Storing & drying timber correctly.

[tomba26]

We have always burned some timber for firewood and I have used chainsaws a reasonable amount over the years on the farm (no longer farming now) but never a great amount for firewood.
I'm finding more and more that I enjoy working with the saw and we do have a wood burning stove now as well as two other open fires in our home. Because of this I am looking to start harvesting most all of our own firewood but am unsure of exactly how to go about it best and have a few questions.

1. Obviously timber needs to be weathered to burn at it's best but is it as simple as cut it in the autumn (here in the UK), buck the lengths, split to firewood and stack and store for burning the following autumn/winter when it starts getting cold, therefore basically giving the split firewood 12+ months drying time?

2. Also is it possible to buck the timber to length, store it for 12 months to dry and then just split to firewood as it's needed, or is it best to get it all split and stored for the next year?

3. How long can timber be stored for before it starts to become spoiled, 12 months or longer?

4. Any suggestions on storage? I have a biggish building that is completely open at the front but has brick sides and back with a fibre cement roof so would this be ok for storing split timber?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm just trying to find out a few basics.

 

[Ianab]

1. Obviously timber needs to be weathered to burn at it's best but is it as simple as cut it in the autumn (here in the UK), buck the lengths, split to firewood and stack and store for burning the following autumn/winter when it starts getting cold, therefore basically giving the split firewood 12+ months drying time?

Yup.. thats the general idea.

2. Also is it possible to buck the timber to length, store it for 12 months to dry and then just split to firewood as it's needed, or is it best to get it all split and stored for the next year?

Not so good, some wood becomes VERY hard to split once it dries, so I allways split when green. It also dries faster when it's split, more surface area and less bark.

3. How long can timber be stored for before it starts to become spoiled, 12 months or longer?

As long as you can keep it dry it will last for years. If it on the damp ground or out in the weather it will rot. How long that takes depends on the climate and type of wood. But stored off the ground and under cover it will last for many years.

4. Any suggestions on storage? I have a biggish building that is completely open at the front but has brick sides and back with a fibre cement roof so would this be ok for storing split timber?

Sounds OK. The more air you can get flowing through the stack the better. Open at the front and back is best as the breeze can blow though. A completely closed shed is bad because you need air movement to carry away the moisture. Open front should still be OK.

Cheers

Ian

 

[tomba26]

Ian,
Many thanks for your replies mate, that's exactly the info I was looking for

Cheers,
Scott.

 

[blackdoggy]

Not all wood is hard to split dry for instance the maple (or white oak) that I have will make my splitting maul bounce off of it wet but dry it shows it's cracks and makes it easier to breakup.

 

[drmiller100]

a tree carries water up and down the trunk.

when you cut firewood, it dries out the ends almost entirely, unless you split it into VERY small pieces.

so, bucking the rounds almost always dries just as fast as split wood.

 

[blis]

a tree carries water up and down the trunk.

when you cut firewood, it dries out the ends almost entirely, unless you split it into VERY small pieces.

so, bucking the rounds almost always dries just as fast as split wood.

some wood (white pirch for example) will rot if not split before stacking, which is common to wood with tough bark...

 

[blis]

a tree carries water up and down the trunk.

when you cut firewood, it dries out the ends almost entirely, unless you split it into VERY small pieces.

so, bucking the rounds almost always dries just as fast as split wood.

some wood (white pirch for example) will rot if not split before stacking, which is common to wood with tough bark...

 

[Stihlboy088]

By splitting the wood and increasing the open surface area you are also exposing more of the tree's water transporting tissue Xylem, allowing water to evaporate faster than just leaving it in rounds.

 

[CharlieG]

Take your time and split to size, then neatly stack on pallets. Criss cross the ends to maintain stability. This will dry your wood well. I tried the pile method to dry as some have recommended, but it was a pain to pull out wood as needed without causing a little avalanche.

 

[tomba26]

Thanks for the input fella's