See... I'm right again :yoyo:
My wood just won't dry
- Thread starter jrider
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See... I'm right again :yoyo:
Hedgerow
HACK
If a person could eliminate a few variables and say, set a barkless split of Oak on a fence post in the middle of a field... Then take a similar split of Oak, and throw it in their garage and close the door...
The piece on the post would be much more suitable for burning in 6 months...
But that's where I draw the line... There are too many other nefarious things going on. If I stack Hackberry or Honey Locust outside, it'll rot before it gets dry enough to suit me... And the damn Locust borers eat the hell out of it leaving piles of sawdust in the wood pile to just soak up rain and turn to "wood mud"... Then the crap freezes together in the winter, and you gotta knock it apart with a maul...
Those little bastards even eat on fresh Hedge I stack outside. The top of the pile looks fine, but as soon as you dig into it, it's a mess of bark and bug dust...
I built the wood barn to dry wood and keep it that way...
And dry wood it does!!!
Those stupid bugs punch holes in it still, but since there's no rain on it, no "wood mud"!!!
origionalrebel
ArboristSite Operative
i'm not too anal about my firewood. i've done it outside and it seems to season faster uncovered out in the elements. and it is humid as hell where i live. that being said, i now have an old chicken house(40'x300') that i store my wood in. i usually split where the tree falls and stack it directly off the truck or tractor inside the barn. it does seem to take an extra year to season thoroughly(depending on species) but i only move it from the woods, to the barn, to my front porch, eleminating one stage of handling. i'm trying to stay a couple of years ahead so, for my situation, i think the way i do it is best.
BillNole
ArboristSite Operative
I too have done it both ways. In fact, my son and I just came in from covering the few cords we put in the last few weeks against the fence line nearest the garage as it's supposed to rain today after three beautiful mild AND DRY days for a change. Like Spidey and many others, we too have had lots more rain than usual this year. I decided to cover it now this year due to the copious amounts of rain fall. It's just on top to shed the rain from constantly wetting the top layers, but I can't for the life of me see how that can be a bad thing. Sure, fully encasing the wood wouldn't allow it be breathe, but that's not what I've done, nor is it the purpose.
I've regularly left mine uncovered during the hot summer months, unless I've gotten into something buggy that I still wanted to keep in spite of the bugs. In those cases, I've fully covered it for at least a few weeks to kill any remaining bugs as it will get VERY hot under there during the heat of July/Aug when the sun beats down on that tarp. Otherwise, we'll occasionally be besieged with a variety of critters crawling out from the wood box by the fireplace, as the wood warms and the bugs come out of their winter sleep. (Yikes! Tends to creep out the wife and kids a bit, but the dogs love the fun of the chase and I think maybe even the taste of some of 'em a little bit...)
Typically however, I'll cover it in the fall and just before any extended rain or snow starts so it stays dry before freezing. Putting a frozen chunk in the fireplace with a layer of ice/snow on it tends to lead to a bout of hissing as it melts off the wet on the surface. If it got really soaked, it might even drip from inside for awhile too, even though the inside is dry, deep-down.
I've appreciated much of the debate on the issue and have thought of many of the same things while trying to decide for myself in the past. Since mine isn't for heat as much as it's for the enjoyment of a fire, it doesn't make as much difference to me perhaps as some of you. Still, dry is better than wet, regardless!
I've regularly left mine uncovered during the hot summer months, unless I've gotten into something buggy that I still wanted to keep in spite of the bugs. In those cases, I've fully covered it for at least a few weeks to kill any remaining bugs as it will get VERY hot under there during the heat of July/Aug when the sun beats down on that tarp. Otherwise, we'll occasionally be besieged with a variety of critters crawling out from the wood box by the fireplace, as the wood warms and the bugs come out of their winter sleep. (Yikes! Tends to creep out the wife and kids a bit, but the dogs love the fun of the chase and I think maybe even the taste of some of 'em a little bit...)
Typically however, I'll cover it in the fall and just before any extended rain or snow starts so it stays dry before freezing. Putting a frozen chunk in the fireplace with a layer of ice/snow on it tends to lead to a bout of hissing as it melts off the wet on the surface. If it got really soaked, it might even drip from inside for awhile too, even though the inside is dry, deep-down.
