Wood Out In Rain

[c5rulz]

I had a piece of forked limb wood that closely resembled female anatomy, especially after modded with the chainsaw. It sat for years above the wood stove on the wall. Eventually it was burned and water still boiled out the end.

The wood I have, red & white oak is at 20% moisture by fall and it is split from Nov. to February. It burns well. Sure 2 year old would be better but this is pretty good.

Here is a pic in late Summer.

First is hickory.

Here is a pic of the interior stack, still seasoned pretty well and this was the end of Aug.

Another thing that irks me is shorting people on firewood. This is what one face cord loosely thrown in a 6 x 10' trailer looks like.

 

[reddogrunner]

Everyone likes a juicy peach. Mileage will vary of course, but my limb wood dries just fine thanks. It's the easiest firewood to make. Burns the best. I'll stick with it. See what I did there. LOL Your split pile is something to ogle for sure..... You should put lipstick on it

 

[alderman]

I live in NW Oregon.
I stack wood outside all of the time.
Cover the top with plastic, (not the sides) and you will be good for a year or two. I just go directly on the ground and if the bottom wood gets rotten I just leave it in place for the next round of wood cutting.
The wood in the second pic has been stacked for a couple of years. While not recommended, most of it will burn fine.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[CleanOp]

Thanks all for the advice. I did unfortunately just put all the rounds on the ground which is of course very muddy n ow. Got my work cut out for me getting it up onto something. The 1st pick is all the rounds. 36 pieces excluding my splitting stump in the middle. The pile in the second is my weekend chore for the next couple months.

 

[RyeThomas]

I have left it uncovered until I get close to using a stack then I put a piece of corrugated metal roofing over the 2 piles next in line to burn. It's easier to handle and last longer than tarps or plastic. Just an option for ya, it works for me.

On edit it only works if your pile is inline and you keep it at a pretty consistent height. I'm slightly OCD so that helps.

 

[Marine5068]

Gosh, where to start...

First, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SCREAM TO MAKE YOUR POINT.

Now that we've got that out of the way, while your point about surface area is correct, the OP wasn't asking about the virtues of split vs. unsplit wood for drying, he was asking about getting it off the ground vs. leaving it lie in moisture. I think we can all agree that split wood is preferable for drying.

In terms of getting it off the ground, anything is better than nothing, and if pallets is all that's available they beat the bottom of the stack lying in mud. Given a choice, I'll take the setup in the photo I included (not mine; stock from internet) vs. a bunch of 3" at best wooden pallets that may rot and collapse before the wood directly above them gets used. And to the point of airflow to the wood, I'd much prefer a row of the setups I showed with space in between each for air and sun, than that above, as there's a lot of wood there getting next to zero sun and likely not a whole lot more airflow.

Actually if you re-read his initial post it asks about leaving it in rain vs putting in a shed.
So what I would tell him is to split as soon as possible and keep it lifted up off the ground and in open sun and wind to season the Oak in two years.
I think that splitting it sooner is best as it starts drying faster with more surface area and opening up the round to let the moisture out .
Those are the key points to well prepared and well seasoned firewood.

 

[muddstopper]

Looking at the pic of the wood in question. I aint the type person that is going to manhandle those big rounds putting them in a nice neat stack. They would lay where they are until I found time to split. Once split I would then try and stack off the ground, but knowing this wood wouldnt be burnt until next winter, I wouldnt even worry about covering until maybe a month or two before I knew I would need it. As big as those rounds are, they are not going to dry out in just one summer or three, unless they are split. With that said. leave them where they lay, split as soon as possible and once split, stack off the ground. Thats how I would do it.

 

[NGaMountains]

Actually if you re-read his initial post it asks about leaving it in rain vs putting in a shed.
So what I would tell him is to split as soon as possible and keep it lifted up off the ground and in open sun and wind to season the Oak in two years.
I think that splitting it sooner is best as it starts drying faster with more surface area and opening up the round to let the moisture out .
Those are the key points to well prepared and well seasoned firewood.
View attachment 534018 View attachment 534019 View attachment 534020 View attachment 534021

The point of the post and photo was to show an easy, cheap, flexible and effective way to get them off the ground. This ain't brain surgery folks, I don't think to micro analyze this much further.

 

[old guy]

I never leave cut blocks on end on the ground, they will pull moisture up through the sap capillaries, tip em over.

 

[Marine5068]

The point of the post and photo was to show an easy, cheap, flexible and effective way to get them off the ground. This ain't brain surgery folks, I don't think to micro analyze this much further.

Actually you are missing the question of his to others from his initial post as it asks about leaving it in rain vs putting in a shed....not sure where you are getting on or off the ground from.
Maybe you made that up in your own head from pics of his muddy backyard, but that's not what he's asking us.
I would store all firewood off the ground and it won't matter if it's in or out of rain unless you have a unusual amount over time. Then cover tops of stacks with metal roofing or PAL roofing.
Oak can take up to two years or more to season and dry out after it's split and stacked before it's good for burning.
Good luck and happy burning.

 

[reddogrunner]

Marine 5069 is right. Get the stuff off the ground. Pallets are cheap and easy and work about the best for getting it off the ground and getting some airflow UNDER the wood.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

How I store my firewood at home. I have enough racks for about 6 years worth of wood.
Gave up on covering, we get 100mph winds, so tarps, tin, plywood, etc just gets ripped off or flips the whole stack over. I have to put weighs on the empty racks or they get blown into the woods too.

RR ties holding 3/4" rock bed. I built them before I had a skid steer, would have leveled the land otherwise, but it still works fine.

 

[066blaster]

The stuff I store in a 3 sided shed is much drier than the stuff outside. It's been raining every other day here. I have moved all the wood I will burn this year into my garage or shed. I guess if it was covered with something it could sit outside. I also season it 2 years.

 

[wood4heat]

I am in SW Washington and this is the best way I've found to store wood over the winter. Sure it would dry better if split but I figure keeping the bark also protects it from our rain to some degree. When I tried to cover it I had issues with mildew. I have had Doug Fir stacked in this arrangement for two winters and it had dried out nicely. If I split this in the spring it will be ready to burn by Fall easy.



4068 by wood4heat on Arboristsite.com