Is One Year Enough
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eclecticcottage
Minister of Fire
"Only" 6 acres?? I envy your space.
My suggestion if you are committed to wood heat:
Get a splitter (unless you do prefer to do it by hand) and scrounge if you can locally. I know it can be tough in some places, but it's the best way to get ahead on wood cheaply. We've about 8-10 years out and started with nothing 2 years ago. We bought about 8 or 9 face cords for the first two years (all bought year #1 and some leftovers for #2) but that's all gone and we're into 100% scrounged now. You can try craigslist, tree services and just driving down the road. Personally, we aren't choosey, we'll pick up pretty much whatever someone's got bucked up by the street. Sure, there's some box elder and willow in there, but there's a lot of pine, some maple, some honey locust (very little) some cedar, and who knows what else. Very little came from craigslist, although we did get some tree service stuff that way, it mostly came from drive by scrounging (and a LOT came from down the road, we stopped to ask about a pile and it turned into probably 80 or so standing dead scots pines). Put the word out and you'd be surprised-we ended up with a truckload of maple from where I work when they took out a tree, because everyone here knows I burn and a maintance manager made sure it was set aside!
The further out you can get, the better. What if you broke your collar bone when you were needing to start splitting for the next year and got behind?
My suggestion if you are committed to wood heat:
Get a splitter (unless you do prefer to do it by hand) and scrounge if you can locally. I know it can be tough in some places, but it's the best way to get ahead on wood cheaply. We've about 8-10 years out and started with nothing 2 years ago. We bought about 8 or 9 face cords for the first two years (all bought year #1 and some leftovers for #2) but that's all gone and we're into 100% scrounged now. You can try craigslist, tree services and just driving down the road. Personally, we aren't choosey, we'll pick up pretty much whatever someone's got bucked up by the street. Sure, there's some box elder and willow in there, but there's a lot of pine, some maple, some honey locust (very little) some cedar, and who knows what else. Very little came from craigslist, although we did get some tree service stuff that way, it mostly came from drive by scrounging (and a LOT came from down the road, we stopped to ask about a pile and it turned into probably 80 or so standing dead scots pines). Put the word out and you'd be surprised-we ended up with a truckload of maple from where I work when they took out a tree, because everyone here knows I burn and a maintance manager made sure it was set aside!
The further out you can get, the better. What if you broke your collar bone when you were needing to start splitting for the next year and got behind?
Okay I got the wood re-stacked in two rows with cribs on the end. I have a foot of space in between the rows. Now my question is should I tarp` the top? Is this necessary and how can I do it with a foot in between the rows?
I think I should cover it since it is for next year but not sure how? Thanks.
I think I should cover it since it is for next year but not sure how? Thanks.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
Ralphie Boy
Minister of Fire
My feelings after 35 yrs , maybe not ideal but practical and realistic-
- if air can get to the wood it will trend towards the average RH of your climate ( 19-20% in most areas where it's cold enough to burn), stacking width,gap between rows ets is just overthinking. Time is much more important. ( don't bother to restack).
- 1 year is min drying time for everything except Oak ( and maybe Hickory and other heavy dense wood) Oak will burn fine after a year but with a significant heat penalty.
- I've never had the time or resources to get more than one year ahead but I always have next season's wood in the shed before I start burning. What works well for me is dropping/bucking/splitting in the spring and leaving it in the woods until fall when it moves to the shed. ( I leave the Oak out there for an extra year). Wood is seasoned 18-22 months when it goes into the stove.
Time and hard work is more important than gadgets and overthinking
- if air can get to the wood it will trend towards the average RH of your climate ( 19-20% in most areas where it's cold enough to burn), stacking width,gap between rows ets is just overthinking. Time is much more important. ( don't bother to restack).
- 1 year is min drying time for everything except Oak ( and maybe Hickory and other heavy dense wood) Oak will burn fine after a year but with a significant heat penalty.
- I've never had the time or resources to get more than one year ahead but I always have next season's wood in the shed before I start burning. What works well for me is dropping/bucking/splitting in the spring and leaving it in the woods until fall when it moves to the shed. ( I leave the Oak out there for an extra year). Wood is seasoned 18-22 months when it goes into the stove.
