My 2+ yr seasoned oak, not so seasoned!?!? What do you think?

[ClydesdaleBurner]

Well two years ago this fall I bought 2 cords of semi-seasoned hard wood, mostly oak. I stacked it in my back yard where it was getting good sun exposure despite pine trees above and good wind. I would leave it uncovered from June-October and cover it during the rest of the year. Just covered on the top and maybe down a foot or two on the sides with tarps. I was really thinking it would be good to go this winter. Unfortunately this spring, summer and fall has had a fair amount of rain and wind. And in the last couple months a lot of pine needles have fallen and fallen inbetween the splits as they are stacked.

The other day I went out to put a tarps over this wood and found that the splits were soaked on the top few rows. At least 3-5 rows because there were tons of wet pine needles inbetween every split. I might have also stacked my splits too tightly not allowing enough air between them. I thought I was following the old saying stack them close enough to allow the mouse to run, but not the cat to follow... So I guess I learned a lesson. Maybe leave my wood covered year round to keep those damn needles out of my stacks and stack looser!

In the meantime I've pulled apart about 1 cord of the the wood and restacked it very loose to allow maximum airflow through it. I still have a cord of good dry wood to keep me happy, but then I'll have to get into this questionable stuff. Some of the "wet" stuff actually sounded fairly good when I knock them together. I'm hoping the moisture from the needles is surface moisture. I just ordered a meter to testt some splits and see what the damage is.

Happy burning!

 

[Bootlegger]

Is it just soaked on the outside from the wet weather? If so that dries very quickly. What's the moisture reading inside the wood? Are the ends checked? Do they knock when you hit them together or thud?

 

[BrotherBart]

Quit listening to the BS on this site and top cover the stuff the day you stack it. Just dry your wood once. My stacks are under trees year round and are bone dry because they get covered the day they are split.

 

[ClydesdaleBurner]

Well said Brother Bart. I learned the hard way. But going forward I will be leaving the tops covered 100% of the time.

I've also experimented with the corrogated fiberglass panels that you see as the roofs on a green house. They work really well, as covers for wood. They let the sun / heat through but keep rain and snow off. I just make a frame out of strapping and screw the panels to the frame. The weight of the wood frame also helps keep them from blowing off.

 

[Archie]

Quit listening to the BS on this site and top cover the stuff the day you stack it. Just dry your wood once. My stacks are under trees year round and are bone dry because they get covered the day they are split.

Ya know, I think I'm going to pay more attention to this advice. I'm under trees too, and it sure does seem to slow things down. Oh, and 8 inches of rain in October...not helpful :lol:

 

[branchburner]

I thought I was following the old saying stack them close enough to allow the mouse to run, but not the cat to follow...

Never heard that one before, but I'm going to go by a new one: allow the cat to run, but not the dog to follow.

 

[BrotherBart]

I thought I was following the old saying stack them close enough to allow the mouse to run, but not the cat to follow...

Never heard that one before, but I'm going to go by a new one: allow the cat to run, but not the dog to follow.

Must be the way I stack. When some dumb ass neighbor lets their dog wander on the place and they take out after my outdoor cat she heads straight for the wood stacks.

 

[xman23]

BB again, you couldn't be more correct, IMO. Keeping the rain off the wood allows it to dry out. It's a pain in the butt keeping good leak proof tarps. Good news for all, no matter how punkey the wood is, it can be dryed and it will burn fine. I buck up the trees that have been on the ground for years. Because this stuff may have a half inch of punk it needs to be covered in the sun and bake under a tarp. I burn this stuff during the shoulder season, leaving solid oaks splits for those over night single digit nights.

Tom

 

[CarbonNeutral]

I'm coming round to this way of thinking you know. Damn, now I have to cover x cords of wood....

