Where to store my wood?

First of all, ¼ cord isn’t really very much wood, some people store that much next to their wood stove. Lots of us can burn through a full cord a month when it’s cold, so you should use up 1/4 cord pretty fast. There shouldn't be any problem storing your wood in the garage unless it is super bug infested.
Second, what is your source of “seasoned†wood. It may be harder than you think to find someone selling wood that is truly seasoned, most wood dealers will say their wood is seasoned, when it’s not.

Hope you enjoy your wood heating experience.

A quarter of a cord? What's your plan after the first week?

We store our "supply at hand" in the garage....but before it goes in the garage, I brush if off with a wire brush to help and try to keep things clean....still makes a mess in the house, but I'm making an effort, and the Wife can't complain. Whether or not you'll have bugs, or Mice is something I can't determine, depends on the surroundings, but likely will have some bugs...like maybe Spiders

I recommend posting up some pictures of your yard That'll get 'em talkin' on here about just how, where, how high, how much, shed or no shed, holz hausen or straight row stacking, whether to cover or not to cover, in garage or not in garage, and just about any other detail as to wood storage!

Plus, post up some pics of where this stove might be installed, type of stove, chimney considerations, etc. and you'll get a whole bunch of advice and ideas from the hearth folks here.

Welcome - as a fairly new wood burner and also an owner of a small city lot here is what I do.

I've got unseasoned wood in a couple different places outside. Since I don't have a big yard I split them into several face cord (1/3 cord) racks around the areas I can store them.

The wood for immediate burn goes right next to the stove, and the stuff for that week goes in the basement for easy access.

I burnt more than I ever thought. It's get very addictive and I've been trying to keep the furnace from turning on unless its very cold.

Something else I wish I knew more about is the species of wood and which ones to cut/scrounge/buy.

Have fun!

It is OK to store wood in the garage. Firewood is not more of a fire hazard than most of your other stuff. The potential problems include bugs and poor drying of the wood. I think it is likely your wood won't be fully seasoned - at least not as seasoned as it could be - and the garage might not be a great place for it to season more. However if the garage is reasonably well ventilated and the wood is not too wet you should be fine. If you happen to get very green/wet wood then stack it outside for a year. As for bugs, I don't really get many in my firewood, just a few of the normal bugs like spiders. If you knock off most of the firewood debris (bits of bark, sawchips, dirt, etc. that is on all firewood) you shouldn't have any more problem with the wood than you have with the other stuff in the garage.

A cor dof wood looks big stacked in a truck, but it doesn't seem so large in the yard. I bet you can store a cord or two if you have any yard at all. The key is to stack it neatly so it doesn't look like a pile of logging slash right in the middle of civilized Toronto.

Wood Duck said:

The key is to stack it neatly so it doesn't look like a pile of logging slash right in the middle of civilized Toronto.

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+1 and a chuckle.

Beamer said:

Okok, maybe I need to rethink my wood needs.. lol

As I'm just starting out, I'm not going to be burning 24/7... I guess I could start off with 1 cord and see how that goes.
I do live in the city and do not have to much 'land' to store an endless supply of wood..
I just want to make sure it is safe to store at least some of it in the garage.

As for the source of wood.. it is a well known supplier that has been servicing the Toronto area for decades and have not seen anything bad about it. I guess we shall see.. lol

Thx!

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Welcome to the forum Beamer.

I hate to point this out but you have made the classic mistake that 99% of all wood burners do. That is, you have bought the stove and it is soon to be installed. Now you are looking at your fuel needs. Sorry, but that will work with oil and gas heating but does not work with wood heat. Simply put, wood needs time to dry properly and wood sellers do not have the time or space required for that plus it would mean extra handling of the wood which increases their costs. So they just tell everyone it is seasoned wood.

But, this is from a well known supplier..... Right. I also know of several well-known supplies but that does not make them good. In fact, they are crooks! The ones I know around here all sell a "face cord" as a cord of wood, which it is not. Then to top that off, they always short their customers. They also tell them it is well seasoned and ready to burn. However, in most cases the wood is cut and split just before delivery. Sorry, but that wood won't dry until it has been split! Hence, you get wood that is not ready to burn.

Well, you can burn it if you want but be prepared for some problems. Typically the first thing that we hear or read is that the new wood burner's stove isn't working properly. Then they also look at the chimney, the draft, do we need an OAK, etc, etc. They will look at everything but the fuel because after all, they know it is "seasoned" because they were told so. Then some will bring out the moisture meters but that is another story altogether.

In short, if you want to burn wood, you should already have next year's wood cut, split and stacked. Better yet and the ideal is to have 2-3 year's worth of wood already cut, split and stacked out in the wind so that Mother Nature can do that necessary drying for you. Short cuts are always searched for but they are poor excuses for solving a problem that should be solved....before it becomes a problem.

One more little tidbit to consider is that there is a huge difference in types of wood. That is, some wood gives more heat than others. Some wood takes longer to dry than others. Some wood you need to be extremely careful with lest you overheat the stove. Typical in this are the ones who pick up some dry pallets and burn them. If they are indeed dry, you should not fill the stove with them or you will very possibly overheat the stove.

Then there is the chimney cleaning to contend with. Will you do this yourself? How often? How often will you check the chimney and how will you do this checking?

So, wood burning can be easy but you have to cover all the bases in order for that to happen. We wish you good luck.

My first year burning wood I burned very wet/green wood. The fire wouldn't start easily and I had to get down on hands and knees and blow/fan/relight/etc. to get it started. Once I got it started there was that constant sizzle as the water in the wood was being evaporated. These are signs that your wood is too green and needs to dry further. If your wood takes off great then it is seasoned. It is possible that your supplier is selling seasoned wood as advertised but as Dennis says this is not the norm. You can also invest in a moisture meter, split a piece and check the face of the fresh split. 20% and under is considered ideal generally but 25% will do okay.

