Fireplace wood rack big enough?

[Bster13]

My wife bought me this for my Bday:
http://www.cb2.com/industrial-wood-storage/s605380

It is 17"Wx8"Dx24.75"H.

Here is a pic of it on my hearth next to my BK Princess Insert with extra large surround:

Question... any idea how many days worth of wood this will hold in Southeast Connecticut heating a 1957, 1 story ranch of 1994sq ft? I expect to burn 3-4 cords per year (first year, dunno for sure). I'd fill my BK's firebox, then take the wood out and put it in the rack for a point of reference, but I may return this and I didn't want to mark it up.

The goal is to take wood from my stacks and fill a large deck box (http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/...BoxesPatioBenches&Prod_ID=RP091373&Redirect=1) with wood to keep it dry, and then every day or two bring in dry wood from the deck box and place it in the rack on the hearth.

Any educated guesses?

 

[Beer Belly]

depending on wood type, burning practices (my Wife like flames all the time)....maybe a day....uneducated guess

 

[Bigfoot]

What kind of wood are you burning, Pine, oak ect??? Do you burn 24/7? That will hold about one evenings worth of Pine in an open fire place, your nice stove burning oak or something of quality??? I dont know. It looks nice though. Maybe if you had one more to add to that one? Just a thought, good luck.......

 

[Bster13]

Good questions. Heating 24/7 and using Oak and lesser hardwoods. I think I'd be fine with carrying in a load after I come home from work everyday. Having to do it twice a day, especially in the cold morning might get old.

 

[Shari]

I have three of these:

Two sit, covered, on the front porch. One is inside next to my hearth. As I empty one, I bring another one in, refill the empty one and park the filled one back on the porch. I probably could get away with only have two but if the weather (snow) is bad I know I have a few days wood right at my door.

A rack like this, filled almost up to the upper handle will last me +/- 2 days.

 

[paul bunion]

1.5 days, you say you will stuff the stove at the same time so you will be 8 hrs ahead every time you fill it.

You might want to reconsider that deck box. You'll be double handling your wood and bending over to get the pieces in and out of it might get a bit old. I'd go direct from the stacks to the fireplace. (Although a stash on the deck before a big storm does have its merit.)

 

[Bster13]

I like the utility of those but they would overpower my hearth and the wife is particular about looks.

I have three of these:

Two sit, covered, on the front porch. One is inside next to my hearth. As I empty one, I bring another one in, refill the empty one and park the filled one back on the porch. I probably could get away with only have two but if the weather (snow) is bad I know I have a few days wood right at my door.

A rack like this, filled almost up to the upper handle will last me +/- 2 days.

 

[Bster13]

YEah, I'm all about not having to move my wood any more than I had to. My stacks are very close to the house and I can easily go straight from the stacks to the stove, but I worry about bringing in ice-encrusted wood and cold-shocking my stove.

Now that I think about it, even if I go from my stacks to the deck box, I may be bringing in bits of ice and snow into the rack on my hearth, right? That rack would not contain the ice as it melts and drips all over the place.

For those that have burned more than I have (everyone) how do you manage ice/snow melting in your house?

1.5 days, you say you will stuff the stove at the same time so you will be 8 hrs ahead every time you fill it.

You might want to reconsider that deck box. You'll be double handling your wood and bending over to get the pieces in and out of it might get a bit old. I'd go direct from the stacks to the fireplace. (Although a stash on the deck before a big storm does have its merit.)

 

[Shari]

how do you manage ice/snow melting in your house

Cover your stacks.

 

[paul bunion]

For those that have burned more than I have (everyone) how do you manage ice/snow melting in your house?

Definitely get them covered before the snow falls. Wood is really good at soaking up moisture out of wet snow ifit remains in contact. Don't invite it in the first place.

 

[HDRock]

how do you manage ice/snow melting in your house?

Here ya go To cover, or not to cover, THAT is the quesion

 

[firefighterjake]

YEah, I'm all about not having to move my wood any more than I had to. My stacks are very close to the house and I can easily go straight from the stacks to the stove, but I worry about bringing in ice-encrusted wood and cold-shocking my stove.

Now that I think about it, even if I go from my stacks to the deck box, I may be bringing in bits of ice and snow into the rack on my hearth, right? That rack would not contain the ice as it melts and drips all over the place.

For those that have burned more than I have (everyone) how do you manage ice/snow melting in your house?

Now . . . I have a woodshed which means little to no snow or ice.

