Dumb question on firewood

[haveawoody]

Well rain isn't a pain but snow will kind of blow
Just cover the top before the snow season, no fun at all trying to tear apart frozen wood or have to plan for a day for wood to dry indoors before you burn in winter.

just my 2 pennies

 

[luckydozenfarm]

I think a good rule of thumb is to keep at least a weeks worth of wood in a covered area like a garage and move more in from the outside pile as you use it. We don't have a gas jet start and even with the starter logs from the grocery store, wet wood is a pain in the you know what. I actually keep a 1/2 cord on my back porch and its perfectly dry and not too far a walk in the middle of the night while I'm trying to watch football. I once delivered wood to a guy that had a dedicated, sealed Tuff-Shed that he had rigged up with de-humidifiers. He said that he can light most of his wood with a single match without kindling...nice

 

[Vermonster]

Welcome aboard. I season outside uncovered, then bring it all undercover to my sheds in September.

PS. Install a fireplace insert.

 

[Bushmans]

I use 3x2 sheets of chi board to cover some of the wood I will be burning later this winter. Just to keep the snow and ice off it. The rest is uncovered. I also bring a cord under the deck on the patio that I throw a vinyl tarp on which covers the top and down the side just a tad.

 

[1project2many]

Welcome to AS!

To cover or not depends on local weather and type / quality of wood imo. Dried wood covered with snow isn't such a big deal. Wet wood frozen and covered with snow isn't fun. Softer woods like some Birch or Silver Maple quickly get punky if left wet. Slightly punky wood turns into garbage if not dried well.

We have much moisture in this area (more average rainfall than Seattle) and plenty of humidity and ground moisture as well. To season wood I cover tops of piles with plywood and leave ends exposed. I stack on pallets set on blocks above ground so ground moisture doesn't rot pallets or bottom of pile. Wood "sealed" under tarp will rot in a year or two at most here. Got three useful cords out of ten from a guy that made that mistake. Wood gets moved from pallets to refill woodshed in summertime and once shed is filled, that wood doesn't get burned until the following burning season over a year out. Wood is carried into house on a daily basis and stored in a small woodbox that can store roughly 30 hrs worth of wood. I start my fires without paper, usually with a single match although I bring in large sheets of Birch bark for my wife to use since she doesn't like to use small splits. House is single story ranch and wood storage is in entryway so melting snow and water would be a problem. I use free wood, scrounged wood, and standing dead wood consisting of mixed varieties of hardwood with plenty of low density species that don't last long if wet. I burn pieces as small as 1" diameter. "Dry" means more to that wood than splits of Oak, Locust, Sugar Maple, or Hickory taken from 18" and larger trees.

Asking people here what works brings a huge variety of answers. Try different methods. After a couple of seasons you'll work out a system that's effective for you.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

I've never stacked outside with tarps either. Once it's cut it goes in a building to STAY as dry as possible. Even stuff that has been in a closed building for 8 plus years will sizzle with moisture sometimes because of the moisture in the air. That is why Kiln dried lumber will pick up moisture in it once it comes out of the furnace.

No matter what anyone wants to believe, if your burning water or snow off the surface of your firewood, you're using energy(BTU's) to do it. Also adds to cresote or mess in the chimney.

 

[jrider]

Many of these responders who say they don't cover move a seasons worth of wood in their basement... Guess what that is? A giant cover. Others live where once the snow flies, it rarely gets above freezing for months. We got about 8" of snow here ten days ago. Most days have been slightly above freezing and uncovered wood is soaking in wet snow every day as the snow slowly melts. I can tell you that's a lot different than just a passing rain storm. The wetness soaks in the wood more and will affect how well it burns. As some have said here though, moisture from weather comes out much quicker than moisture from sap.

 

[cmsmoke]

I remember last winter when someone got caught with no wood left in the basement, outside supply not covered and an ice storm hit. He wasn't happy. Not me, no thanks, I cover.

 

[CTYank]

Please define "seasoning" if you can. Preparing firewood we're talking air-drying. Once wood is properly air-dried, I've got a problem letting it get water driven back into it.
That's the point, Spidey. Water is a lousy fuel and an excellent fire-fighting agent, like for oil-fires aboard ship. Absorbs huge amounts of heat.
Trivially simple to fold a tarp so it just covers the top, plus a little, of a stack, and pull sticks out from under, dry as possible.
The operative word is "dry".

