I think it's time for me to start stacking in single rows

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So I started to restack my 1.5 yr hickory last night. I was amazed at the amount of bug/beetle dust/dirt(don't know what exactly it's called) on the bark side of many splits. I noticed this also on my 3 yr oak last month but the hickory has LOTS more of it to the point that I was brushing it off as it appeaed to be so thick in some areas that it was holding moisture. It seems the stacks that are closer to my trees have more of this stuff?
Hickory must be tasty, the species suffers its good taste. It smells so good so...
This is an interesting thread. I was talking to a woman over the weekend who told me she was from Alaska. Near Washington south and she said they got 140"of rain this last season. She said everything turns to mush there. She was telling me about the totem poles that just fall over and rot. And all the trees are covered in moss.
Success in drying is a location thing partly.
I did the pallets this year with three 16" rows to a pallet. I like the measuring part. Two pallets = full cord. But I am concerned about the drying time as well.
This year was a wet one here in NY.
I may restack.
 
Walnut must be a moister sponge , I have some three years split that still sizzles
 
So I started to restack my 1.5 yr hickory last night. I was amazed at the amount of bug/beetle dust/dirt(don't know what exactly it's called) on the bark side of many splits. I noticed this also on my 3 yr oak last month but the hickory has LOTS more of it to the point that I was brushing it off as it appeaed to be so thick in some areas that it was holding moisture. It seems the stacks that are closer to my trees have more of this stuff?

Bob, that sounds like powder post beetles.

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On a side note, I do a perimeter spray of my wood piles and spray under the stack once a year with a product called "termidor" its the same stuff people put on their cats and dogs to keep flea and tick off (fipronil aka frontline). I also do perimeter spray of my house and baseboard once a year as well. There are almost zero bugs in my wood pile or house.

Some people are very anti pesticide however but I love this product and it kills just about all insects (termits, ants, fleas, ticks, ect). Not sure if any research has been done into beetles, but the only pests I find in my piles are chipmunks and mice. Most often at least a few splits in my loads I have ordered have termites in them and I know if they are CSS that its unlikely they will colonize else where away from their main base, but I still spray my wood piles once yearly.
 
Yep, I figured by all the holes I saw that they were beetles. I had the same in my oak pile but not to this extent. This is the most I've seen yet. Hickory must be good tasting stuff, I know I like to smoke my burgers with it.
 
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On Sunday I was cleaning up a couple of small widow-makers that I cut up a few weeks ago, not enough to load up on a pallet (I have several), but wanted to get it off the ground quickly and out of the way. So I thought I'd throw together one of those quick and dirty racks that have been mentioned here a couple times before. I had some CMU blocks and a few old 2x4's in the yard so I loaded one up.

http://www.instructables.com/id/No-tools-firewood-rack/

Surprisingly solid once the splits are in there. I'm still a fan of pallets, but if you have a small amount of firewood that you just need to stack quickly, without committing time or $ to something more permanent, this is not such a bad idea.
 
I always stacked 2 rows per pallet and put uglies in the middle (4ft wide). Or sometimes 3 rows of 16 inches each. Never had any problems. Of course my location had full sun and wind. Walnut is a heavy wood even when seasoned. Maybe it's more like oak drying times. A good reason to have plenty of wood on hand.
 
My Walnut that was cut green a little over 2 years ago is below 20% and burning fine.
 
"I'm not convinced yet and have stacked wood this way all my life. Well, most times in 3 rows together but have stacked with over 20 rows together. Never have had a problem with wood not drying. Many claim with the 3 rows that we typically use for stacking that the center row won't dry. That may be true but I've found it interesting that the wood piles shrink down at the same rate. It would seem if that center row did not dry that it would end up higher. That has never happened"

My guess would be because the outside rows only have one end exposed all three rows are drying a little slower so shrinkage is the same, you cant get all the benefits of wind when you block it, sure it still does its thing but not getting the full effect.
Maybe that's why BWS tells us to dry our wood for three years (bless his heart).
 
From reading on the board and a study someone posted from a researcher, I'm convinced drying occurs mostly from temperature , not wind. WInd can't hurt, but all out temperature makes the most difference. I follow the "two stacks leaning into each other" practice as my single rows tend to shift too much as they dry and fall over.
 