Burning will be a learning experience. You'll have to learn your stove and how much you want to run it. You may find your wood usage will be very different than others on here or even others in your area due to type of wood, your stove, the size of your house, insulation, etc. Just be prepared to take some time to learn what works best for you.

As for your original question, I store wood in my basement on a concrete floor. Once a week I simply sweep out the basement. I put the wood a few feet away from the stove for some additional drying. Pieces that have bugs or evidence of bugs (holes, dust, etc) I leave outside. When I bring those in they go right into the fire so no bugs have a chance to get in my house. The most I've ever seen is an occasional spider or roach. Not my favorites but they won't eat my house either.

Also, if you can, check your chimney often. Use a mirror at the bottom and if you can see to the top then it is clear. If not then you have a blockage that must be addressed immediately. To clean your chimney just run a chimney brush through preferrably from the top down. How often should you check it with the mirror? Not sure, but I would err on the side of checking it too often as opposed to too little. Once every couple of weeks maybe.

Sorry this post is a little long! Good luck and welcome to this forum and the wonderful world of wood-burning!

Starting to think BackWoods has that post ready to copy and paste lol!

obey the fire god!

woodmeister said:

obey the fire god!

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Backwoods Savage aka Dennis is the master of all fire and he can see all from the milk crate OBEY HIS WISDOM or freeze in your house. :lol: ;-P

Seriously listen to the man he is very knowledgeable in this department.

Pete

Beamer said:

Thanks to everyone that has responded.

i have not yet purchased the insert.. (Regency Alterra 1250) The installed is coming over to make sure everything is in order first.

If I cannot obtain enough dry wood at this point, i will try to supplement with bio-bricks.. I see some places offering 'kiln dried' wood.. but I guess they might be full of crap to, right? lol

My house is actually on a decent sized lot for the city... 750sq yards... So i'm pretty sure I can whip up something to store the wood for seasoning..near the back fence.

So much to read on this forum... its pretty intimidating, all the info!

Thanks all!
Ryan

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Don't let it overwhelm you.
We all had to learn. "The best way to learn is to burn"
I burned wood from 3 months seasoned to 6 months seasoned & got allot of heat & allot of creosote in the chimney, I learned to clean it monthly.
Then I learned how well 2 year old seasoned wood burns & have never looked back.
I still inspect the chimney & clean it twice a year, but don't have much creosote anymore.
If you burn less than desirable wood, clean the chimney often.
You'll learn, as we all have, the importance of dry wood & how much better it heats & burns.
This site helped me & will help you learn to burn. It's fun & rewarding
Lot of wisdom in the above posts
Good luck,

regarding kiln dried wood - sure that should be really dry but at a super premium price. this type of wood is mostly marketed to say restaurants that burn wood for their business (ie no bugs no worries that it's not dry) or people who only want to burn for ambiance rather than heat because the cost is similar to other fossil fuels. myself and i'd venture to say most here heat with wood because it's much less expensive then oil, natural gas and electricity. and there is something primal about making your own fires

further - wood burning is more of lifestyle. what i mean is that it's a lot more work then turning the dial on the thermostat for heat . our homes are at least 10 to 20 degrees warmer than houses that dont burn. it becomes sort of an addiction. so you might start with a 1/4 cord and start to enjoy the benefits of fire and want more... or not

i've always wondered how many folks buy a stove and use it for a year or two and then stop burning because of the work involved

best of luck

However much wood you expect you might use, get more... much more. I'm a part time weekend burner only in a small house and I still go through 1.5-2 true cord a year. Its taken me a couple years to work up to it but Im trying to keep 4+ cord on hand all the time so I'm never burning anything less than a 18-24 months seasoned (ie. I have 2012/2013 wood on hand already and will replace what I am burning now with 2013/2014 wood in the spring) When you build up a good supply base you will have more luxury to wait and jump on free scrounges and cheap deals as you dont have pressure to get an entire years wood in all at once.

In an urban area you might have to buy wood, but try and time your purchases to the spring when prices are low and look out for suppliers that will give you a deal on mutli-cord loads or a deal for buying green and dry it yourself.

One word of warning if it hasn't been said yet... the first winter will be discouraging... spending a lot of money for results that wont seem worth it. Just hang in there, the second year gets a lot easier (since you will have dry wood left from year 1) and by the third you will be like us and wonder how you ever lived without wood heat

Bio bricks or the equivalent are a great idea if you're looking for wood this time of year, particlularly if you are short on storage space. I can fit a ton in the garage on a pallet. Guaranteed dry and easy to burn.

Beamer said:

Thanks to everyone that has responded.

i have not yet purchased the insert.. (Regency Alterra 1250) The installed is coming over to make sure everything is in order first.

If I cannot obtain enough dry wood at this point, i will try to supplement with bio-bricks.. I see some places offering 'kiln dried' wood.. but I guess they might be full of crap to, right? lol

My house is actually on a decent sized lot for the city... 750sq yards... So i'm pretty sure I can whip up something to store the wood for seasoning..near the back fence.

So much to read on this forum... its pretty intimidating, all the info!

Thanks all!
Ryan

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Eco Bricks work extremely well for me on occasion usually when I am not feeling good and don't want to load for a while. Eco Bricks at TSC burn for a very long time and are
easy to use just be sure not to overload because they get very hot. There is also Green Blocks and Bio Blocks that I know off! I put 4 in my harman and they go for about 14 hours before a reload is necessary it is usually still throwing 350 to 400F on reload. They are a bit pricey for your only fuel but that may be better than gas hope this helps out.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/fireplace-accessories/redstone-trade-ecobrick-pack-of-8-1001261


Good luck
Pete