 

[Mad Professor]

Save the extra long pieces or cut some purposely for the top of the rows. I stack one or two rows wide. As high as I can, 5-6 foot. I use pallets as a base at home, some 3-4" limbs in the woods.

Then go to the lumber store and get some free used lumber covers. Doubled up they will cover the top of two 24" wide rows, can be up to/longer than 12' long rows, put the black side up, sun heats it up better. Put some arm thick branches on top to hold the covers in place, as soon as you stack it. No rain or snow dripping down into your wood, from the top or side. Only wind driven precipitation hits the sides. Stacked like this it will stay dry for years. I'm burning some 3 year old ash and maple right now.

For those who say why cover it? Do you like burning wet wood? Why is that?

P.S. I started burning wood 47 years ago, I was 5. I got the wood cookstove fired up, for eggs and coffee, before anyone else woke up. Have heated with wood since then. Still like an old Glenwood for the kitchen and boiler plate beasts for heating.

 

[hardpan]

Depends
On how far ahead your stacks will supply. I've thrown away a lot of wood that rotted in the pile before it is needed.
On how consistent your winters are. Mine vary a lot, moderate to cold, wet to dry.
On how you stack. Single rows with air ways between or 4 rows tight together?
On species of wood. Hedge or soft maple or white oak or sycamore?
On whether your wood is off the ground.
On your climate. Humid or dry, hot or cold.
On whether the bark is removed, back to the species. Some loses the bark easy, some sticks forever. Bark slows drying.
On the diameter of the rounds. Small diameter stuff has a high percentage of sapwood which rots fast.
On how small you split. The bigger they are the slower they dry.
On stack location. Open area on top of a hill will dry better than a shaded area with stifled air movement.
On how much wind you are willing to address with your temporary covers, tarps, roofing sheets/panels.
There are more. We do what we can afford to do and what we are willing to do. I have been heating with wood for 38 years from an uncovered wood pile, on a hill top, that sits on the ground. I cut almost any wood that hits the ground or dies while still standing. I like the work and the heat. I have budgeted for material to build a 480 square foot wood shed when the weather breaks in the spring. LOL

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I just dont see how a heavy down pour or snow is good for wood in any way shape or form. I'd want it covered for at least 3 months before i was to use it just so it'd dry out from the last time it got rained on. Leave a 8 ft 2x4 outside to get rained on its going to warp and bend because wood will absorb water. Least thats my thinking. I always cover what im going to be using that year.

 

[Oliver1655]

In the past I have used a combination of a wood shed & uncovered stacks. I grab from the stacks when they are dry & the wood shed in between times. My wood sheds, 12' x 12' & 14' x 19' are not big enough to hold all the wood I have.

I am so far ahead with cut & split wood I have started stacking the new wood I process on individual pallets & wrapping them with bale wrap to decrease rot-waste. This also will make it easy to move them around with my tractor. I also have recently received a stack of plastic pallets with a mostly solid surface which I will be setting on top of the pallets for a cover.

After getting a house built this coming year, I will be putting up a larger wood shed & will be able to move the pallets of firewood inside with minimal effort.

 

[Whitespider]

I remember last winter when someone got caught with no wood left in the basement, outside supply not covered and an ice storm hit. He wasn't happy.

Yeah, that was me... it was a mess. Last year winter ran long and late and my basement supply ran out. That ice storm also came late, covering the back-up stacks outside in thick ice before I got any moved in the house. My unhappiness wasn't so much about the ice-covered stacks as it was about my poor planning. See... I knew I was gonna' run short in the house... I'd known it for weeks, yet I put-off moving more in. That late in the year I was thinkin' I'd just bring in what I needed as I needed it so I didn't end up with a bunch left over when warm weather hit. The storm hit just a day or two before I needed...

So I was out there on the ice, in the freezin' rain, bringin' a couple loads in that weekend. It was a PITA because it was a wet, heavy layer of snow with a layer of ice over it. It was wet 'n' messy... but the ice melted off in the basement and the firewood burned just fine. My unhappiness wasn't because I was worried about "wet" wood, it was because the chore had become many times more wet 'n' difficult. Having covered stacks wouldn't have done much to change that... other than I wouldn't have had the little bit of water on the basement floor where I tossed the wood in (I had to wait for it to evaporate before I could sweep up the bark chips and whatnot). I still would've had to go out in that slop... cover or not... unless I'd have gotten off my lazy azz the weekend before and move firewood then. (By-the-way, after I got past the top splits the wood was bone-dry except for the ice on the ends... and having the top covered wouldn't have done anything for the ends.)

