Holz Hausen - please weigh in!

[Diahni]

I was surfing to get some ideas about drying wood as quickly as possible, and came up with several sites about building a holz hausen. Meanwhile, many people say it's a complete waste of time. Sure looks like it. Also, anybody know if stacking vertically, or at least having the logs slanted to let moisture out the ends has any merit? I find it hard to believe that you can dry wood in 3 months.
Something tells me that Mother Nature is in charge here. Wood dries about as fast as it wants to dry. If anyone thinks differently, please let me know.

 

[offroadaudio]

Try stacking this way:

lay two equal sized splits parallel to each other about 16" apart ( I I )
then lay two more splits parallel to each other, but perpendicular to the first and on top of the first ( = ) - keep alternating, stack about 6 feet high

This will not take as much time as a HH, but allows air to circulate all around the wood, and MAY create a chimney effect up the middle further enhancing drying.

 

[b1rdman]

I was surfing to get some ideas about drying wood as quickly as possible, and came up with several sites about building a holz hausen. Meanwhile, many people say it's a complete waste of time. Sure looks like it. Also, anybody know if stacking vertically, or at least having the logs slanted to let moisture out the ends has any merit? I find it hard to believe that you can dry wood in 3 months.
Something tells me that Mother Nature is in charge here. Wood dries about as fast as it wants to dry. If anyone thinks differently, please let me know.

I've never done one but one of my co-workers gets 4 cord of green wood in the spring and does 2 - 2 cord holz hausens every year. He burns the wood the same year and says that it's dry.

 

[andymax715]

I've never done one but one of my co-workers gets 4 cord of green wood in the spring and does 2 - 2 cord holz hausens every year. He burns the wood the same year and says that it's dry.

I've made two H. H. already here in Rusk Co Wisconsin, with some interesting results. First HH made nov 2008, and broke down in the spring. The "ring" wood was quite dry, and the vertically stacked center wood definitely needed more drying. This HH was not covered except for a cone shaped top, bark side up. The second HH made in Apr. 09 and broke down in July, same results. I've just made a third HH but instead of the center wood, I piled broken pallets in the center to hopefully increase air flow. All three HH stood on 8" cinder blocks for air circulation. The amount of wood you can dry in a small diameter (9') and reasonable height (6') is great if you don't have much room for normal stacking. The success of a HH is to make sure you keep the ring wood angled inward, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. If it angle flattens out..... BAM.... a blow out ! I hope the 3rd HH design will increase airflow. Any other ideas/comments ? I still have enought split wood for at least two more HH.

 

[Diahni]

I've made two H. H. already here in Rusk Co Wisconsin, with some interesting results. First HH made nov 2008, and broke down in the spring. The "ring" wood was quite dry, and the vertically stacked center wood definitely needed more drying. This HH was not covered except for a cone shaped top, bark side up. The second HH made in Apr. 09 and broke down in July, same results. I've just made a third HH but instead of the center wood, I piled broken pallets in the center to hopefully increase air flow. All three HH stood on 8" cinder blocks for air circulation. The amount of wood you can dry in a small diameter (9') and reasonable height (6') is great if you don't have much room for normal stacking. The success of a HH is to make sure you keep the ring wood angled inward, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. If it angle flattens out..... BAM.... a blow out ! I hope the 3rd HH design will increase airflow. Any other ideas/comments ? I still have enought split wood for at least two more HH.

don't know what you mean by the angle flattening out - you mean relative to the ground? Not sure. thanks.

 

[andymax715]

don't know what you mean by the angle flattening out - you mean relative to the ground? Not sure. thanks.

If the angle of your "ring" wood approaches zero, i.e. the wood is now parallel to the ground as you add more rings, you have a good chance of the sides of the HH to be pushed outward..... not good!!!!! Maintain your ring wood so that the wood constantly is angled inward so of like this "/ " not like this ---. Hope that it is clear...... When you get close to the height you desire, then then build up the center higher than you want and finish the HH with a peaked roof (like an upside down ice cream cone, with the bark side up to shed the water. If you don't like the cone shape, get an old satellite dish, turn it upside down and make a hat for your HH !!!!!!, or get a really big umbrella !!!!! Hope this helps !

