OK this is my first year getting ahead...all this years wood is in the wood shed...next years is in the yard uncovered....is this OK for next years wood...just wondering if its OK to leave uncovered thru the winter?
maybe a dumb question
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Adabiviak
Feeling the Heat
You're likely to get a mix of answers here. It's certainly okay, but I'm in the same situation, and I cover mine (winter here amounts to moderate amounts of rain, and snow pack for a few months at a time; we may have two feet of snow come and go over the course of a couple weeks). I think of it as extending the amount of dry weather available between winters... if the wood soaks up a bunch of water during the winter, a portion of the drying season is spent drying that out first, before it can pick up where it left off really seasoning the wood. I don't think it's a deal breaker though.
onetracker
Minister of Fire
yep...
i leave subsequent year's wood uncovered until the snow falls then cover it for the winter only.
this years wood i always top cover it. always have. does that mean its the most effective strategy?
absolutely not. just what makes sense to me. but i'm a addict so nothing i say should be taken seriously.
i leave subsequent year's wood uncovered until the snow falls then cover it for the winter only.
this years wood i always top cover it. always have. does that mean its the most effective strategy?
absolutely not. just what makes sense to me. but i'm a addict so nothing i say should be taken seriously.
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
Is it OK? I think most people here would agree it is at least OK. Maybe not ideal, but OK. Leaving wood uncovered until the last year is the way some of the most experienced wood burners here do it, so you can't go wrong that way.
I don't cover my wood at all because I don't have a good way to cover it. It works out fine, but I am several years ahead. If I had a way to cover it without reducing the air moving through it (for example, if I had a nice high-roofed pavilion under which to stack wood) I would certainly cover it. If my only choice was to cover the whole stack with a tarp, thereby trapping moisture inside and preventing air flow, I certainly would leave it uncovered. your choices are probably somewhere in between these two extremes, so you have to decide for yourself. How is that for useless advice?
I don't cover my wood at all because I don't have a good way to cover it. It works out fine, but I am several years ahead. If I had a way to cover it without reducing the air moving through it (for example, if I had a nice high-roofed pavilion under which to stack wood) I would certainly cover it. If my only choice was to cover the whole stack with a tarp, thereby trapping moisture inside and preventing air flow, I certainly would leave it uncovered. your choices are probably somewhere in between these two extremes, so you have to decide for yourself. How is that for useless advice?
smokinj
Minister of Fire
stejus
Minister of Fire
This works for me. Two supplies of wood. Call it "this season" and "next season". I re-supply my wood in the spring so all wood gets two Spring, two Summer , two Fall and one Winter to season.
This season’s wood stays uncovered from time of stacking up until the first snow. In the fall months (now) if we get heavy rain events (like what is coming tonight through Fri in the Northeast) I top cover. Come Sat, uncovered again.
Next season’s wood stay uncovered from time of stacking, throughout the first winter and then follows the same cover schedule as “This season’s woodâ€.
This season’s wood stays uncovered from time of stacking up until the first snow. In the fall months (now) if we get heavy rain events (like what is coming tonight through Fri in the Northeast) I top cover. Come Sat, uncovered again.
Next season’s wood stay uncovered from time of stacking, throughout the first winter and then follows the same cover schedule as “This season’s woodâ€.
Got Wood
Minister of Fire
The cover or not to cover debate continues...
One twist on it that stejus post brought to mind.... I read here that a lot of people cover their stacks before the snow starts.... if the stack is NOT for this season, how is the snow hitting the stack worse than rain hitting it?
One twist on it that stejus post brought to mind.... I read here that a lot of people cover their stacks before the snow starts.... if the stack is NOT for this season, how is the snow hitting the stack worse than rain hitting it?
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
steeltowninwv said:
Ah, the great debate . . . all I can say is I don't bother covering my wood and it's good to go the following year . . . although truthfully I do put it up into the woodshed for another year before burning . . . seasoning continues, albeit much slower as the wood is packed in and does not have as much exposure to the sun and wind once in the shed.
DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
jimbom
Combustion Analyzer
Cover half of it. Next year decide which half suits your circumstances. Since we all have different firewood, climate, storage areas, stoves, and burning habits, one answer doesn't apply across the country. That is why we get different advice on these questions. All well meaning, heartfelt and honest opinions, but sometimes not applicable to others situation.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
We cut in winter; split and stack in spring. Wood is uncovered until about the time snow starts flying and then cover the top only. This has worked well for us for around 50 years now.
tfdchief
Minister of Fire
Aaahhh......to cover, uncover, cover, uncover, it is such a simple concept but yet so much debate. I say as some others have said.......do what ever makes you happy and content. For me, that is part of what wood burning is all about. Like stacking ends or using racks. fiskars. maul or hydraulic......and the list goes on. Not really a right or wrong answer for much of what we wood burners do.
As you can see in my signature, I am a weather freak as well, so I cover what is outside if the weather is going to be wet for long periods. What I burn during any given winter is in the wood shed or covered all winter.
As you can see in my signature, I am a weather freak as well, so I cover what is outside if the weather is going to be wet for long periods. What I burn during any given winter is in the wood shed or covered all winter.
gyrfalcon
Minister of Fire
Covering or not covering has nothing to do with how burnable the wood is, it's purely a matter of your definition of convenience. If wrestling tarps or whatever other covering is a pain in the neck, leave it uncovered. If remembering to bring wood inside for a day ahead if it's been raining/snowing, cover it. Water wet penetrates only the upper row of splits on a stack a fraction of an inch, and it dries out within a few hours indoors. To me, that's nowhere near worth the hassle of dealing with tarps or other covering loaded with snow. As long as I have to deal with snow one way or the other, I'd far rather just deal with it on the wood itself.
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