I have found that 30# roofing paper works much better than tarps for covering a stacked wood pile, it is tough and just the right width. just stack some wood on top to hold it down works great !!
Trees drain there water in the winter (where it gets below 32deg) so that the water in the tree doesnt freeze,because if the water stayed in the tree and it froze then the wind blows and the tree would snap in half.
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So, that big Red Oak I cut down this Winter is ready to burn????
I think not, the tree still needs water, even in Winter.
It may not draw any water up from the root system during Winter but rest assured, all those trees in the forest are wet inside.
Hmmmmm roofing paper?
I have a roll, maybe I’ll try it.... its the right color for sure. Increase that ambient temperature around the woodpile can only help the cause.
For $5.00 a tarp I’ll be ordering three long skinny ones today
Yes theres still water in the tree but not nearly as much as in the summer! If it had the same amount of water in it it would snap in half under its own weight when the temps are cold. I looked it up
Well slick, you are contradicting what is in the link I posted so I’ll assume you looked it up somewhere other than there. Can you point me to it?
This is from my link:
In general, the weight of a load of summer-cut (June-July) birch and aspen can be
estimated by assuming that half the weight is water. Wood cut in January or
February has more moisture and could be 6 or more percent heavier than the same
volume cut in summer.
As I said, and Eric (Mr. Logger Head) Johnson backed me up, different trees act differently, different climates can influence, different wetness this year and that, and on and on and on. So sweeping generalizations like yours are highly suspect IMO. Even more so with no references.
Yes theres still water in the tree but not nearly as much as in the summer! If it had the same amount of water in it it would snap in half under its own weight when the temps are cold. I looked it up
I wonder why maple surup runs late winter. Last time I checked it is useless to try to extract sap in July. In fact due to drought conditions, trees like grass can, go dormant and spring to life in cooler wetter fall weather. What about this theory trees with leaves loose water transpiration. Trees without leaves can have more water containt due not loosing it to evaporation transpiration cycles ?
Yes theres still water in the tree but not nearly as much as in the summer! If it had the same amount of water in it it would snap in half under its own weight when the temps are cold. I looked it up
another question..When felling trees which have started to leaf out, is it a good idea to fell them and then keave them with the branches on for a few weeks since the leaves will still be growing sicne htere is water/neutrients left in the felled tree and it should pull the water out while growing the leaves?
That’s the theory, ADK, but IMO, the best way to dry wood quickly is to get it cut up, split and stacked in a good location. The rest of it’s all pretty much speculation and unproven (to me, at least, theory).
If you’re in the Adirondacks, your best bet for fast-drying woods would be ash, beech, soft maple and cherry. Yellow birch and hard maple are both great firewoods, but they take longer to dry, especially the yellow birch. When I lived in Old Forge, I would cut my wood in the early spring, dry it outside all summer, and then move it into the basement in October. By January 1, I usually had nice, dry wood to get us through the rest of the winter.
Well, I have 3 cord of Hard Maple and White Oak split right now, been split for two weeks..Once stacked, I should be good for burn come September/October?
Around here, we have red maple and red oak. The red maple dries real fast. Red Oak doesn’t. Where I live getting it in early May it’s barely ready to burn by winter and the big logs always cause a problem. Considering my wood is around 95% red seasoned oak, I have to cover the top, stack it extremely loose, move it to a covered porch in winter where sunlight hits it but snow can not, and leave it inside for 3 days and then I can burn it but it’s still wet. Course, some years are better than others.
Your white oak should dry slower than red, it’s more dense so you may have trouble with it by September/October but depends on exposure, sunlight, and moisture levels in your area. Bark is nearly waterproof so when you do stack your wood make plenty of air tunnels exposing a lot of the surface area of the fibers of the wood and not the bark. An air tunnel of all bark does extremely little in drying out the wood.
The BEEG live Red that I took down has been cut and split since late March and its been pretty dry so far, should be ready by the time I need to burn it.
I stack everything single file and it is all getting 75% plus exposure to the sun. Early AM and late afternoons are the only time the piles are shaded.
The dead standers are almost ready to burn now and the Pine is close as well.
Time top start on the 07-08 heating season.
Well, I have 3 cord of Hard Maple and White Oak split right now, been split for two weeks..Once stacked, I should be good for burn come September/October?
Hard to say for sure, but if its in a open area that gets lots of sun, wind, and covered from the weather it might be ready by Oct. Maybe try building a Holz Haufen? One thread stated 3 month drying time for a HH. Another trick for fast drying is smaller splits.
Well, I have 3 cord of Hard Maple and White Oak split right now, been split for two weeks..Once stacked, I should be good for burn come September/October?
Hard to say for sure, but if its in a open area that gets lots of sun, wind, and covered from the weather it might be ready by Oct. Maybe try building a Holz Haufen? One thread stated 3 month drying time for a HH. Another trick for fast drying is smaller splits.
Faster drying, but also faster burning, so I’m sure there is a happy medium. I did the small splits with the Oak last year, and It really wasn’t ready to burn this year. I cut it in about late August and split quite small so it would dry. By the time March/april rolled around, it was my only pile left and I started burning some, and it was marginal. Really needed another 4-6 months in my opinion. The tree had been dead for about a year and a half, but was pretty wet inside still.
In general I now cut splits a lot larger so that I get better burn times out of them. Less splitting also, but I’m sure it will take longer to dry.
I really try to have all of my wood stacked by the end of may..that gives it at least 5 months of drying time..however, this year I am really trying to get ahead and am currently splitting for next years supply.