 

[dancan]

Never heard of it before so I did a quick search and found this link http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/holtzhausen.htm

Thanks .

 

[andymax715]

Never heard of it before so I did a quick search and found this link http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/holtzhausen.htm

Thanks .

Yes, the site mentioned is a good site, but for my money I would build a ring of 8" cinder blocks as my first "ring" so you get air circulation underneath it as well as keeping the wood off the ground. the cinder blocks are horizontal and some scrap 2X8's or whatever on top of them, then start with your logs ! The cinder blocks keep the firewood

 

[flotek]

on different forums i visit many others have done experimenting with this and basicly all say that they fall over and dont dry any quicker ...most all have found over the years the best way is in single row from along a fence and in sunlight where wind can blow through and you can season most wood in 6 months this way if the conditions are right

 

[andymax715]

on different forums i visit many others have done experimenting with this and basicly all say that they fall over and dont dry any quicker ...most all have found over the years the best way is in single row from along a fence and in sunlight where wind can blow through and you can season most wood in 6 months this way if the conditions are right

The basic reason that they fall over is because the HH was not built on level ground, or they did not compensate for the uneven ground. I agree that a single row orientated perpendicular to the normal direction of the wind, with plenty of sunlight and raised above the ground with the row covered is an ideal way of drying, but when you don't have a large area of land that meets those conditions, the HH properly built will give you good results. I think that the Holtz Hausen is a good way of drying wood when you have limited cleared land. Don't build then larger than maybe a 12' diameter, 6' high (you may not realize how much wood you will use !!!!!!). A cylinder with those dimensions will contain about 680 cubic feet (5.3 FULL cords) of wood !!!
Volume = 3.14 x radius squared x height....that's of course if it was completely filled... which it is not....after all of this post, I think I will Good luck with your drying !!!!!!!

 

[Darl Bundren]

I've built three that are more oblong shaped instead of round. I placed two pallets side by side, drove fence posts into the ground roughly in the center of each pallet, and stacked the wood. The sides are pretty much straight, but I've curved the ends around. As the other fellow noted, if you angle the splits inward and down, it lends structural integrity. I'm not sure if the wood dries more quickly, but you can get a lot of wood into a fairly small space that way. And, the center is a good place to put big old knotty weird pieces and short cuts that don't really stack.

 

[andymax715]

I've built three that are more oblong shaped instead of round. I placed two pallets side by side, drove fence posts into the ground roughly in the center of each pallet, and stacked the wood. The sides are pretty much straight, but I've curved the ends around. As the other fellow noted, if you angle the splits inward and down, it lends structural integrity. I'm not sure if the wood dries more quickly, but you can get a lot of wood into a fairly small space that way. And, the center is a good place to put big old knotty weird pieces and short cuts that don't really stack.

Good idea about the pallets in the center, my wood in the center did not dry well at all. I'm going to build another Hausen soon and will try your idea. Thanks

 

[logbutcher]

OK, here's the scoop on that special pile technique:
Holz Hausen in German really means --" let's fool the silly Americans who think that anything Euro is special."

Yes, it is oh so cute and pretty in your front yard. Then try it. One year we did, making a 2 cord HH ( a.k.a. H² ). First you need to know your geometry and what "pi" means. Don't know ? Then don't make circles. Then you need to draw a so careful perfect round on your lawn with a giant phallus sticking up about 3 m ( that's ~ 9 feet for non-Euros ). Now carefully begin to place the non-curved sticks in the perfect circle. Begin to rise the stack. Get it ? Now, once the base is established, start vertically ( yes, vertically ) stacking the split log sticks against said phallus which is supposed to speed drying.

So now you have that lovely round stacked pyramid ( notice my geometry ).
Now what will happen when the stove actually needs filling ? Yesereebob ( that's Deutch for stupid ), the wood don't come out so easy. :jawdrop:

Oh, BTW: you do not see H² in northern Europe. They aren't that dumb. :monkey:

Then again, if you've got the free time, go for it. JMNSHO

 

[Austin1]

I will try to rephrase this in my best German accent. ACTH a liba that looks like allot of work!

 

[Coldfront]

Build a wood shed and try to stay 1 year ahead. Then you can cut and split at will, not necessity.

