Row Spacing for oak in a limited area

[gregfox]

I have a limited space to stack firewood. Last year I stacked rows 6" apart and I could tell the middle rows of straight oak were not as seasoned as I would have liked. Cherry, elm, hickory, walnut all dried and showed good checking throughout the block of stacks. The oak stacks didn't dry very well in the middle of the block. I live in the middle of a field and get tons of wind. I also had some paired(2) rows that dried much better. The outside ends of the pieces showed better checking than the inside of the paired stacks but overall the oak was sufficiently seasoned to burn/sell in comparison to the block of stacks. This year I was thinking about stacking paired rows in the space I did in a block pattern last year. Basically make two stacks, leave 1 blank row, 2 more stacks, blank row, ect.

Do you think leaving 2' between paired rows would give enough extra air to help dry? I'm talking about oak and not lighter or faster drying species. I don't want to waste space and I can not afford to leave several feet between individual stacks which I know would be ideal. Thanks for any input.

 

[H-Ranch]

I have mine in paired stacks with enough space between to fit the wheelbarrow. If you intend to walk between rows I would consider how wide it needs to be to get through with wood using your preferred carrying method - armload, cart, or front end loader. I'm trying to get three years ahead so that kind of solves the moisture problem for me. Oak just waits longer until it gets burned.

How high can you reach? Could make stacks taller with space between to fit the same amount of wood. Other than stacking all the oak around the outside of the block I don't have any other ideas for you.

 

[Fred Wright]

Try rows of stacks with a foot between them for the oak. That should be enough space for good, natural air flow.

I've got red (willow) oak on a stack I built over a year ago that hasn't started to check yet. There's maple mixed in, the maple is starting to shed bark. Not the oak.

 

[gregfox]

I'm 6'4" tall so I can reach about 8', but I limit my outdoor stacks to 6'. I tie my paired stacks with strips of plywood between the two stacks to stabilize them. I double season all of my personal wood but the stuff for sale only gets one year.

 

[Steve NW WI]

I like the way the double rows season as well. I leave about 8" between the two rows, just a little extra space, that honestly came from using the same end posts for 16" wood that I used to stack with 24" wood. It does seem to help a little from what I've seen though.

I'm blessed with a lot of space, so my pairs of rows have 10' between them to get the farm tractor, plow truck, etc between them. If I was saving space, I'd keep it enough to get at least a mower between them to keep the grass and weeds at bay during the summer.

 

[ponyexpress976]

Try just running your stacks parallel to the prevailing winds
in your area. That way 6" should be more than enough spacing.

 

[Dalmatian90]

For a guy seriously obsessed with firewood:

http://www.maine.gov/doc/initiatives/wood_to_energy/video/firewood demo 04.wmv

I like the 6" spacing w/keepers he shows second.

 

[trophyhunter]

I cut all my oak to 16", stack it three rows deep, eight feet high and usually they run in excess of 24 feet long. I leave four feet of space between the stacks and I stand a piece of plywood on end right in the middle of the rows and drive some T posts on both sides to hold it there.

It acts as a wind stop, diverting the air back through the three rows on either side of it. Works really well, both ends of the stacks always seem to cure at about the same rate. Wood in the middle is just as dry as the ends and outside face of the stacks.

 

[Steve NW WI]

I didn't have any luck stacking 3 wide, but I only tried it for two years. The 2nd year's wood was stacked before I found that the center row stayed wetter than the outsides. To be fair, I had it stacked in a less than optimal spot (shaded in the mornings, in a low spot out of most of the prevailing winds).

I moved my stacks out in the open, and switched to 2 wide stacking. I can't say for sure which had more effect, but I couldn't be happier with the results. Lots of people here are forced to stack where they can, and not where it's best, so I'll still recommend 2 wide over 3 wide.

Maybe I should make a triple row in the open this winter for a semi-scientific test.

 

[sb47]

It would depend on the type of oak were talking about. They don’t all season the same.
I would think that 2 feet, like your talking about should be plenty of room for air movement.

 

[Steve NW WI]

It would depend on the type of oak were talking about. They don’t all season the same.
I would think that 2 feet, like your talking about should be plenty of room for air movement.

While it's true that all wood (not just different species of oak) seasons differently, good stacking will help get any variety of wood from the quick seasoning stuff like ash or silver maple to the toughest white oak dry in a minimal time.

Wind and sun are the best friends of a firewooder, and the more of each your stacks can see, the better.

 

[Whitespider]

Maybe I should make a triple row in the open this winter for a semi-scientific test.

Don't bother with that test... believe me, with slow seasoning wood such as oak, the middle row will be several months behind the outer two.
Been there - done that - lesson learned... and they were stacked in open sun and wind.

Single rows season in the shortest amount of time, but they use up a lot of room and can be unstable (i.e. they'll fall over easier).
Double rows require a bit more time to season (but not all that much) and are a lot less likely to fall over.
Triple rows... well, I believe that's where the idea, "oak requires two full years or more to properly season", comes from. Several years ago I stacked oak in "cords", 16" pieces three rows deep, 4x4x8... after one year the center rows were unusable, after two full years the center rows were still noticeably "greener", and after three years the outer rows had begun to shed some bark while the center rows were still clinging tight. Now I just stack in single rows (but I have the room for it), probably the best compromise between seasoning time and storage is the double row.

addendum; Oh yeah... how much space between stacks? Heck I don't know whats right or wrong, I just put mine far enough apart to run the grass cuttin' machine between them.