Time and hard work is more important than gadgets and overthinking
Kenster
Minister of Fire
The OP keeps asking the same questions over and over, even after multiple replies. NO! Do not tarp your wood. If you MUST cover it, top cover only, such as a panel of corrugated roofing. Just on the top! Many of us never cover our wood. Many leave the stacks uncovered until winter time when the wood is top covered ONLY to keep the snow off. I have never covered my stacks. I keep about three or four days worth of wood on our covered front porch. Any surface moisture from a recent rain will dry while sitting on the front porch before I bring it in to burn. But again, do NOT completely cover the wood with a tarp. It will take forever to dry. I suggest top covering ONLY the stacks you will be burning in the upcoming week or two.
YES, there is a difference between wood stacked for 16 months and wood stacked for two years. Eight months can make a huge difference.
You were advised not to restack your wood. However, now that it's done, it certainly can't hurt. (I admire your industry) You want to get as much sun, and especially wind, moving through those stacks to expedite the drying process. Since you are intent on rushing the process, single rows will help. Splitting the wood to small pieces will also help.
Oak, in nearly ALL cases needs three full years (36 months regardless of when the drying calendar starts) to season down to an ideal 20% (25% is okay) moisture content. Will it burn after 16 months? Well, sort of. Will your car run on three cylinders? Well, sort of.
If you have six acres, you have plenty of room to stack and store several years worth of wood. Do your best to build up a three year supply, then add a year's worth of firewood every year to keep up. When I started burning I ran around scrounging wood and usually barely made it through each winter. After the terrible drought we have had in Texas over the past few years, I have had plenty of dead oak on my own property so I never scrounge anymore. I now have probably four years worth of wood split and stacked, even enough to actually sell a little bit recently.
If you can't harvest enough wood from your own six acres, become a scrounger. Keep an eye out all the time for wood. Firewood in stacks is like money in the bank.
Nothing wrong with cutting up a dead and down tree. Even standing dead can have rotten spots but given the choice, standing dead is better. I will never cut a live tree for firewood but there are enough standing dead trees to keep me in firewood. The tops of standing dead, even really wet trees like the water oaks found all over our property, can be dry enough to burn very quickly. But I have bucked up trunks of water oaks that I know have been dead for at least two years and watched water flow out of the cuts in the trunk. The tops could be burned almost immediately, the trunk needed three years even when the tree had already been dead for two years.
Don't be afraid to burn 'punky' wood. (not the same as rotten wood.) If it has been raining, punk acts like a sponge, but if the wood is really dry, punk acts like a built in fire starter.
You are obviously a go-getter as indicated by the restacking of all of your wood. Put that energy to use in building up your supply so that you never have to burn green wood again.
YES, there is a difference between wood stacked for 16 months and wood stacked for two years. Eight months can make a huge difference.
You were advised not to restack your wood. However, now that it's done, it certainly can't hurt. (I admire your industry) You want to get as much sun, and especially wind, moving through those stacks to expedite the drying process. Since you are intent on rushing the process, single rows will help. Splitting the wood to small pieces will also help.
Oak, in nearly ALL cases needs three full years (36 months regardless of when the drying calendar starts) to season down to an ideal 20% (25% is okay) moisture content. Will it burn after 16 months? Well, sort of. Will your car run on three cylinders? Well, sort of.
If you have six acres, you have plenty of room to stack and store several years worth of wood. Do your best to build up a three year supply, then add a year's worth of firewood every year to keep up. When I started burning I ran around scrounging wood and usually barely made it through each winter. After the terrible drought we have had in Texas over the past few years, I have had plenty of dead oak on my own property so I never scrounge anymore. I now have probably four years worth of wood split and stacked, even enough to actually sell a little bit recently.
If you can't harvest enough wood from your own six acres, become a scrounger. Keep an eye out all the time for wood. Firewood in stacks is like money in the bank.
Nothing wrong with cutting up a dead and down tree. Even standing dead can have rotten spots but given the choice, standing dead is better. I will never cut a live tree for firewood but there are enough standing dead trees to keep me in firewood. The tops of standing dead, even really wet trees like the water oaks found all over our property, can be dry enough to burn very quickly. But I have bucked up trunks of water oaks that I know have been dead for at least two years and watched water flow out of the cuts in the trunk. The tops could be burned almost immediately, the trunk needed three years even when the tree had already been dead for two years.
Don't be afraid to burn 'punky' wood. (not the same as rotten wood.) If it has been raining, punk acts like a sponge, but if the wood is really dry, punk acts like a built in fire starter.
You are obviously a go-getter as indicated by the restacking of all of your wood. Put that energy to use in building up your supply so that you never have to burn green wood again.
Kenster
Minister of Fire
I guess the only time people ought to restack is when they move their wood into a woodshed, after it's been sitting outside seasoning for a couple or more years. I don't have a woodshed so I don't ever restack.
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