I’m assuming it will but I have no available sunny location in my yard so I really have no other choice.  I’ve got two cords sitting now in separate locations; one gets some good afternoon sun but the other gets very little.  Both spots offer good air flow.  I’m sure this will delay the seasoning process but is it still OK?

thanks,

-jim

It will season, but it will take longer.

It may be a bit slower, but if you stack the wood so that the prevailing wind blows through it, it will dry well. With that big stove you may want to add a couple more cords unless the stove is just for night and weekend burning.

I had my wood stored in a shady spot and it seemed like it took over a year to dry out. I ended up cutting some big pines out of the way and no longer have that problem. Do you have room to store enough wood to get a year or two ahead? That would make a big difference.

I plan on burning nights, weekends and whenever else possible but my wife may not burn that much during the day.  Still I plan to get another two cords in the fall—my cousin owns a garden center and has it seasoning for me, in the sun no less.  I’ve got no more sunny locations at my home so I’ll just hope the wind can dry it out.  The two cords I have now were sitting a while before I got it so hopefully it will be ready by the fall.

Sounds good. Nice cousin. Buy him a few bottles of his favorite wine.

We’ve seasoned wood in the shade many times. Just make sure it can get some wind through the wood pile. Keep it uncovered until fall then cover it before the fall rains or snows hit and then cover only the top.

btw, we’ve done this and burned the following winter, but only with dead elm and white ash, which has little moisture to start with.

My oak took 3 years to season in the shade.  Most other takes more than a year in the shade in Wisconsin weather.  I just started stacking in the sun this spring.  My neighbor does it and after 7 years of fighting mother nature I gave in.  The hot july and august sun dries it nicely!!!

I have a similar situation.  I had a friend build me another wood rack that sits more in the sun but have lost some yard room as a result.  It holds about a cord of wood.

My other 3 cords are stacked in a somewhat shady area but when I ordered wood this year I specified seasoned and explained why and I got wood that was already at about 20* moisture content.

I still worry because last year my wood didn’t season as I had expected.  I had never had a problem before...so this year I am a bit nervous and have covered only 2 rows, tops only, and left the other 5 rows uncovered to see what happens.  A little experiment.

I plan to use the wood that is on my new rack first since it will more than likely be drier due to all of the sun it gets and then take from the other stacks according to how much sun they have each gotten therefore giving the more shaded areas longer to season....

We will see how well my plan actually works come winter.

All stacks get wind and we have been getting a lot more than we ever had so hopefully it makes up the difference.

Time will tell.

I stacked wood between live trees for years.

[trees move on windy days and the piles fall over]
I now stack near the trees.
Out in the sun is valuable garden space.
My tomatoes and squash get priority.

A cover to keep rain off, (roof, not walls).
Out in the sun is usually also out in the wind.

Put a pair of wet jeans out on the clothes line on a hot sunny Summer humid day with no wind and then another pair out in January with no sun, wind and it can even be below freezing, and tell me which pair will need to go in the dryer at the end of the day.
(hint: it won’t be the cold ones)

I like 2 years for season / aging, especially with pine.

Good, Better, Best. (like Sears)

Good: maximized wind through pile
Better: with a roof to keep the rain out but not the wind
Best: the above in the sun

my dad always stored his wood in an enclosed woodshed. It was always really dry. but he was also always a year ahead

“"I stacked wood between live trees for years.

[trees move on windy days and the piles fall over]
I now stack near the trees."”

Hahaha that happened to me today! Now I gotta re-stack tomorrow.

skinnykid - 12 May 2008 09:18 PM

“"I stacked wood between live trees for years.

[trees move on windy days and the piles fall over]
I now stack near the trees."”

Hahaha that happened to me today! Now I gotta re-stack tomorrow.

You guys must have wimpy trees-doesn`t happen with my 100 year old douglas firs.

i built a platform for my wood.....gotta take a pic… but its not really in the sun.. however there are clear tarps, plastic sheeting.. and clear plastic roofing now available that are very cheap,,,....i plan on putting this over my whatchamacallit in the backyard....lots of air flow witout wood getting wet.....i have also been stacking green wood loose to promote better airflow

I’m no expert, but it seems to me that with a stack of wood in the sun, very little of the wood actually gets the sun.  Just the top side of the top row, and the side of the pile. Now if you only stack one row wide, that helps, but it takes a LOT of space for several cord! 

I suspect that open flow is more important.

We are having a carport shelter erected but it’s on a hill top and fairly windy.  Unfortunately, I have to move the 5 cord that’s already stacked there so that they can do the construction :(

Ken