Another stacking question....

[Joey]

Greetings from The Garden State...or Dirty Jersey as I call it! My small backyard is just about out of room for anymore wood. Was wondering how much wood do you think I could properly stack on a regular size pallet??? What would be the best way to stack it? Photos would help also. I envy you guys that have a lot of property. It hit 71 degrees here in Ocean County, NJ.

 

[wingarcher]

If you got a 4' by 4' pallet (most of the pallets you find are 48"x40" though) and stacked it 4' high you'd have about 1/2 cord of wood, or 1.5 face cords if the splits are 16" long. Problem is you'd have a lot of relatively less dense stacking to do that- your stack would be nearly all cribbing so you'd have less overall.

Perfect stacking and very level pallet- you could probably go 5' high without a great risk of the whole thing falling apart.

N

 

[Slow1]

It all depends.. (of course).

I have stacked on pallets in many different ways. I also discovered (new to this last year you see) that pallets come in different sizes - they are not all equal. If you put two pallets next to each other then the stacks become one and you can get more - i.e. stack higher in my experience.

I tend to cross-stack on the corners (3x3) and then fill in between with splits. Whenever possible, I let the splits hang over the edges of the pallets a couple inches so that I can get a full three lengths of splits deep. This way I get over 1/2 cord/pallet - up to 3/4 cord in some cases if I have two pallets next to each other (6' tall stack - 4' deep, 8' wide) but that takes pallets that are close to 4x4' and hanging the pieces over the edges a bit and/or leaving a little space between the pallets (but not between the splits) that I bridge with splits.

Clearly stacking this way is likely less than optimal for drying green wood. However I have not had any fall over as I stack very carefully.

My "wood borg" - search on this and you are sure to find photos of it in other threads - is on pallets. I forget exactly how many as there are different sized ones under there along with some misc pieces of scrap 2x4's and such. That pile ended up with around 4 1/2 cords (maybe more?) and is over 7' tall on one edge and heaped in the middle. Being 10-12' on a side and roughly square it is very stable - even survived being backed into with the van. I wouldn't put any green wood into it though as the center surely is pretty much staying with the same MC as it was stacked with... my only fear is that I'll find water leaked in and has started mold to grow. Will find out come Jan or Feb I suppose.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Joey, don't forget that there are alternatives to stacking on pallets. In my estimation, wood piles never look as good when stacked on pallets. It is much easier to stack in rows and just cross stack the ends. If you build a stack this way and pile it 4 1/2' high or a little more, you will end up with a 4' high stack by the end of the summer due to shrinkage from drying. Get some landscape timbers or something similar, stack it neatly and it won't be an eyesore.

Here is one of our wood piles. It was almost complete when my wife took the picture:

Here is one of the older piles:

 

[Bigg_Redd]

The Durty Jerz

 

[richg]

Joey, don't forget that there are alternatives to stacking on pallets. In my estimation, wood piles never look as good when stacked on pallets. It is much easier to stack in rows and just cross stack the ends. If you build a stack this way and pile it 4 1/2' high or a little more, you will end up with a 4' high stack by the end of the summer due to shrinkage from drying. Get some landscape timbers or something similar, stack it neatly and it won't be an eyesore.

Here is one of our wood piles. It was almost complete when my wife took the picture:

Here is one of the older piles:

That is one mighty impressive wood collection you have there. As a newbie woodburner, I am humbled...

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Rich, don't be humbled as it is nothing special. I'd like to see you with an even more impressive stack!

 

[SolarAndWood]

Rich, don't be humbled as it is nothing special. I'd like to see you with an even more impressive stack!

You are much too modest. Anyone who gathers/processes their own wood with the tools/equipment we have at our disposal knows what an accomplishment getting 25 cord ahead is.

 

[gzecc]

Joey, Which town in NE jersey (ocean county) is so dirty?

 

[Joey]

I'm referring to the entire state as "dirty" from a political point of view. This State is outta control in so many different ways. Our only hope may be the recent change in Governers. Wasn't referring to any particular town, but I can tell ya this, when I retire in 8 years, I won't be stayin in this corrupt state. I'm just fed up with it all. period. On lighter note,,,been enjoying the woodstove and the info from this site.

 

[Hurricane]

New Governor will not help this state, the corruption is too deep.

It seems that the most dense way people stack is in a wood shed. Some people on here have said they stack 9 ft high in their sheds. Some use pallets for the base in their sheds. It does not need to be complicated or expensive either. I do not have one but I have three acres to stack on.

 

[Tony H]

I also lay several pallets end to end then cross stack the ends and fill in the center. If you lay them with the 48 side as the width you can get 3 rows on each one and I go about 5' high . With this arrangement you will end up with a tiny bit over 1 cord for every 2 pallets.
I also have enough space where it's not critical to fit as much as possible in a small space, however the covered protected space provided by a wood shed would certainly hold more and look better.

 

[gzecc]

The political parties are a sham. They are both the same. They sell themselves like there is some difference, but in the end they all do the same thing. Its amazing to me that the masses don't see it. Year after year, "I'm for lower taxes, better schools, I will fight corruption". Does this sound familiar? Follow the lobbyists, follow the money, thats who pulls the strings.

 

[Skier76]

I put about 4-5 pallets together and stacking in two rows, managed to get a cord on there. I probably could have used less pallets if I staked the ends of the piles...but I didn't and I had the pallets to use.

 

[Joey]

Thanx, my questions were answered, gonna grab one more cord and stack it on a couple pallets.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I either cross stack on a pallet (for stability and airflow) or put 4 of them together and make a holz hauzen. You can get 2.5 cords on 4 pallets, alot of wood in a small footprint and best of all it is a great conversation piece. check on this thread
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/41091/

 

[LLigetfa]

I put several pallets in a row and stack two rows 4 feet high. My wood is bucked to 20 inches so two rows fit the 40 inch width of the pallets. I'm sure they would be stable even as high as 6 feet. This is 2011/2012 wood that will be moved to my woodshed eventually. In the shed I stack 9 1/2 feet high on a concrete slab. Filled to the rafters, it is 12 - 13 cord.

Before I built my shed, I stacked similar to how Dennis does except I would build a floor out of 5 foot long poles laid down like corduroy on top of 20 foot long poles spaced for air flow.

 

[wendell]

That is one mighty impressive wood collection you have there. As a newbie woodburner, I am humbled...

We are all humbled by Dennis. ;-)

 

[maplewood]

I put down a row of pallets and stack two ranks of wood on each row of pallets. My wood is about 18" long, and I usually let it overhand the edge of the pallet a few inches, so I can get about 12" between my two ranks. I put a few feet between each row of pallets, so I can stroll up and down my rows and admire my work, sample a piece or two to check the moisture content, and avoid any mold caused by poor air flow and lack of sun.

There's about 16+ cord in this pic. I've since filled my basement wood room (10.5 cord) and put some extra in my garage (2.5 cord), and put a cord in my grandma's basement. I've been putting up some poplar, pine and fir from my own property, and now I've got 6+ cord up on these pallets for next year.

Hope this helps.
Happy burning.

 

[gzecc]

Wood envy big time!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey, I just wish we'd have got some pictures of Eric Johnson's when he had over 40 cords. He very well still have that many or more in his barn right now. Now that is impressive!