Before . . . Tarped stacks . . . so I built a woodbox out of scrap tongue and groove boards and some 2 x 4s I had kicking around the house and then put a large Rubbermaid plastic bin inside to contain the melted snow, ice and wood mess. I still use the woodbox since it does a nice job of containing most of the bark, dirt, etc.

 

[Jon1270]

The goal is to take wood from my stacks and fill a large deck box

Keep in mind that a plastic box like that will only keep the wood dry if it's starting out dry. If the wood is damp from rain or snow when you load it, the box will keep it damp.

If you keep some wood on the porch for when the weather won't let you use wood directly from the stacks, I'd keep it in a covered rack with open sides, not a sealed container.

For those that have burned more than I have (everyone) how do you manage ice/snow melting in your house?

Not really an issue. I did however find that a fair bit of dirt (chainsaw sawdust, crumbled leaves, etc) clung to the wood and ended up on the floor along the path between the door and the fireplace. Plan on frequent tidying.

My wood stacks are just outside my basement door. I built a divided 1/4 cord rack just inside the door. Through the winter, I brought up small amounts of wood (just one stove-full at a time, typically) a couple of times a day. When one section of the basement rack was emptied, I reloaded it from the outdoor stacks and started burning out of the other section, so that the wood I was burning had always been indoors for at least a few days before it hit the stove.

I think your tools and workflow might depend on things like whether your wood stacks are on grass, soil or concrete, and what kind of flooring you have between the door and stove. Burning directly from the stacks means you'll be walking from the stacks to the stove. If you have carpeting and your shoes are dirty, you'll have to them off at the door before proceeding but you won't want to put down an armload of wood, take off your dirty boots, pick the wood up again and carry it in. Even with having to handle the wood an extra time, it might be better to burn out of a rack on the porch. Keep the porch swept clean and you can go out for fuel in your socks or slippers in most weather.

As far as whether to keep this wood rack... I think racks like this are best for people who don't burn continuously, but rather want to keep a small store of clean, good-looking wood near the open fireplace for the occasional ambiance fire. For heating purposes, I don't see a utilitarian reason for the extra handling it would take to move wood through a rack of that size. The only hearthside wood storage I have is a little rack/container with a handle that I use to carry the wood up from the basement. I fill it in the basement, carry it up, set it down next to the stove, load the stove, and move the carrier with its leftover wood to a safe distance away where it waits for several hours until I need to repeat the process. Even if I were burning directly from my stacks, I'd use something similar -- a carrying device small enough to be manageable, that I can put down and pick up easily.

I think I'd be fine with carrying in a load after I come home from work everyday. Having to do it twice a day, especially in the cold morning might get old.

You might find this is six of one, and a half-dozen of the other. A single stove-loading's worth of wood is fairly heavy, so you can only carry so much per trip unless you get into wheeled dollies like the one Shari posted.

 

[BillLion]

I have one of these outside under cover of my deck; very helpful!

I have three of these:

Two sit, covered, on the front porch. One is inside next to my hearth. As I empty one, I bring another one in, refill the empty one and park the filled one back on the porch. I probably could get away with only have two but if the weather (snow) is bad I know I have a few days wood right at my door.

A rack like this, filled almost up to the upper handle will last me +/- 2 days.

 

[BillLion]

My guess is a day to a day & 1/2.

If you really get desperate you can get one of these for wood transport:
http://amzn.com/B005MZ4YZ0

My advice though would be to never let anyone see you in it...EVER!

My wife bought me this for my Bday:
http://www.cb2.com/industrial-wood-storage/s605380

It is 17"Wx8"Dx24.75"H.

Here is a pic of it on my hearth next to my BK Princess Insert with extra large surround:

Question... any idea how many days worth of wood this will hold in Southeast Connecticut heating a 1957, 1 story ranch of 1994sq ft? I expect to burn 3-4 cords per year (first year, dunno for sure). I'd fill my BK's firebox, then take the wood out and put it in the rack for a point of reference, but I may return this and I didn't want to mark it up.

The goal is to take wood from my stacks and fill a large deck box (http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/...BoxesPatioBenches&Prod_ID=RP091373&Redirect=1) with wood to keep it dry, and then every day or two bring in dry wood from the deck box and place it in the rack on the hearth.

Any educated guesses?

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I would not store wood in the house, lots of hidden insects, I prefer it outside the door and covered. The ambiance comes from the fire, not the wood ready to be burned..... Just a thought and my opinion....

 

[BillLion]

I would not store wood in the house, lots of hidden insects, I prefer it outside the door and covered. The ambiance comes from the fire, not the wood ready to be burned..... Just a thought and my opinion....

