Firewood Gathering With A Power Trac

[ponytug]

It sounds to me as if you are getting too much rain in the central channel.

You could try a piece of perforated sewer pipe, at least 8" in diameter, and make sure it extends above the stack, with a rain cap.

You could also try a small metal kid's snow saucer inverted over the top center, and build it the way you are building it now, but make sure the edges are at least 3-4" above the pile (three split logs and a cinderblock on top would do.

All the best,
Peter

Hello Everyone !

I have built 2 holtz Hausens already with some interesting results. Both were built on 8" cinder blocks to keep them off the ground. 8' diameters each, approx 5' high. #1 built Nov '08, broke down May '09, The "ring" wood very dry, vertically stacked wood "damp" #2 built Apr'09, broke down Jul'09, same result. I was thinking.... has anyone built one w/o the center wood???? I think this would speed up air flow, or maybe just stack some pallet wood in the center to prevent it from possible collapse????. I agree that the amt. of wood in a circular H.H. is great, just that all the center wood doesn't really get dry. I'm from NW WI . Any others out there with similar results or suggestions?????

 

[andymax]

Thanks Ponytug.......yes I agree with you about the water in the center of the inverted cone roof.... One other question... maybe it's the hour of the night or the huge dinner I had ....but I have a brain fart about the split logs and cinder block?????? over the central channel then the circular kids sled upside down???????.

 

[ponytug]

Sorry to be unclear.

1) bottom layer of cinder blocks, for ventilation. (If possible, leave a hole at the center of the holzhausen.)
2) center pipe.
3) build holzhausen up with wood, centering the pipe.
4) finish holzhausen.
5) put an inverted kids saucer over central portion of the holzhausen, with ~3 logs to space it up off the wood, and not capping the pipe. This will shed rain.
6) place a cinder block on top of saucer to keep it from blowing away.

I hope this helps.

Peter

Thanks Ponytug.......yes I agree with you about the water in the center of the inverted cone roof.... One other question... maybe it's the hour of the night or the huge dinner I had ....but I have a brain fart about the split logs and cinder block?????? over the central channel then the circular kids sled upside down???????.

 

[andymax]

Sorry to be unclear.

1) bottom layer of cinder blocks, for ventilation. (If possible, leave a hole at the center of the holzhausen.)
2) center pipe.
3) build holzhausen up with wood, centering the pipe.
4) finish holzhausen.
5) put an inverted kids saucer over central portion of the holzhausen, with ~3 logs to space it up off the wood, and not capping the pipe. This will shed rain.
6) place a cinder block on top of saucer to keep it from blowing away.

I hope this helps.

Peter

Ah..... I see said the blind man with a hammer and saw!!!! Thanks... makes good sense !!! Will give it a try.... going to build another Holtz Hausen this week, and will use your suggestions.... I will let you know how it goes

 

[MossRoad]

Well, I brought home my last trailer load of logs today that I cut this spring and split about 2/3 of them. The stack is a tad over 7' now. That's as high as I can reach. I resorted to tossing about 20 pieces at a time up onto the top then using a ladder to get up there and arrange them nicely. I have enough logs to split to get it up to about 9', then I am going to top it with thin pieces that have bark on them and some scrap plywood that I got from work.

A few notes bullet marked by emoticons....

I'm trying to keep it tapered slightly in to keep it from falling over.

While it only takes up a 10 foot circle, I'll have to admit that once you get over your vertical reach, it then becomes more work than stacking conventionally.

I'm fortunate that I can build the stack in a place where I can back my trailer in and move the logs from trailer to splitter to stack.

Wood is heavy! I have some cherry logs that I cut into 64" lengths so I can get four 16" pieces out of them. I used the forks to load two of them onto my car hauler trailer and squeezed the tires of the PT425 between them. They are over 18" in diameter as I have to cut them from both sides with my 18" saw. A few of them are tipping the PT425 on its nose if I turn, so I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 500 to 600 pounds. I'm getting about 20 to 24 pieces of firewood out of each 16" piece, or about 80 to 90 pieces from each log. Some of the 16" pieces before splitting are so heavy that I cannot pick them up. I have resorted to rolling them off the trailer after cutting and building a ramp of split pieces so I can roll them up onto the splitter.

