug with damage I'll get the frame. We do environmental work.
You can search online for industrial container companies. I'm sure they will have some with damaged jugs.

 

[TnAndy]

I'd be leery about storing/stacking in a garage. I have done that and depending upon weather I got mold growing on the wet wood. Not enough air venting around the wood.
Most of my wood is stored outside under a roofed shed. I have 2 of these that I made. Each one holds about 3 cords if I remember right.

I cut and store mine a year ahead in a couple of 4 cord sheds I built several years ago. Finishing up two more of them this week I like them so much. We have about 70ac of woodland, so I made these 6'x12' on 6x6 treated skids so they can be dragged around (empty) to the places I'm clearing or thinning. I keep one of them permanently down at my sawmill, since I end up with a fair amount of firewood from cutoffs, slabs, etc.

Then in the fall, we'll move a shed's worth into the basement for our winter's wood. Mice don't seem to be a problem, but then I keep a lot of that green pellet 'feed' out for them to snack on.

I built a dumbwaiter from the basement to the first floor where our wood stove sits.

 

[mbohuntr]

Thanks, That's a bit much for my loader, Guess I'll work on a plan "B".

 

[mbohuntr]

LD1 is pretty close on the weight. A normal tote cage is 5 sections high. I have shortened mine to 4 high so I can reach the bottom. ( i'm short ) I use a side grinder to cut the bars then tack weld the top back on. Stacked tight with wet / damp wood i'm guessing close to 1000 pounds take or give a little.
I get them from work. Anytime we have a customer with one that leaks or shows signs of the plastic jug with damage I'll get the frame. We do environmental work.
You can search online for industrial container companies. I'm sure they will have some with damaged jugs.

Thanks, The weight will be too far from the tractor to use the loader. I'm probably gonna build another 8x14 adirondak shed for drying and storage, but i'm looking for an easy way to move some under the porch roof during the winter.

 

[tcreeley]

Nice setup!

 

[TnAndy]

I built these to move wood from the sheds to a my greenhouse and shop. I figure they hold a 1/3 of a cord, heaped up a little, and 1000-1200lbs full. You could cut this down to 32" tall (keeping modular cuts on the expanded metal to avoid waste) instead of 48, and get in the 600-700lb range.

 

[fishheadbob]

Very nice setup TnAndy.
I store wood outside for a year before moving a hay wagon - 2 cords- into the basement near the wood furnace. Having it in the same room as the furnace for a spell does a great job on the final drying of the wood so it burns nicely. If I've been ambitious I might have 4 or 5 cords in the final drying. The last step in the never ending handling chore is to fill a wheelbarrow for the 20 foot ride from the pile to the furnace.
Mice aren't much more of a problem with firewood than they are in general living in an old house surrounded by fields. When loading the wagon I have to pick up each piece, just shake the nests off, maybe have a dog standing by for some fresh rodent du jour.

 

[TnAndy]

Same deal here Bob. From the stack in the basement pictured to the dumbwaiter that takes it upstairs is about the same 20'. Wheelbarrow at a time, takes about 4 to fill the DW 'car' before hoisting it up to the ground floor level. Also have another stove in the basement I'll fire up if it gets in the teens or below, helps take the chill off that end of the house (master bedrm/bath), otherwise unheated except what drifts in from the living area.

I love firewood as a heat source, been using it 40 years now....but if one plans to make it the primary source, you REALLY got to figure out the logistics to make it the easiest possible....and that doesn't mean an arm load at a time in the front door !