just starting my wood habit
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NH_Wood
Minister of Fire
Real good start - you'll get better with stacking over time as you figure out what works and what doesn't - try cross-stacking the ends and lean the stack slightly away from the south - these two things can help keep the stack stable. Good luck! Cheers!
BobUrban
Minister of Fire
"Slightly away from the south"??? Is this in regards to the photo or as a general rule in regards to direct sunlight? something else? Just curious
stejus
Minister of Fire
Nice pile of wood. Next time I suggest you leave space between each row, like at least 6" or so. This will allow the air to pass through to move the moisture away.
thewoodlands
Minister of Fire
stejus said:
Nice Stacks.... X2 on the room for air. Will help to "Season" it better. Sun and Wind are your friends with wood....
Great start... You will not be disappointed next year. Very few start getting wood before they get the stove installed.
I think your wood piles are great. You will learn as you go. I'm new this season and one looooong weekend when I move next years into the shed, I will re do my whole operation. Have fun!
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
You've got a nice, early start on drying that Ash. If it was me and I had time I would core out the two middle rows and stack them, with a space between the rows, on another set of pallets. Ash dries fairly fast, but you might be pushing it with that many rows stacked together and against the building. You're on the right track, though. Good luck! I don't know, maybe super-dry wood isn't as critical with a furnace...DexterDay said:
BillsWS
Feeling the Heat
whatisup02, after you drive your metal end stakes in, find some scrap cord or rope or even wire and tie them together at the top. As you pile between the poles, they won't lean out as the wire/rope/cord holds the tops of the poles in line.
Dune
Minister of Fire
! Thank you very much
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
whatisup02 said:
Whatisup02, looks like you have been busy stacking some great wood. You'll get many suggestions on this forum and most are good because there is much knowledge on this forum. I see you stack on pallets and that is good. Another option is to just lay down some poles or landscape timbers, railroad ties or whatever, You can also just lay down a sacrificial layer of two rows of your wood and then stack crossways on those.
You have already got suggestions on fastening some rope or wire from one end to the other to hold the posts straight. If you purchase any more posts I'd highly suggest you get the t-posts (TSC is a good place to purchase them). The cost just a little more but are much stronger. You can get them in several lengths too but I'd suggest no longer than 6' on the posts as you don't want to stack the wood too high else you may find yourself restacking the wood and you probably agree that you've worked hard enough to get to where you are now.
Here is how we stack:
Notice that we just went to the woods and cut some small trees or saplings and laid those down to stack the wood on. It keeps the wood off the ground and better yet, allows for good air circulation under the stacks. We stack 3 wide but if the wood is needed for next year then single rows would be advised. How far apart? I like to stack the rows far enough apart so I can walk between them as this will allow good air circulation. Wind is your friend so stack them where the wind can hit the sides of the stacks. You are from MI so you should be okay to leave the wood uncovered until next fall or early winter. If we have an unusually wet fall then I cover in September but that does not happen often. When you cover it is important to cover only the top of the stacks.
Notice that we do not use anything at the end of our stacks. I kid zap because he uses t-posts but it is just in good fun. Learning to stack the ends comes just by doing it. At first it may seem simple then the danged thing falls over. Do not despair as it can be done and you will be amazed at how easy it can be. I've had one stack fall over in the last 50 years or so.
That you have ash is a good thing and I do hope this is for next year and not this year. Ash is indeed low moisture but it still needs time to dry out. Always remember, water just does not burn worth a hoot. The moisture has to evaporate before the wood will burn and this is where new wood burners get into trouble. They expect all wood to just burn but not all wood is created equal. Wood sellers love to say their wood is "seasoned" which is meaningless. Usually if one buys wood it is either freshly cut or freshly split. Either way, the wood is not dry. It won't dry much except for the ends until the wood has been split open.
Good luck.
Flatbedford
Minister of Fire
Nice stacks. I go three stacks wide on pallets too. Your ash should be ok by next season as long as it it is the sun and gets some wind through it. I slip a pallet over my end fence posts. It makes a bigger surface to for the end splits to lean on. Cross stacking the ends helps to. In a few seasons you will learn a whole bunch of tricks to make things easier for you.
Thanks for all the info and ideas. This is next years wood. I'm hoping that I will have 2013-2014 wood done by mid summer and working on 2014-15 this fall. I would have never done this if not for the info of this site. Thanks everyone again
Anthony
Anthony
bogydave
Minister of Fire
Great looking stacks,
4 cords is allot of work.
Nice sized splits, up off the ground, look like it'll get lots of sun.
Only thing I do different is I put 2 rows per pallet, with about a foot between the rows to allow good air circulation.
Every now & then I put in a long stick that ties the 2 rows together at about the 3' height for stability & I only stack about 5' high (Pic)
Learned here some air space between rows helps it dry faster
Your way is fine butt the inside wood won't get as much air circulation & takes longer to season.
Lots of different ways,
Of course PapaDave does it the best way, one long 500' single row. (he uses a laser & GPS to keep it straight & level) for 2 years, then to a wood shed.
Your hooked now, too late for counseling, the only cure is to just cut more wood :lol:
4 cords is allot of work.
Nice sized splits, up off the ground, look like it'll get lots of sun.
Only thing I do different is I put 2 rows per pallet, with about a foot between the rows to allow good air circulation.
Every now & then I put in a long stick that ties the 2 rows together at about the 3' height for stability & I only stack about 5' high (Pic)
Learned here some air space between rows helps it dry faster
Your way is fine butt the inside wood won't get as much air circulation & takes longer to season.
Lots of different ways,
Of course PapaDave does it the best way, one long 500' single row. (he uses a laser & GPS to keep it straight & level) for 2 years, then to a wood shed.
Your hooked now, too late for counseling, the only cure is to just cut more wood :lol:
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mesuno
Member
I've always noticed that people who stack nice long rows with cross stacked ends seem to have unnaturally straight, even sized and square splits for the end pieces. I'm still learning on the stacking front but we've had a few ends collapse out of our rows now. In part I think it is because the wood we are splitting just doesn't make nice pieces for the ends.
A lot of our stuff is low diameter chestnut - up to about 12 inches max - when split 4 ways you always end up with a curved piece and no nice squares to do the ends with. I've pretty much settled on putting some end boards up in our shed so that the stacks can lean on them a bit and not collapse out. Plus side is I'll be able to trust others to stack if we don't need to construct laborious end towers.
bogydave
Minister of Fire
As I stack, when I come to a good end cross stack piece, I throw it toward the end.
When I get several, I go match them up close to the same thickness & stack up the end cross stack.
I just watch for fairly straight pieces so it don't wobble & lean the cross stack toward the opposite end a few degrees.
By no means is my wood all or much of it , nice & straight, many times I shim the cross stack & it's tied into the 2nd row with along stick to help stability.
When I get several, I go match them up close to the same thickness & stack up the end cross stack.
I just watch for fairly straight pieces so it don't wobble & lean the cross stack toward the opposite end a few degrees.
By no means is my wood all or much of it , nice & straight, many times I shim the cross stack & it's tied into the 2nd row with along stick to help stability.
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