Firewood Questions

[beenthere]

#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?

What species of wood are you asking about?

The wood will dry faster and stay dryer if there is a cover over the top (not the sides).

Stacking wood against the house is asking for bugs to get in the house and will create a place for high moisture leading to mold.

How long it sits? Depends on the species, how small it is split, how long the length is, what the drying conditions are, and how dry you want the wood to use in your fireplace.
Some people are satisfied to burn wood that isn't dry. So it all depends.

 

[40_acre_mule]

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I knew y'all would come through.

I follow the Round Tuit schedule of cutting.

I am mostly cutting red oak and live oak. I have many dozens of trees that were badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina. I uproot them first to avoid leaving a stump, then take the chainsaw to them.

I cut in 18 inch lengths.

I live in south Mississippi about 8 miles from the beach. We don't need no stinking wood fired heat. All our burning will just be for looking at.

Surprise, surprise! Y'all have made me think of more questions.

How long do you wait after cutting to length before you split?

How big is a cord?

 

[ultrarunner]

At the cabin where wood is the primary heat source, the seasoned split wood is stacked under the balcony ready for use... the walls and balcony are made of concrete and concrete block with stucco... nothing for the bugs to get into.

Two years season time with the stacks out in the forest with roofing over the stack...

At home, in California... wood seems to season much faster... cut and split in January and ready for use in November... here it is common for go many months in the summer without a drop of rain.

Some people have no concept of the value of seasoning... I had some fresh split and stacked wood at a rental home... the tenant's wife asked if they could use it and I gave the OK for next winter... this was in February.

I went back a few weeks later and all the wood was gone and then I found out they had burned it all in my Catalytic Buck Stove... The wife said her husband had a real hard time getting the fire going, but once he got it going, he never let the fire go out... sizzle, steam and all.

 

[YesDeere]

I stack mine on pallets and wrap them in plastic wrap. It's kind of like a giant roll of Reynolds wrap. I usually cover everything and then poke a "breather" hole in the top. This way the air can get under it and the hole let's moisture escape.

The clear plastic let's the sun beat on it good. It really draws the moisture out quickly. When it's hot the plastic is always covered in condensation. If I do it this way a year is plenty of time for seasoning

 

[Kyle241]

In general wood should be split and stacked for 10-12 mths to get to around the 20% moisture level. This will depend on several factors, the type of wood, the method of stacking, the amount of wind & sun the wood receives and the size/length of the split wood. If you can have it split and stacked for another 6-12 mths that should get you down to the 15% moisture range. I usually only make the 10-12 mth range and my masonry heater heats our entire house all winter up here in Ontario, never have to turn on the furnace. Like others, I stack mine on pallets and I place a cover over top - this is a debatable practice. Some people do, some don't. I have been in both camps and this year decided to cover the top. It will all be moved to a shed in September to keep the snow off it and to further dry it out.

 

[EE_Bota]

Hi,
A cord is 8' x 4' x 4'. 4' is 48", so three 16" logs deep.

I have only taken this seriously since Christmas, when I installed my new wood stove and got rid of the old insert.

I split as soon as possible after I cut because the splitting will make it dry faster. If you are hand splitting, you may need to do it when the splitting is easiest...a different issue.

I stack mine on pallets is a criss-cross pattern. Since I see moisture press out the top during the splitting, I don't cover for around 6 mos.

When I cover, a good reasonable thing to cover with (for me) is tar paper. Tar paper is inexpensive, black, so it should be hot in the summer, and it will likely last until burning time, at which point I will dispose of the paper by burning it too.

Often, if available, a good thing to weight the paper with is old shingles. But, pieces of wood will do too.

If the wood is stacked in a long stack, the tar paper will stick out a good bit, and I have found it keeps my entire stack dry top to bottom.

My pallets keep all the wood off the ground, but I also use a more typical stack too..and I do this with storage racks so the wood is off the ground.

