Which direction to stack?

KB007 said:

I've never thought about this until I was walking around our stacks today but, which direction works better for stacking: Parallel with the prevailing wind or perpendicular to the prevailing wind? Anyone have any thoughts about this?

I stack on pallets, so have 2 rows per pallet with a space in between the 2 on the same pallet with a tractor width between the pallet rows.

Click to expand...

The amount of sun exposure you can get onto your pile has significantly more to due with it. So long as the breeze can carry away the moisture you will be fine. Extra space under lets the moisture fall out of your pile when the breeze isn't blowing and the sun isn't heating.

How's about bark up or bark down?

I stack almost the same exact way KB, wind swirls in my yard so it probably doesn't matter much. Couple stacks out in the open get hit with the wind mostly from the side.

I find stacking in the upward direction works well.

jatoxico said:

How's about bark up or bark down?

I stack almost the same exact way KB, wind swirls in my yard so it probably doesn't matter much. Couple stacks out in the open get hit with the wind mostly from the side.

Click to expand...

Bark up.

I always figured trying for a specific direction to stack my wood would put me solidly into the Crazy Wood Guy category and some of my neighbors already joke about the amount of wood Ihave without me trying to tell them I am now using a compass to align my stacks to the prevailing wind or most sunlight exposure.

Crazy as it sounds . . . double stacked . . . up on pallets . . . outside for a year, inside the shed for a year . . . wood seems to burn quite well.

Our prevailing wind is SW. We stack mostly N/S but are not against angling it a bit either.

If one keeps in mind that air circulation is what is needed most for drying, it then becomes easier to know which direction to stack. You want that wind to hit the sides of the stacks and go through it. That will dry the wood the best.

I just go with what I can stack between trees out in the woods,I don't think wife would want wood stacked in yard on the grass.Whatever keeps you out of trouble....

In a perfect world having the prevailing with blow through the stacks will provide the most surface area convection(all other things being equal) and subsequently providing the best/fastest drying but... In a more perfect world get so far ahead direction of stacking matters very little and just give it more time.

3yrs seems to be the going rate of time for this program with more yrs being better.

didn't really think about it when I started my stacks. stacks run pretty much east and west....winds come from the northwest or southwest for the most part. at least they are facing into the sun.....until the leaves come out.

nmaho said:

I just go with what I can stack between trees out in the woods,I don't think wife would want wood stacked in yard on the grass.Whatever keeps you out of trouble....

Click to expand...

How I stack the wood isn't going to have much impact on the amount of trouble I'm in.

ArsenalDon said:

I find stacking in the upward direction works well.

Click to expand...

+1

Direction? I'm more concerned about COVERAGE!! Those dang tarps I bought are letting moisture thru somehow.............Lately I've been digging thru the stacks to find DRY wood!!

I've been taking the wood in the house in batches, and letting them dry in the living room where the wood stove is............meaning that now I have a two-stage process, from pile to fire.

Gotta build a shed next year!! Anyone wanna come over and help?

-Soupy1957

soupy1957 said:

Those dang tarps I bought are letting moisture thru somehow

Click to expand...

I switched over to roof tar sheets. give it a go! works much better than tarps