 

[GPETER]

I did it in the summer of 08. Seasoned from April through to December. The diameter was 8 ft.

I will personally not try it again because the wood did not dry nearly as fast as the row stacks right next to it in the same conditions.

This spring I broke the remaining 3/4's down and piled it into a row. The middle was getting mould and fungus (not good with my alergies).

Mistakes I made:
1. Too tight- My wife and I built the thing too solid- try to leave as many spaces as possible without it being dangerous.
2. Wrong location - The HH was built on the east side of a cedar tree that is larger than the HH. Prevailing winds and sun were not in favor. The best place for a HH would be in the middle of an open field in a windy location.
3. Too Big. 8ft diameter and 8ft high - try 6ft instead.
4. And the last would be just a bad season to try it because we got ALOT of Rain that summer.

But you'll never know until you try it. I had fun building the large pinecone with my lady and it was very aesthetic. Also everybody that came over asked what it was.

 

[Diahni]

I did it in the summer of 08. Seasoned from April through to December. The diameter was 8 ft.

I will personally not try it again because the wood did not dry nearly as fast as the row stacks right next to it in the same conditions.

This spring I broke the remaining 3/4's down and piled it into a row. The middle was getting mould and fungus (not good with my alergies).

Mistakes I made:
1. Too tight- My wife and I built the thing too solid- try to leave as many spaces as possible without it being dangerous.
2. Wrong location - The HH was built on the east side of a cedar tree that is larger than the HH. Prevailing winds and sun were not in favor. The best place for a HH would be in the middle of an open field in a windy location.
3. Too Big. 8ft diameter and 8ft high - try 6ft instead.
4. And the last would be just a bad season to try it because we got ALOT of Rain that summer.

But you'll never know until you try it. I had fun building the large pinecone with my lady and it was very aesthetic. Also everybody that came over asked what it was.

Well, I've been reading all kinds of things about mythic holz hausen. Yes, it IS quite the structure, and definitely fun to do together. But definitely a time waster, too. - you're spot on about the aesthetic part, but alas, I have a bunch of other "sculptures" to attend to in my house right now, starting with the chrome sculpture that pours water from our shower wall. As you pointed out, the cleverness of the structure is no match for Mother Nature.

 

[Diahni]

holz hausen redux

I did it in the summer of 08. Seasoned from April through to December. The diameter was 8 ft.

I will personally not try it again because the wood did not dry nearly as fast as the row stacks right next to it in the same conditions.

This spring I broke the remaining 3/4's down and piled it into a row. The middle was getting mould and fungus (not good with my alergies).

Mistakes I made:
1. Too tight- My wife and I built the thing too solid- try to leave as many spaces as possible without it being dangerous.
2. Wrong location - The HH was built on the east side of a cedar tree that is larger than the HH. Prevailing winds and sun were not in favor. The best place for a HH would be in the middle of an open field in a windy location.
3. Too Big. 8ft diameter and 8ft high - try 6ft instead.
4. And the last would be just a bad season to try it because we got ALOT of Rain that summer.

But you'll never know until you try it. I had fun building the large pinecone with my lady and it was very aesthetic. Also everybody that came over asked what it was.

Well, I've been reading all kinds of things about mythic holz hausen. Yes, it IS quite the structure, and definitely fun to do together. But definitely a time waster, too. - you're spot on about the aesthetic part, but alas, I have a bunch of other "sculptures" to attend to in my house right now, starting with the chrome sculpture that pours water from our shower wall. As you pointed out, the cleverness of the structure is no match for Mother Nature.

 

[flotek]

It boggles the mind that grown adults think you can somehow make this inner chimney heating effect in the center of a round pile of wood that will supernaturally dry out wood despite the fact that it gets hardly any through air .i understand the europeans might have a limited amount space but im a firm believer that ol' grandpa got it right when he said stack it long along a fence row so wind and sun can dry it over the summer and fall

 

[willis09r]

Wow just looked at pics. of those silly looking things you all are talking
about, and I think by the time I had one of them built, I'd be so drunk
I probably would have built it around me and be stuck in the middle of it.

I agree to do it like Grandpa said!