Seasoning Firewood

[cqaigy2]

When we bought our farm, it came with a 12X24 corrugated wood shed. The south facing wall was rusted out. After welding up the old steel frame we used the poly clear roof panels as the wall. So I kind of made a wood greenhouse. It is full of cherry that was cut and split last spring and has baked in there all summer. It is nice and dry so it really puts out the BTU's. We don't burn any pine or soft wood.

I see you have cherry. Does the bark on it act like a rubber coating? Mine does and i have to score the bark on both side of where i'm going to split it. At least when im hand splitting it.

 

[Eagle223usa]

I see you have cherry. Does the bark on it act like a rubber coating? Mine does and i have to score the bark on both side of where i'm going to split it. At least when im hand splitting it.

I use a 25 ton hydraulic splitter, I've never tried splitting cherry by hand so I couldn't tell you.

 

[Eagle223usa]

And I forgot to mention, for the last 2 years we burned almost nothing but ash for 2 years thanks to the boring beetle. I only took down the cherry to make room for my orchard. The cherry definitely burns hotter. The woodshed greenhouse really seems to get it dry.

 

[WinterDeere]

I've split some cherry, many years ago by hand, and more recently with hydraulics. Usually the bark has a split or check in it somewhere, and it unrolls at that location. Yeah, the bark is too gummy to split on its own, but peels off rather easily, unless the log is real fresh.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

When we bought our farm, it came with a 12X24 corrugated wood shed. The south facing wall was rusted out. After welding up the old steel frame we used the poly clear roof panels as the wall. So I kind of made a wood greenhouse. It is full of cherry that was cut and split last spring and has baked in there all summer. It is nice and dry so it really puts out the BTU's. We don't burn any pine or soft wood.

I have clear poly panels two sides of a building, best idea that relatives had for wood storage. I inherited the building, it really helps in the drying process.

 

[deezler]

Good thread. Some very nice woodsheds in here, but I can't help but think of the repetitive handling whenever I see one. That's the way my dad operated when I was a kid also, we'd take the lawn tractor and 10cu cart over to the woodshed, load it up and back over to the house to unload and stack. I thought it was all fun. Now I am 39, back is starting to ache, and never have any time. So I bought IBC totes. Straight off the splitter into the tote, doesn't get unloaded until it's burning time. Currently I unload the totes by hand into a rack in my screen porch (french doors to it just 6' from the woodstove), but I think I might modify my screen porch to have a giant swinging door opening, and then I can just set the IBC tote directly into the porch and unload/burn directly.

As for seasoning, that was a large part of my motivation to get a metal carport. I used to keep these totes outside, under tarps (I didn't have the plastic liners like Don) - but I would often get mold on my split wood, not fun. This setup is high and dry, and I am finally getting more than one winter ahead on ym production after living here for 7 years with woodstove heating.

In our first years here, I would go after the standing dead ash trees, because while often wet when cut down, they would dry very quickly. I felt ok about burning them in the woodstove after just 3-4 months drying (cut and split). Our green black walnut and black cherry also dry pretty quickly once split, but I'm aiming for 15+ months of curing nowadays on everything I burn. I bought a moisture meter and promptly lost it, doh.

 

[deezler]

In the future I do hope to build a solar kiln. Ideally for the cut lumber from the sawmill I don't even have yet, but also for spring-time early veggie starting, and accelerated firewood seasoning.

Something basic like this:

https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/98866/420-030_pdf.pdf?sequence=1

 

[two_bit_score]

Solar Kiln - interesting!

 

[hkbirdman]

Good thread. Some very nice woodsheds in here, but I can't help but think of the repetitive handling whenever I see one. That's the way my dad operated when I was a kid also, we'd take the lawn tractor and 10cu cart over to the woodshed, load it up and back over to the house to unload and stack. I thought it was all fun. Now I am 39, back is starting to ache, and never have any time. So I bought IBC totes. Straight off the splitter into the tote, doesn't get unloaded until it's burning time. Currently I unload the totes by hand into a rack in my screen porch (french doors to it just 6' from the woodstove), but I think I might modify my screen porch to have a giant swinging door opening, and then I can just set the IBC tote directly into the porch and unload/burn directly.

As for seasoning, that was a large part of my motivation to get a metal carport. I used to keep these totes outside, under tarps (I didn't have the plastic liners like Don) - but I would often get mold on my split wood, not fun. This setup is high and dry, and I am finally getting more than one winter ahead on ym production after living here for 7 years with woodstove heating.

In our first years here, I would go after the standing dead ash trees, because while often wet when cut down, they would dry very quickly. I felt ok about burning them in the woodstove after just 3-4 months drying (cut and split). Our green black walnut and black cherry also dry pretty quickly once split, but I'm aiming for 15+ months of curing nowadays on everything I burn. I bought a moisture meter and promptly lost it, doh.

I agree on the IBC totes. I now have 30 totes and plastic lids which equates to almost 3 years of wood supply for my use. I also stack the split wood directly into the totes from the splitter and also built a deck off my back door that will hold 4 totes at a time. I have since bought 2 rubber tired - heavy duty 4 wheel wagons from Northern Tool which will each hold appx. 1/4 cord with the extended plywood sides I have attached to them. I then fill the wagons from the totes on the back deck and wheel them onto my back porch. The wood stove is appx. 20 ft. from the wagons on my back porch. My back is already feeling 20 years younger - just telling this story. The biggest impediment to this whole story is just having a tractor with a loader strong enough to lift IBC totes filled with hardwood to a height of 4 ft. to get them ont the deck.

 

[hkbirdman]

I agree on the IBC totes. I now have 30 totes and plastic lids which equates to almost 3 years of wood supply for my use. I also stack the split wood directly into the totes from the splitter and also built a deck off my back door that will hold 4 totes at a time. I have since bought 2 rubber tired - heavy duty 4 wheel wagons from Northern Tool which will each hold appx. 1/4 cord with the extended plywood sides I have attached to them. I then fill the wagons from the totes on the back deck and wheel them onto my back porch. The wood stove is appx. 20 ft. from the wagons on my back porch. My back is already feeling 20 years younger - just telling this story. The biggest impediment to this whole story is just having a tractor with a loader strong enough to lift IBC totes filled with hardwood to a height of 4 ft. to get them onto the deck.