Oh the shame.

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Loving all the advice gents.

I have restacked most of the wood by now and have paid much closer attention to the ends as well as making sure the splits are relatively level. I've used some shims to achieve this and I have reduced the height of the stacks. I think that a large part of the failure was due to thawing soggy ground.

They say that ash has a relatively lowers moisture than most other woods. Is stacking in rows of three for 8 monthes going to work for seasoning? Or should I go with single rows?
 
Loving all the advice gents.

I have festa led most of the wood by now and have paid much cower attention to the ends as well as making sure the splits are relatively level. I've used some shims to achieve this and I have reduced the height of the stacks. I think that a large part of the failure was due to thawing soggy ground.

They say that ash has a relatively lowers moisture than most other woods. Is stacking in rows of three for 8 monthes going to work for seasoning? Or should I go with single rows?


Split the difference, go with rows of two.

pen
 
Split the difference, go with rows of two.

pen


Agreed - two rows against each other (in my experience) greatly increases the stability while still leaving one end of each split open to air. I did a three row stack early in my burning days and found the middle row was significantly more wet after 18 months than the outer rows.

And at the risk of opening up another debate, I also advise top-covering the doublerow stack. Not only does keeping the top covered reduce teh amount of rain that can fall between the stacks, it will also reduce the amount of leaves etc that blow on top and work their way down to mulch in the stack. I have found that a piece of heavy tarp cut to fit and stapled all the way around (stapled to the top splits) does a good job of keeping rain out while not tearing itself to pieces in wind as it is very well secured (just about every split at the top is stapled to the tarp). I have one that has survived the last year through several 50+mpg wind events and you can't tell the difference.
 
here are a couple pictures of our stacks.
Cut it out, Dennis. You're making me feel like giving up and going with the Jags method. Take those pics down and put up the one of your stack crash...the only one you've had in fifty-odd years. ==c

Stack crash of epic proportions. Violated the cardinal rule; The base must be stable. Those were half-posts on concrete blocks, and the weight of the wood flexed them.
005-9.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScotO
Re stacked all my wood bark down today. Here's hoping.
No, that applies to U.S. wood only. In the Great White North it must be bark up. The faster you restack, the less damage will be done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shane N
I know this isnt the case here, but as wood dries the stacks shift. I go around with a split and tap the wood back in place where it has shifted from the drying process. I do this 3 or 4 times a year.
I did have a stack fall from the base sinking in mud like the OP said...
 
Loving all the advice gents.

I have restacked most of the wood by now and have paid much closer attention to the ends as well as making sure the splits are relatively level. I've used some shims to achieve this and I have reduced the height of the stacks. I think that a large part of the failure was due to thawing soggy ground.

They say that ash has a relatively lowers moisture than most other woods. Is stacking in rows of three for 8 monthes going to work for seasoning? Or should I go with single rows?

Single rows Moe. If I planned on burning the wood next fall, for sure it would be in single rows with lots of space between the rows. Also make sure it is in a windy spot.

Ash does start out with a lower moisture content but it still has to let that moisture out.
 
Cut it out, Dennis. You're making me feel like giving up and going with the Jags method. Take those pics down and put up the one of your stack crash...the only one you've had in fifty-odd years. ==c

Stack crash of epic proportions. Violated the cardinal rule; The base must be stable. Those were half-posts on concrete blocks, and the weight of the wood flexed them.

Here it is Woody. The only one I've had tip over.


Bad pile-1.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: gyrfalcon and ScotO
Cut it out, Dennis. You're making me feel like giving up and going with the Jags method. Take those pics down and put up the one of your stack crash...the only one you've had in fifty-odd years. ==c

Stack crash of epic proportions. Violated the cardinal rule; The base must be stable. Those were half-posts on concrete blocks, and the weight of the wood flexed them.
005-9.jpg
I remembered when this happened......it was a sad, sad day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Backwoods Savage
I remembered when this happened......it was a sad, sad day.
;lol For me it was, but I posted in hopes that everyone else would be entertained. ==c
.....And that was in the spring of '52. ;lol
Yep, that Spring was a crazy one; So many thaws and freezes. Sometimes, no matter how expertly the wood is stacked, Mother Nature throws you a curve ball. ==c
 
;lol For me it was, but I posted in hopes that everyone else would be entertained. ==c
Yep, that Spring was a crazy one; So many thaws and freezes. Sometimes, no matter how expertly the wood is stacked, Mother Nature throws you a curve ball. ==c
I feel your pain. My property is on the side of a ridge, so sloped all the way, and really windy. I tried for several years, and finally have given up and buy mostly kiln-dried stuff. I can rebuild a fallen stack once in a while, just part of the game, but mine -- all of them at one time or another -- would keel over (frontwards or backwards) every month or so during the spring/summer/fall. The periodic screaming was bothering the next-door neighbors... a quarter mile down the road.
 
I bet it collapsed due to the bark up, rather than down.
+1
Google about the Norwegian feud about bark up v bark down stacking.....funny stuff
 
I feel your pain. My property is on the side of a ridge, so sloped all the way, and really windy. I tried for several years, and finally have given up and buy mostly kiln-dried stuff. I can rebuild a fallen stack once in a while, just part of the game, but mine -- all of them at one time or another -- would keel over (frontwards or backwards) every month or so during the spring/summer/fall. The periodic screaming was bothering the next-door neighbors... a quarter mile down the road.
Some folks here rig up some pretty inventive systems for automatically controlling combustion air to their stove; Maybe they could come up with a self-leveling stack base. ==c
 
is your first row of rounds started on snow packed ice possibly?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.