stacking rounds ???

just plain lazy

Stubborn Dutchman said:

I've seen some pictures on here of rounds that have been stacked but not split. Since everything I have read here tells me it doesn't dry worth a darn, what are the reasons for not splitting before stacking? Longer storage?

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It'll dry...just not quite as fast. Depends a lot on the size of the round.

Every stick of wood you put in your stove doesn't need to be <15-20% MC, so a couple rounds sprinkled in aren't going to have a lot of impact in the grand scheme of things. If you put in 30lbs of 15% and 5lbs of 25%, your average MC is still pretty darn low.

It's an addiction. Not everything makes sense.

I stack some rounds for storage purposes. We've got the lean to in the barn full of standing dead beetle kill pine, for example. Since I already have at least a full burn season's worth of pine split and stacked, we just store the extra in the round. It will season in 6 months, easily, in our climate so I just make sure to work it up at least 6 months before I need it.

mecreature said:

just plain lazy

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Not always.

I have a pile of rounds stacked from a few scrounges from over the summer.

The main reason is that I like to have a nice pile before using the splitter - since I currently rent one. I'll split a few here and there by hand but I have some nasty and huge rounds that need some hydraulic love.

Depending on the wood as Pagey noted some rounds will dry nicely and they work well in cold weather.

Kaptain said:

mecreature said:

just plain lazy

Click to expand...

Not always.

I have a pile of rounds stacked from a few scrounges from over the summer.

The main reason is that I like to have a nice pile before using the splitter - since I currently rent one. I'll split a few here and there by hand but I have some nasty and huge rounds that need some hydraulic love.

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only kidding.. look at those rounds pagey has. That is beautiful. good photo too.
I have intentionally set some rounds back also, same reasons.

mecreature said:

Kaptain said:

mecreature said:

just plain lazy

Click to expand...

Not always.

I have a pile of rounds stacked from a few scrounges from over the summer.

The main reason is that I like to have a nice pile before using the splitter - since I currently rent one. I'll split a few here and there by hand but I have some nasty and huge rounds that need some hydraulic love.

Click to expand...

only kidding.. look at those rounds pagey has. That is beautiful. good photo too.
I have intentionally set some rounds back also, same reasons.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that pine is basically ready to burn when it's felled, but I go ahead and split and season it for several months anyway. I try to split the bulk of my hardwoods right away, but the pine can sit in the rounds for some time. The main thing is to get it bucked and in the dry ASAP, as it will rot on the ground VERY quickly. Hate to see all those BTUs go to waste!

on occasion I will stack rounds for various reasons...

Wont be able to get to splitting for a while and I want them off the ground
neater looking
easy to pull off the stack of rounds when splitting
save space

Stacked this last fall because my wood shed was full. I did not want to split, stack and then restack in the spring. When I split it the MC was 16% after the winter. I don't think of myself as lazy, just conserving needed energy.

For me, I split by hand. I also take a score when it presents itself. So if that means I cut up 10 trees in two weeks (because they'll be gone if I don't get them asap) then that's what I do. I pile the rounds, then splits as I can. I don't kill myself splitting, just a few hours every day, slow and steady.

CountryBoy19 said:

For me, I split by hand. I also take a score when it presents itself. So if that means I cut up 10 trees in two weeks (because they'll be gone if I don't get them asap) then that's what I do. I pile the rounds, then splits as I can. I don't kill myself splitting, just a few hours every day, slow and steady.

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That's about what I was gonna say. Stacked rounds take up much less room and those of us on smaller suburban lots have to conserve space.

jlow said:

Stacked this last fall because my wood shed was full. I did not want to split, stack and then restack in the spring. When I split it the MC was 16% after the winter. I don't think of myself as lazy, just conserving needed energy.

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Now that's a fine looking stack of rounds!

Pagey said:

I stack some rounds for storage purposes. We've got the lean to in the barn full of standing dead beetle kill pine, for example. Since I already have at least a full burn season's worth of pine split and stacked, we just store the extra in the round. It will season in 6 months, easily, in our climate so I just make sure to work it up at least 6 months before I need it.

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pagey, no problems drying under the lean-to? The summer heat and wind is enough to dry that wood in short time? Even the logs in the center?

because space is limited on my property I split as soon as I get the rounds home. I have an alternative place for log length, I will buck and split it there and then truck it out but for scrounged stuff I bring it right home and hand split as soon as I can.

My Oslo heats my home said:

Pagey said:

I stack some rounds for storage purposes. We've got the lean to in the barn full of standing dead beetle kill pine, for example. Since I already have at least a full burn season's worth of pine split and stacked, we just store the extra in the round. It will season in 6 months, easily, in our climate so I just make sure to work it up at least 6 months before I need it.

Click to expand...

pagey, no problems drying under the lean-to? The summer heat and wind is enough to dry that wood in short time? Even the logs in the center?

Click to expand...

All those rounds are already "seasoned". It's all standing dead beetle kill pine. It's ready to burn as soon as you fell it. However, I still split and stack about 5 face cords every burn season and let it season for a minimum of 6 months before I burn it. It never goes from shed/round to the stove immediately. Sure, it COULD, but I always give it the additional 6 months of split and stacked in individual rows for kicks n giggles.

I've got close to three cords stacked in rounds. Why? Because the wood was available at a time when I was also available. Three large oaks: two in a neighbors yard and one in my own woods. It was bad enough felling and bucking them up in June and July in Texas when we were having 100 days of well over a hundred degrees. Then... I've been on the road for five of the last six weeks (and still am). Late October to early November should be a nice time to start splitting.

Oh yeah.... I also have this new Huskee 35 that I'm dying to break in.

I just cant stand looking at a mess so have to clean it up

What else would I do when I get a big bunch of rounds? I guess I could toss them in a heap, but it doesn't take much more effort to stack them, and it keeps more of them off the ground until I split and stack them more permanently.

Don, I do all the cutting during winter and stack a bit it up a bit and wait until snow melt to do the splitting. Works well for us. I also keep a few rounds for burning as these help during mid winter when you want the longer burns.

I can't believe that I'm mostly stacking rounds from this grapple load. Seems like just double handling, plus I hurt a shoulder jerking a heavy one into the garden cart. Coming home though after work, there's no set up and breakdown time for the splitter, and less complexity when it gets dark. I'll probably split in the dark in an area near the house after I get through blocking this load.

I think splits will last longer, only because they are likely to dry faster and thus rot less. Once the wood is dried out I don't think it will make a difference, but I think it can make a difference in the beginning. I see more fungus on rounds than on splits. I think the difference between bark on vs bark off is a bigger difference than split vs round.