Into sucky wood

  • 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.
Soundchasm said:
I know we all wince when we read somebody got "seasoned" wood delivered but for some reason it won't light...
Click to expand...

"I know the wood is good, what's wrong with my stove?"

Next years wood will be primarily 3 yr oak. There's a few sticks of sassafras as well. If need be I would also be able to use the hickory and locust that's CSS for two years but single row in the best spot in the yard. All totaled it's about 5 cords, much more than I use as a night/weekend burner. 2 cords give or take is usually enough for us.
 
Stack the good stuff first, at the back of the pile(s), then sucky stuff last, at the front of the pile. Burn sucky in beginning of the season when it's not as cold and won't have such an impact.
I screwed up my first year and spaced and stacked the good stuff last(spaced thinking I'll save the good stuff for last, but ended up in front. Won't make that mistake again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jatoxico
I messed up in the sense that I stacked the least seasoned wood so I would hit it last thinking it would be used at the end of the season or not at all. Instead we're right in the teeth of it.

Managed to get a few loads of dead locust and oak from my scrub stacks. Stuck them downstairs by the water heater and furnace since the stuff was not under cover. May spring for a few packs of bio brick just so its not so tight at the end.
 
I got about three cords left, l will probably burn about two of them.

Last year I ran out about this time and had to pay $$ to either the oil company or the wood sellers. Going into spring with some wood left over for next year is a really really good feeling.

I season on pallets on cinderblocks, two rows of 16" splits 8" apart, closing in on six feet tall.. This year I'll be seasoning on 20 pallets total, last summer I seasoned on 14, the year before that 12.

I did run out of really good wood in late January, but that is about right. I am wanting to have more of the good stuff than I need for the next really cold winter we have. Most of my extra pallet space this season is going to be high BTU stuff for whenever we have a hard winter again, I am bumping up my shoulder season seasoning space a little, but bumping up the seasoning space for the good stuff by a lot.
 
Poindexter said:
I got about three cords left, l will probably burn about two of them.

Last year I ran out about this time and had to pay $$ to either the oil company or the wood sellers. Going into spring with some wood left over for next year is a really really good feeling.

I season on pallets on cinderblocks, two rows of 16" splits 8" apart, closing in on six feet tall.. This year I'll be seasoning on 20 pallets total, last summer I seasoned on 14, the year before that 12.

I did run out of really good wood in late January, but that is about right. I am wanting to have more of the good stuff than I need for the next really cold winter we have. Most of my extra pallet space this season is going to be high BTU stuff for whenever we have a hard winter again, I am bumping up my shoulder season seasoning space a little, but bumping up the seasoning space for the good stuff by a lot.
Click to expand...

I ran out last year too... ended up having to buy a pallet of Riologs to get through. I have twice as much this year..... unfortunately I can only put about 4 cord in my shed (too much weight).. and the other half is f'n *buried* under snow. My plan as gotten completely screwed by the unreal amount of snow in the last month...

I will have to start shoveling in about 3 weeks....
 
We finished the main stack, around 3 cord last week. There's another cord or more on a different stack, left over from last winter. It's mostly red oak and red maple. That will see us through to spring.

The sucky wood in the 3-cord stacks, like gum we used up when there were breaks in the weather. I'm glad to see that stuff gone, it's messy and leaves a lot of ash.
 
Man after reading all this I would gladly take your guys sucky wood! This is my second year burning and all I have ready to burn is two cords of pine! I'm burning through it like nobody's business with these -15 temps out lately. I look forward to next year when I can burn the "sucky" wood
 
I'm going to be burning next winter, started stacking last Spring.. have 3+ cords stacked now, but if these temps come through next year again that might not be enough... One of my neighbors has a good size woodpile at his house though that's been there for a while, and they don't burn any that I can see... once this snow melts I'm gonna see if I can take it off his hands.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Y
Wood storage: metal carcass+tarps VS wooden shade VS outside stack+tarp next to a stone fence?
Replies
5
Views
751
The Wood Shed
kborndale
K
P
Squirting Sugar Maples
Replies
6
Views
501
The Wood Shed
Max W
Max W
M
Black Maple - Lots if it!!!
Replies
17
Views
2K
The Wood Shed
mgodzilla
M
BobcatBranch
Woodman's Parts Plus in NH
Replies
5
Views
644
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
BobcatBranch
BobcatBranch
N
Ants and punky wood - now what?
Replies
4
Views
450
The Wood Shed
NiftyB
N
Top Bottom
Back