A couple days later the sun came out, the snow and ice melted off the stacks, and the next load I needed in the house was just as dry as it was before the storm... no added work or mess at all.

I ain't never covered a stack of firewood in my life... I fail to see the point.

 

[1project2many]

Please define "seasoning" if you can.

Stacking or storing wood in a way so it will dry as the cells that make up the wood die and lose moisture.

I ain't never covered a stack of firewood in my life... I fail to see the point.

Sounds like you just don't have to deal with the reality of not having enough inside storage to use your home as a wood shed. We're looking at 18-48 hours of rain and above freezing temps starting tonight. That's after 14-16" of snow that's been sitting on the piles. If I tried to bring in wood on Saturday morning from an uncovered pile it'd take a day to dry. I've got a newer EPA stove which doesn't burn like an old iron monster so if I tried to use the heat from the stove to dry while burning I'd have to leave the stove door open to get enough draft. That'd send a bunch of heat out the pipe. In the end it just turns some the work of cutting, splitting, and stacking into a waste of time.

I process and store the wood under trees. I don't want to turn the yard into firewood processing central so I picked a corner area behind the barn. I could clear the trees but honestly, I like the shade they provide and I like the privacy. I've only got 5 acres here and the neighbor's house is a stone's throw away. Plus we're lucky if we get three weeks straight without precipitation. Some years, ten days dry is amazing. Lotsa rain and moisture. So the sun doesn't warm and dry the ground quickly and the leaves on the ground retain moisture. That corner gets decent solar exposure in the afternoon so I built my woodsheds to create natural convection and dry wood quickly. They work. But anything stored outside can get fairly wet and stay that way. I might get three years out of green Oak or Sugar Maple if it's left uncovered here before it rots. Heck, I may be one of the rare few that's seen fungus growing out of Black Locust stacked in a wood pile. Your situation is obviously different. For me, covering is insurance so my firewood dries properly, doesn't rot, and heats well.

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

I'm a firm believer in woodsheds. I get a little over 3 cords in each of the five bays in this shed. It's the second wood shed I've built out of recycled materials and both were almost identical, the first built over 30 years ago and 700 miles away. In the past month we've had over 4 inches of rain and more is due this weekend. View attachment 323108

I'm a firm believer in woodsheds too

 

[kevinlar]

I don't like the look of tarps so I don't cover mine. Burns A-OKAY!

 

[kodiak]

I leave all my firewood uncovered until mid-October and then cover what's getting burned this season and leave it covered. Yeah I know it's only rain..snow ..ice but I don't want to mess with handling wet wood. I don't want the pool of water around the weeks supply I keep in my garage or wet cloths and gloves. Tossing a tarp over it isn't a big deal .

Nice dry wood makes it just that much easier to get going and helps promote my significant other to load the furnace and maintain the supply.

What he said.

 

[Whitespider]

I don't like the look of tarps so I don't cover mine. Burns A-OKAY!

Yeah, that's been exactly my experience also...
I haven't always had a large basement storage area... just where I live now. Prior to this place I carried in a few armloads every other day or so... when it was real cold I carried some in every day. In fact, when I got smart and was thinkin' about it, I'd carry in an armload every time I walked in the house... just on principle. Never had a problem with "wet" firewood. Heck, a little exterior water just sizzles right of in a few seconds... I've never seen water-from-weather penetrate into the wood more than a couple thousands of an inch, near all of it just runs off the ends.

 

[Dirtboy]

Built this 10 years ago, its 20' long by 10' wide by 7' tall in center. Consists of 3 - 2 1/4" inch galv. fence posts driven into the ground on each side. 2X4's for the side horizontals, 13 pieces of electrical conduit (12' long bent into the roof shape) attached to the 2X4's, with a 1 1/4" galv. fence line for the top supporting the roof arches.
Along the sides are 2-10' pieces of electrical conduit to attach the zip ties to the tarp. The tarp is a 20' X 12', stays off the top from spring until the heavy rain season starts at the end of Sept. I am still using the original tarp. Underneath the cinder blocks I scooped out about 6" of dirt and filled it with crushed stone, to avoid tracking mud into the house when the snow started melting and everything gets soupy. Has worked out quite well.