Many suggest keeping a day or 2 supply inside because it burns better. Do you do that or just bring in a bundle at a time?

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Last spring, my first burning season, I bought clean looking wood, I kept it under deck stairs that kept it dry and then I would put 2-3 days worth in my garage, now that I have been scrounging and seeing what's inside and around this wood, i will not use that same technique, now, I have 1 cord ready to go right outside my garage which will be covered soon. I am also able to keep up to a weeks worth on my deck that will be covered. But I will refrain from storing any of it in the house or garage. I read somewhere that keeping it in the house keeps its temperature of the wood up as opposed being outside, true, but when you open the door and throw it into a blazing fire, under a 60 degree difference isn't much to me.. I'm still learning but this is my plan....gl

 

[Jon1270]

but when you open the door and throw it into a blazing fire

But how often are you throwing more wood on a blazing fire? I typically reloaded onto a fading coal bed. Adding wood to an already-blazing fire seems likely to hurt efficiency.

Another way to go would be to keep a large store of clean kindling inside -- no bark or dirt, maybe even scraps of scrap KD construction lumber and the like -- and keep all the heavier fuel outside. I do think that dryness (both interior and surface) is much more important than wood temperature.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Well ok not a blazing fire, I mis- spoke, but even if you lay it on a bed of hot coals, it may take 1 minute longer for the colder piece of wood to light up, but I know with my unit, if I let it cool down too much, I lose heat in the entire room, I have an older uninsulated house with many windows and the wind blowing in that direction. (When really cold that is)
Clean kindling in the garage is always ready to go, I hand cut select pieces with the fiskars hatchet, so I know it's clean.

 

[Jon1270]

I know with my unit, if I let it cool down too much, I lose heat in the entire room

Part of my deal is that I have a 2 cubic-foot, non-cat insert. No matter how I load it at night, the temp drops pretty low by morning. None of this is to disagree with you, though. I am going to try burning directly from the stacks at least some of the time this year, and see how it goes.

 

[teutonicking]

My wife bought me this for my Bday:
http://www.cb2.com/industrial-wood-storage/s605380

It is 17"Wx8"Dx24.75"H.

Here is a pic of it on my hearth next to my BK Princess Insert with extra large surround:

Question... any idea how many days worth of wood this will hold in Southeast Connecticut heating a 1957, 1 story ranch of 1994sq ft? I expect to burn 3-4 cords per year (first year, dunno for sure). I'd fill my BK's firebox, then take the wood out and put it in the rack for a point of reference, but I may return this and I didn't want to mark it up.

The goal is to take wood from my stacks and fill a large deck box (http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/...BoxesPatioBenches&Prod_ID=RP091373&Redirect=1) with wood to keep it dry, and then every day or two bring in dry wood from the deck box and place it in the rack on the hearth.

Any educated guesses?

I'd say in a Blaze King that is at least a day's worth of wood. If your splits are 18" long it would hold about 4.5 cubic feet of wood.

I keep a metal tub next to the stove full of firewood at all times, and I just got a second one this year. The tub holds about 1.5 full loads for my stove. We also have a screened porch, and in there, I have a small 1/5 cord metal firewood rack that holds several days worth of wood in a dry location. Just outside my back door, I have two more metal racks that hold 1/3-1/2 cord each, and they are top covered. So I always have several days of very dry wood, and about two weeks or more of covered wood very close by in case there is a lot of rain or snow.

 

[Wood Duck]

I store about two day's wood in the house near the stove. I rarely have bugs in the house as a result of wood storage, maybe a couple of moths or spiders over the whole winter. To answer your question - no, the rack isn't big enough. No rack is big enough. If you can store two days' wood you'll want three, and so on.

My two-day storage is plenty to evaporate any snow or ice from the wood so it does what I need it to do. But it isn't big enough.

 

[Jags]

To answer your question - I would guess that thing holds about 24 hrs of burning. Maybe a little less.

Second - you have no need to be concerned about thermal shock from a cold load of wood. It ain't gonna break your stove.

Third - if your wife is particular about looks, I will give that holder about a 1 week life span. It has no ability to contain the debris that comes with split firewood. And there WILL be debris. I promise.

A solution such as FFJakes post above is one of the slickest ways to keep a tidy hearth.

 

[Jacktheknife]

Depends on how much wood you plan to burn, I guess. According to the dimensions of the rack you gave us and assuming you will burn 4 cord this winter, I calculate that you will have to fill this rack 263 times.