You want your wood to have less than 20% moisture at burning because of creosote prevention, and to get max heat. Since you don't need the heat, you want to avoid the creosote.

 

[beenthere]

I stack mine on pallets and wrap them in plastic wrap. It's kind of like a giant roll of Reynolds wrap. I usually cover everything and then poke a "breather" hole in the top. This way the air can get under it and the hole let's moisture escape.

The clear plastic let's the sun beat on it good. It really draws the moisture out quickly. When it's hot the plastic is always covered in condensation. If I do it this way a year is plenty of time for seasoning

This method would be the worst one for drying wood. It would be the best method for keeping moisture in the wood and for creating the perfect conditions for mold and mildew to rot the wood. If it works for YesDeere, then that is fine. But can't be a good method for anyone to follow if drying or seasoning firewood is the intent.

A cord is 128 cu. ft. of volume. (i.e. 4'x4'x8')

 

[EE_Bota]

We also bought some of that orange plastic temporary fencing material they use at construction sites along the road. My criss-cross pallets are unstable to move, so I go around the pallet with that material, and apply bungies, move the pallet where I want, and remove and reuse the orange material for the next move.

It is not a good idea to cover the sides of a stack...just the top. Air should free flow through the stack from all sides, and the bottom of the stack should not touch the ground if you can avoid it. Sometimes, I use cedar logs along the bottom to keep the other wood out of the muck, dirt, and moisture. The cedar will last a long time. But any small tree can do it same thing, but just won't last as long.


small trees or cedar look like this

==================
gap
==================
then I stack the wood on like this
|||||||||||||||||||||||| but the wood is long enough to cross the gap, and lay on the rails, obviously.

My pallet pattern looks like this

----- ----- -----
----- ----- -----
----- ----- -----

then second layer
|||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||

I try to leave about 1/2 inch between all side by side wood, so in the end, wood doesn't touch wood beside it, but does touch would above and below, but only at a point (or patch).

All odd shaped pieces are put on last to form a small dome, and the tarpaper patch will be applied over the dome. In another two weeks or so (since it is starting to heat up here, it will be time to apply my tar paper.

Here is a picture of a conventional stack..it is too close to the house for dirt, but on concrete, the termites will have difficulty finding water. It is 3-4 inches off the retaining wall. The barrel in the background is for burning some punky wood my brother wanted to get rid of. Some of that wood had termites too, and I need to get it burned pretty quick, thus the barrel. I put strips under the treated boards, and angled the strips. This pile will be the first burned this winter, since it is quite old. It also came from my brother, but was on a pallet wrapped with woven wire fence. It sat outdoors uncovered for several years, and was packed quite tightly on the pallet. Now, I do my own wood, so the wood for winter after next will be fresh dry red oak, that me and my buddy cut to 15" lengths and split with our new splitter we share.

 

[Johnp33]

I have a wood shed specifically made for the wood I need for One year usually about 5 cords this year I burnt close to seven. I have another shed that I fill with next years wood. I burn mostly larch, or fir. As soon as the roads open up I will be getting the wood for 2 years from now. I have a 14 ft dump trailer with sides on it and get about 2 cords stacked on it. I open the back doors take out the last 4 ft, then close the doors and lift the box, the top of the doors come about mid thigh and self fill easy as heck to stack.
I burn 2 ft wood in a wood thermostatically controlled furnace.
I have a rack with 4 shelves in the basement about 6 ft long. Two days supply on the coldest day.
I have a two wheel cart with an extension base on it, and have a large plastic garbage can, tied on it, to bring in the wood.
Works for me!

 

[40_acre_mule]

Holy Cow!

I had no idea there was so much science to firewood.

We have a little firepit off the back porch where we intend to burn a few logs now and then.
Plus, we have an indoor fireplace, but we haven't decided if we'll burn wood, or use gas with some fake logs.

But, most of the wood will go to my daughter. She has a house with a fireplace that she uses to supplement her furnace.

Thanks y'all.
Mule