I've appreciated much of the debate on the issue and have thought of many of the same things while trying to decide for myself in the past. Since mine isn't for heat as much as it's for the enjoyment of a fire, it doesn't make as much difference to me perhaps as some of you. Still, dry is better than wet, regardless!
NSMaple1
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'm pretty sure that with a bit of experimenting & good stack location, you could get a very good solar kiln effect going by tenting a stack with clear plastic. Cover the sides & top, but leave the ends open & have oriented so that prevailing wind would blow through the stack from one end to the other. Maybe even partially cover/uncover the ends as needed to balance out the heat buildup with air movement through. Excessive humidity could condense on the plastic & run down it to the ground as long as the top & sides were sloped to let that happen. I want to try this sometime with a couple of stacks & see what happens - but I'm pretty sure it would work.
zogger
Tree Freak
Old chicken house, way cool! I have thought about that a lot, shop/woodshed/whatever. Heck, indoor target range! hmm.maybe even a dozen cluckers in there someplace....pull some of the roof, put like fiberglass panels, greenhouse! Apartment, indoor swimming pool.....
zogger
Tree Freak
If you ranm the walls down to a gutter like thing, you could use gravity and run the moisture out that way. Would help.
Yep, hoop houses get hot, but with the ends open they flow some air. We used those a lot before the big greenhouse. I thought about doing wood in one but never did, but no reason why it wouldn't work. I would just want a slight incline to encourage air flow/heat uphill, and the dripped water downhill.
Biggest problem is making them stout enough that big winds don't blow them around.
zogger
Tree Freak
Well, like I said, I am going to cover the tops before all the leaves start coming down. That stuff will just turn to mulch dirt up there if I don't.
BillNole
ArboristSite Operative
I have experimented with this based on information I read on another site a few years ago. I was really surprised at how much water condensed on the plastic! The key was to make sure the plastic didn't contact the wood and to configure it so the water would run down to the ground or evaporate and not drip or run back onto the wood, which would lead to rot.
Not worth all the efforts for my tastes, but there are people that do it regularly and consider it to be a sort of solar-kiln.
Cambium
ArboristSite Guru
Bermuda High pumping some insane dewpoints here. I have the same issue. I have them covered because there's rain/drizzle each day but the humidity is kiling us not to mention no winds!!
It's good I got in the groove of 2 yr storage but I dont want them to rot from all the trapped moisture. This area sucks.
It's good I got in the groove of 2 yr storage but I dont want them to rot from all the trapped moisture. This area sucks.
Hedgerow
HACK
What type of wood makes up your supply?
Covering does not mean you have to completely wrap it up. I put a tarp ON TOP of green wood in the stack.
Metal roofing too. If I didn't, it would only grow fungus and rot. The sides are exposed to the breezes. I've had good success with doing this. Of course, I only live in a temperate rain forest. If I completely covered the stack, I'd also be growing mushrooms. Only cover the top. Think of it as a roof. Comprende?
My friends do stack their wood in a barn to dry. The barn has open sides for feeding cows from, and is not air tight. He throws down pallets, I think and the wood dries in there just fine. Now, things must be different in Ioway, but these methods work well here and we'll continue to do things that way. In fact, I may build an open sided wood "shed" to put my wet and green wood under.
Metal roofing too. If I didn't, it would only grow fungus and rot. The sides are exposed to the breezes. I've had good success with doing this. Of course, I only live in a temperate rain forest. If I completely covered the stack, I'd also be growing mushrooms. Only cover the top. Think of it as a roof. Comprende?
My friends do stack their wood in a barn to dry. The barn has open sides for feeding cows from, and is not air tight. He throws down pallets, I think and the wood dries in there just fine. Now, things must be different in Ioway, but these methods work well here and we'll continue to do things that way. In fact, I may build an open sided wood "shed" to put my wet and green wood under.
flyboy553
Oakaholic
In more ways than you can possibly comprehend
By using those 8 words to make your statement, Whitey, you saved yourself about 5,000 keystrokes! lol
Well done!:sword:
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
The wood is certainly drying now. It was sunny and 90 yesterday, got up to about 95 today with full sun and is forecasted to be 95-99 at least through Friday. I split for about 5 hours yesterday and could already see it drying, much unlike the last few weeks.
Cambium
ArboristSite Guru
Hottest July on record here so far however... 21 straight days the dewpoint went to 70° or above. TOO HUMID!!! Sucks for firewood
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