bassman1641
ArboristSite Lurker
I have 5 cords split and stacked in sunny breezy spot should i cover top during seasoning or let sun beat down on it ?
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cover wood or not
- Thread starter bassman1641
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smokinj
Addicted to ArboristSite
Let the sun beat it! If you want to cover it wait til fall.
Blowncrewcab
ArboristSite Guru
I just built a 31' x 24' building, No sides with a clear plastic roof so the sun can beat on it And it will stay Dry
......I'm :censored: tired of tarps. I unload and split in one side and stack in the other side. I can even be out there cutting and stacking in the rain 
......I'm :censored: tired of tarps. I unload and split in one side and stack in the other side. I can even be out there cutting and stacking in the rain 
I don't cover mine, even in winter. The sun, wind, and the drying of rained-on wood helps dry it all. The green wood on the inside hardly knows that the rain is there, especially if stacked horizontally rather that in a random pile. Wind might even dry the wood faster than the sun does, but I've never seen any studies published on the issue.
redprospector
Addicted to ArboristSite
Pain Cow
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've got one pile (about 3 cords) that sits in about a 6' high pile at the base of a big silver maple tree. It's in the shade most of the day except for a couple hours in the evening. When it rains, it doesn't get rained on nearly as much as my stacked full sunlight cords. Yet....less sun&probably less air. wonder how that equasion works out for drying? I realize the stacked full sunlight cords will be dryer than the pile @ the base of the maple but the world may never know exactly to what extent. 
I'd love to but I can't seem to get any Federal funding for the project. Most of the government's dough seems to be heading towards the Gulf of Mexico.Well, I'd say it's high time you did that study then.
Andy
Seriously though, my gut feeling says wind and fresh air dries more wood piles faster than the sun ever did. If you tarp cover the wood, you lose both and the air underneath the tarp turns into a sauna bath.
mga
wandering
that's how i roll
howellhandmade
Addicted to ArboristSite
I think it all depends. How much does it rain? How humid is it? How much sun does your stack get? How soon do you intend to use the wood? It's just wet enough here in the summer that I think covering just the top of the stack is beneficial. I've left stacks uncovered, too.
Jack
Sheds are Excellent, But...
The wood shed is a vastly superior alternative to a tarp. Unfortunately, many neighborhood covenant restrictions (such as mine) do not allow them to be built.
So, I use a 3-stage approach. (1) Underneath my outdooor deck, which is 9' above ground, I store a separate stack of wood that is next in line for the stove. The deck floor above helps protect it. (2) Then, I have a 2' x 2' x 3' box on casters that I roll into the house. It holds two to three days of continuous burning and damp wood dries inside it. (3) Next to the stove is another batch of wood ready for burning that the stove dries completely.
The wood shed is a vastly superior alternative to a tarp. Unfortunately, many neighborhood covenant restrictions (such as mine) do not allow them to be built.
So, I use a 3-stage approach. (1) Underneath my outdooor deck, which is 9' above ground, I store a separate stack of wood that is next in line for the stove. The deck floor above helps protect it. (2) Then, I have a 2' x 2' x 3' box on casters that I roll into the house. It holds two to three days of continuous burning and damp wood dries inside it. (3) Next to the stove is another batch of wood ready for burning that the stove dries completely.
logbutcher
Addicted to ArboristSite
Zogby Institute @ MIT, research 1979, 1991 in an in depth EPA analysis of 2013 woodpiles and said owners in Michigan, Alaska, Maine, Vermont, and New York. Published under Drs. Kevorkian, Gore, Carter in the Journal of Cambiums found that 8 out of 10 woodpiles were better off nude. A fact.
The Journal of American Psychiatry discovered an alarming rate of an O.C.D. now The Woodpiles of owners obsessing about the level of moisture in their firewood. A fact.
DO NOT cover. Build.
mga
wandering
lol...good post.
Fabulous post. My suspicions are confirmed. Another point: wasps love to build nests under tarps.
spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
I agree 100%. I think a tarp on green wood actually prevents the wood from drying. It'll keep the moisture in, more than it keeps the rain out.
Elim
ArboristSite Guru
:agree2:
I am a woodpile nudist as well. I keep it all open out in the sun, and wind till fall. Then move a bit more than what I think I can burn that year under cover into a woodshed. This also helps me keep a method of rotating the oldest wood to the stove first.
I have 4 piles of wood setting outdoors. Two have been covered for over a year---the wood is dry-dry-dry. Two are uncovered and the wood is wet to damp. I try to keep the piles off the ground with landscape timbers or skids etc.
Try to keep the naked wood in the bedroom.
Try to keep the naked wood in the bedroom.
Blackjack1234
ArboristSite Member
An uncovered pile seems to get the most votes.
Does it make a difference whether the uncovered wood is stacked or just tossed in a pile?
Does it make a difference whether the uncovered wood is stacked or just tossed in a pile?
mga
wandering
stacked...for air flow