I always stacked 2 rows per pallet and put uglies in the middle (4ft wide)
another good alternative. my yellow birch yields lots of uglies...
 
From reading on the board and a study someone posted from a researcher, I'm convinced drying occurs mostly from temperature , not wind. WInd can't hurt, but all out temperature makes the most difference. I follow the "two stacks leaning into each other" practice as my single rows tend to shift too much as they dry and fall over.

I have read so many articles on drying wood (firewood and lumber both) and believe me wind is very important, I could post many different articles on the drying of wood and they will all talk about temperature and air movement, the higher temperature brings the moisture to the surface and the wind takes it away.
 
I have read so many articles on drying wood (firewood and lumber both) and believe me wind is very important, I could post many different articles on the drying of wood and they will all talk about temperature and air movement, the higher temperature brings the moisture to the surface and the wind takes it away.

Exactly - wind removes the moisture from the area surrounding the stack and then allows additional water loss to occur. On a calm humid day, you sweat and the sweat doesn't evaporate quickly - add wind and the sweat evaporates more quickly, the moisture is carried away from your body, and you can then produce more sweat - same deal with drying wood. Wind is a key component to drying wood. Cheers!
 
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From reading on the board and a study someone posted from a researcher, I'm convinced drying occurs mostly from temperature , not wind. WInd can't hurt, but all out temperature makes the most difference. I follow the "two stacks leaning into each other" practice as my single rows tend to shift too much as they dry and fall over.

Don't believe all researchers. Some thing that tag means they are always correct. Not so! Temperature can't hurt and that can go for low temperatures too. Case in point is in Alaska, the Yukon and areas like that. Air circulation is still the biggest key.
 
So I started to restack my 1.5 yr hickory last night. I was amazed at the amount of bug/beetle dust/dirt(don't know what exactly it's called)

Frass

Definition of FRASS
: debris or excrement produced by insects
Origin of FRASS
German, insect damage, literally, eating away, from Old High German vrāz food, from frezzan to devour — more at fret
First Known Use: 1854
 
I wish i could do single rows but with living in the city there is not room for that. Plus the area i have to put wood has pine trees above it and a fence on the back side so i have found covering it with a dark colored tarp after the first winter is about the best i can do. I put them on pallets 2 rows wide and try to put a air gap down the middle.
 
covering it with a dark colored tarp after the first winter is about the best i can do

That works for me but I also throw down some scraps of plywood or similar on the top of the stacks then tarp over that - keeps the rain / snow / heavy wet leaves out and also stops pretty much any puddling on the tarp (otherwise tarp smothers the top layer and some pieces get punky - I lost some splits that way in previous years).
 
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my stack for next year has developed a lean inward similar to what you describe...it wasnt intentional though...haha.

Mine may fall over ;lol
Hope all the fires missed your area.
 
I've attempted a bunch of ways. When I 3 stacked and waiting 2 years, the middle row was hardly dry. I now one row for 2 years and still come up against not fully seasoned. I use mostly red oak. The wood is covered at the top and the cover goes on in August. I think red oak needs 3 yrs of seasoning for best results. I'd take a moisture reading on the outside and be as low as 12-14%. I'd then resplit the split and read 22-25%. That old adage about wood drying an inch o year may be true. I think heat, humidity and air current all have their contributions to make. For some reason I've gotten away from covering my wood with 6 mil plastic sheeting but always had great success when using this stuff while draping it almost to the bottom of the wood stack which is something we're told not to cover wood as such. Ah baloney. I like what Brother Bart said. Its just a long learning curve dependent on so many variables such as stove type, wood type, split type and burn type that its tough to come up with an overall edict. But some just want to be big shot know it alls and either come up with edicts for all or worse, parrot information from the big shot know it alls because they must be right. The devil is in the details and the devil takes many forms.
 
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I like what Brother Bart said. Its just a long learning curve dependent on so many variables such as stove type, wood type, split type and burn type that its tough to come up with an overall edict. But some just want to be big shot know it alls and either come up with edicts for all or worse, parrot information from the big shot know it alls because they must be right.

I agree in principle (with you and BB) - "YMMV" is pretty much implied / assumed, but reading this forum for a few years now, and so far I've never got the impression that there were very many folks trying to be big shots. I'm pretty sure that comment was not intended to be condescending, but it kinda reads that way...? Just my 2c....
 
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