 

[Duetech]

I had wood in a pile last year and only had the top covered from day one until the fall then I tarped the whole pile (as I was ill for about 7 months and had trouble with too much motion) the stuff never got stacked. The stuff on the ground had some moisture but the rest of the pile (3+cords) burned fine in my gasifier and they are finicky on wood moisture.

 

[quads]

Quit listening to the BS on this site and don't worry about covering it at all. Your firewood only dries once regardless. My stacks are under trees year round and are bone dry with no cover ever, except snow, leaves, and pine needles. Have you burned any of this wood yet to see how it burns? Surface moisture doesn't mean much. Oak needs at least 2 years and 3 is even better. And don't stack the rows too close together.

Disclaimer: If you think you should cover your firewood, go ahead. It won't hurt my feelings a bit.

 

[relax]

would it dry beter inside a building with open doors or out side..

 

[CowboyAndy]

would it dry beter inside a building with open doors or out side..

no, inside is not a good idea, unless its just a roof and is open on all sides.

 

[rphurley]

I'm coming round to this way of thinking you know. Damn, now I have to cover x cords of wood....

Just learned the hard way myself. I stacked some wood on pallets out in my back woods and left uncovered since summertime. I went out Monday to cover up with a tarp and found that wet leaves have infiltrated every nook and cranny of the pile.

 

[Skier76]

Part of my OCD lawn mowing routine is making a few passes with the ol Echo backpack blower to blow the clippings off the hard surfaces (driveway, walkways ect...) I do the same up in VT. Every time I have the blower out, I'd run over to the stacks and blow those out too. Yeah, seems silly, and I'm sure the neighbors had more fuel to the "Silly Connecticut Flatlander!" fire.... However, it blew out anything that would find its way between the splits. It also blew out any mouse/critter nests. I don't worry about the tops because I left those covered. But I blew the tops of the tarps off so they'd look nice. %-P

 

[westkywood]

Call a roofing company and ask if they are tearing off any rubber roofs. It's heavy, easy to cut and will last for many years. Its perfect for covering wood. I called once and got 3 truckloads of rubber.

 

[Wood Duck]

Rain on the wood stacks is not a problem, but wet pine needles seem to be a problem. I think you need to cover in the fall when the needles come down or use a leaf blower to keep the stacks clean. I stack in the open, don't bother with a cover, and it seems to work out just fine, but I don't have tons of pine needles falling on the wood.

 

[PapaDave]

Well two years ago this fall I bought 2 cords of semi-seasoned hard wood, mostly oak. I stacked it in my back yard where it was getting good sun exposure despite pine trees above and good wind. I would leave it uncovered from June-October and cover it during the rest of the year. Just covered on the top and maybe down a foot or two on the sides with tarps. I was really thinking it would be good to go this winter. Unfortunately this spring, summer and fall has had a fair amount of rain and wind. And in the last couple months a lot of pine needles have fallen and fallen inbetween the splits as they are stacked.

The other day I went out to put a tarps over this wood and found that the splits were soaked on the top few rows. At least 3-5 rows because there were tons of wet pine needles inbetween every split. I might have also stacked my splits too tightly not allowing enough air between them. I thought I was following the old saying stack them close enough to allow the mouse to run, but not the cat to follow... So I guess I learned a lesson. Maybe leave my wood covered year round to keep those damn needles out of my stacks and stack looser!

In the meantime I've pulled apart about 1 cord of the the wood and restacked it very loose to allow maximum airflow through it. I still have a cord of good dry wood to keep me happy, but then I'll have to get into this questionable stuff. Some of the "wet" stuff actually sounded fairly good when I knock them together. I'm hoping the moisture from the needles is surface moisture. I just ordered a meter to testt some splits and see what the damage is.

Happy burning!

That's probably the case.
Some of my stuff is like that too. Lots of pine, but no needles in the stack. Still, the top few rows got wet. Some of my tarps need to be replaced.