Handling firewood for 5-6 hours every Saturday and Sunday is a good workout.

I cannot move anything but my fingers.

 

[Barryh]

My Holz Hausen!
First pic is the ring 10' in diameter.
Second pic is paint mark at 8'.
Third pic is first course of split wood at an angle inward.
Fourth pic is several courses of split wood angled inward and internal area of circle with wood both split and small unsplit pieces stacked vertically.
After it was about 3' high I put another course of shims around the outside ring to keep the wood angled in and continued. I am up to about 5' high now. I split a 10' diameter by 5' high in about 10 hours. That's about 3 cords, according to the Holz Hausen instructions.

Your getting pretty creative with that wood. I'm having three trees taken down this Sat. I may follow your lead and stack mine into a wood sculpture ...

I have 2 propane fireplaces one upstairs and one downstairs. The upstairs is a real wood fireplace with an insert. Wish I could talk the wife into letting me take the insert out and burn real wood.. She likes her creature comforts. I'll sure have enough of it...

 

[Barryh]

Yeah I know it's not a Power Trac (Humor Me) ...We felled a few trees yesterday, will make for some nice firewood for my friends and neighbors. Two trees out front and one more around the back I'm still working so far, I've been stung 3 different times When the trees came down it sturred up an under ground yellow jackets nest ouch!...

 

[carpenter383]

Hey moss, did you ever finish the HH? I started on one today, nothing too elaborate 10 diameter and not sure how high yet! lol. I'm currently at about 5 ft.
Do you believe it has decreased your drying time any?

 

[Gravy]

Yeah I know it's not a Power Trac (Humor Me) ...We felled a few trees yesterday, will make for some nice firewood for my friends and neighbors. Two trees out front and one more around the back I'm still working so far, I've been stung 3 different times When the trees came down it sturred up an under ground yellow jackets nest ouch!...

A little late, but -

Dang, Barry - is that you? Yer a big dude! That chain saw looks like a toy in your hand!

I'm glad that you realize that even a small tractor beats a big dude! I know too many big guys who are crippled because they tried to out-muscle a machine.

When are you going to step away from the Orange Side and get another PT?

Edit - BTW, please step a little farther out from under that bucket - yer makin' me nervous!

 

[MossRoad]

Hey moss, did you ever finish the HH? I started on one today, nothing too elaborate 10 diameter and not sure how high yet! lol. I'm currently at about 5 ft.
Do you believe it has decreased your drying time any?

Yes. I did. I just forgot to post the finished pictures. Here goes!

First picture is a wider shot.

Second is me in front of it facing south. I'm 6' so the outer edge is about 7.5' high. The center of the pile is right around 8'.

Third picture shows the slabs I used on top to shed rain.

Fourth shows that I don't trust the slabs so I put some plywood scraps on top with ropes around the center post. As I remove wood the ropes slide down the pole and the plywood scraps come down with it.

I've been burning since October 1st; all but 4 days. I had about a third of a cord already in the basement and used that the first 3 weeks of October. I broke into the Holz Hausen about the last week of October. I have about a month's worth of wood in the house and the HH is down to about 6' on the outside edge. So, I think I have enough to last through the end of February for sure.

As for drying faster.... no way it is drying faster than conventionally stacked wood. There is just no way it can because the ends are hidden from open air circulation as compared to wood stacked in single wide rows. However, it sure takes up a LOT less space in my yard. I plan on making two smaller ones for next year.

Getting the wood off the top of the pile is not a problem. I use a long handle garden claw with 4-5 fingers on it to pull them down. Now that the pile is 6' I can just take them off by hand.