I've resplit a bunch and checked with a meter, and found them to be anywhere from 16-20 %, with a couple as high as 26. Set next to the stove for a few hours and they're gooder to go.
These have been c/s/s for only about 15 months, but lots of sun and wind.
The moisture meter is very helpful. Mine's a pin style that I use in the shop, and is almost 20 years old.

Dave

 

[PapaDave]

Part of my OCD lawn mowing routine is making a few passes with the ol Echo backpack blower to blow the clippings off the hard surfaces (driveway, walkways ect...) I do the same up in VT. Every time I have the blower out, I'd run over to the stacks and blow those out too. Yeah, seems silly, and I'm sure the neighbors had more fuel to the "Silly Connecticut Flatlander!" fire.... However, it blew out anything that would find its way between the splits. It also blew out any mouse/critter nests. I don't worry about the tops because I left those covered. But I blew the tops of the tarps off so they'd look nice. %-P

Really? Seriously, ....REALLY?
It's now snowing outside. Excuse me while I get out the extension cord and blow dryer. Stacks need attention. :roll:
To each his own, I suppose.

Dave

 

[smokinj]

Quit listening to the BS on this site and don't worry about covering it at all. Your firewood only dries once regardless. My stacks are under trees year round and are bone dry with no cover ever, except snow, leaves, and pine needles. Have you burned any of this wood yet to see how it burns? Surface moisture doesn't mean much. Oak needs at least 2 years and 3 is even better. And don't stack the rows too close together.

Disclaimer: If you think you should cover your firewood, go ahead. It won't hurt my feelings a bit.

+1

 

[Wet1]

+1.5

 

[billb3]

It's been a little wet here in SE Mass.
I'm finding earthworms in the pine needles that fell on top of my unsplit rounds stacks. Earthworms !

The pine needles just fell. Give them a day or two to dry out and blow away.
More trouble in the gutter than on your stacks of wood.

I have two cords of red oak stacked between pine trees.
With driving rain it gets wet on the windward side. It dries out in a day or two.

When I didn't have a rain hat on the stacks the top row or two would stay wet longer and so ould the bottom row.
When I allowd my black cherry to stay like that the top row and bottom row would rot.
I put a rain hat on and leave it alone. Because I can't stand fiddling with tarps. Ripped tarps. Holey tarps. Blowin away tarps. Bright blue tarps. Shake rattle and roll tarps. If it weren't for the snow and freezing and howling windy Winter weather, I'd have nothing, too.


It does get a litttle damp here on the East Coast compared to other places.

I still have puddles in the driveway from the last rain.
I bet some of my wood is still wet, too.
It's fine.



It isn't the living room floor.
That oak I want dry 100% all the time.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

"Quit listening to the BS on this site and don’t worry",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, *Period*

Sounds like good advice to me, after all it doesn't mater what question you pose here you're gona get radically opposed answers, but you'll often find a common denominator in even the most radical views, in this case it's the quote above.

For me I have a small lot and didn't like the site of messy wood piles in my face with tarps, or chunks of whatever covering the wood, so I built myself a presentable wood shed that keeps my firewood nice and dry and neat, and no pine needles or earthworms to worry about. However, the squirrel seems to enjoy my new woodshed even more then me, out of gratitude he has been consideretly collecting and storing walnuts for me in between the rows of wood.

 

[smokinj]

"Quit listening to the BS on this site and don’t worry",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, *Period*

Sounds like good advice to me, after all it doesn't mater what question you pose here you're gona get radically opposed answers, but you'll often find a common denominator in even the most radical views, in this case it's the quote above.

For me I have a small lot and didn't like the site of messy wood piles in my face with tarps, or chunks of whatever covering the wood, so I built myself a presentable wood shed that keeps my firewood nice and dry and neat, and no pine needles or earthworms to worry about. However, the squirrel seems to enjoy my new woodshed even more then me, out of gratitude he has been consideretly collecting and storing walnuts for me in between the rows of wood.

I'd say thats not a tarp..thats the level worth the effort!