I know as a noob my wood is ok at best...I've been taking thinly split and wood with as much exposure to the sun as possible to burn....Now, when I my wood is good next year am I going to be doing that?...what is standard practice for everybody who has seasoned wood....?
pick and choose what wood
- Thread starter James02
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Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
James, you no doubt know this but maybe forgot. Wind is more important than sun. We've stacked wood in the shade many times and have no problem getting it dry.
If you want it to dry the fastest, stack it out in the windiest spot you have. Stack it rather loosely so air can get through the stack and, of course, stack so the wind hits the side of the wood pile. Don't try to stack it very high because stacking it loosely makes it a bit more unsteady. Also make sure you do not stack it right on the ground. Air under the stack is good too.
We cut in winter, split in spring and stack right after the splitting is done. We use saplings that we cut in the woods for stacking the wood on. We leave it uncovered the first summer and fall but top cover it just before snow flies. We also move the winter's supply into the barn in October. We also have several years supply of split and stacked wood on hand. Next winter we will come close to using up the wood we cut during the 2008-2009 heating season. This year after splitting we might have enough to run through 2019-2020. Yes, our wood will be nice and dry. However, our supply might shrink a bit because I got word we may have to help out on the wood supply for the sugar bush this year. Not sure how much that will take but we have plenty.
If you want it to dry the fastest, stack it out in the windiest spot you have. Stack it rather loosely so air can get through the stack and, of course, stack so the wind hits the side of the wood pile. Don't try to stack it very high because stacking it loosely makes it a bit more unsteady. Also make sure you do not stack it right on the ground. Air under the stack is good too.
We cut in winter, split in spring and stack right after the splitting is done. We use saplings that we cut in the woods for stacking the wood on. We leave it uncovered the first summer and fall but top cover it just before snow flies. We also move the winter's supply into the barn in October. We also have several years supply of split and stacked wood on hand. Next winter we will come close to using up the wood we cut during the 2008-2009 heating season. This year after splitting we might have enough to run through 2019-2020. Yes, our wood will be nice and dry. However, our supply might shrink a bit because I got word we may have to help out on the wood supply for the sugar bush this year. Not sure how much that will take but we have plenty.
bogydave
Minister of Fire
Type of wood is a factor in how fast it will dry.
Red oak 2 yrs +, most other split wood is burnable in a year.
What type/s of wood & when was it CSS?
By next burn season almost any of it will be ready, even the larger splits.
I mix small, medium & large spilt in a stove load. Higher BTU wood is for the colder part of the year & the lower BTU stuff for shoulder season.
For me , birch for Nov, Dec, Jan & Feb & spruce for Sept, Oct, March (the norm)
Burn the wood that's been CSS the longest, (Oak being the exception, 2 yrs + for it)
Red oak 2 yrs +, most other split wood is burnable in a year.
What type/s of wood & when was it CSS?
By next burn season almost any of it will be ready, even the larger splits.
I mix small, medium & large spilt in a stove load. Higher BTU wood is for the colder part of the year & the lower BTU stuff for shoulder season.
For me , birch for Nov, Dec, Jan & Feb & spruce for Sept, Oct, March (the norm)
Burn the wood that's been CSS the longest, (Oak being the exception, 2 yrs + for it)
Dennis....I've payed close attention to your posts on being prepared years ahead, I just saud sun....I know full well wind is important also...I just had a fd buddy drop a maple in my driveway....pretty much cut to size, that will go on scrounged pallets all by itself...I know its not the "best" but its the onlt thing im sure of what it is.
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
What is standard practice for people with seasoned wood? For me it is to take whatever comes up next in the stack. I have wood mixed together different species and sizes, but it is all more than two years old and well seasoned. I take what is next and move it to the rack on my porch. From there I select wood based on conditions - for nighttime when I want a long burn I select larger splits of oak and locust. Daytime I use the smaller splits and less dense species. I set aside the really nice big pieces of oak and locust for particularly cold nights. Somehow I never seem to have the right wood for the conditions, but I get by nevertheless. When I go to the stacks and see a section of nice dry oak and locust I know we are in for more warm weather in February.
I'm with Wood Duck. I randomly stack most of my wood as all of it gets three years to season. I bring in enough wood for a week at a time, and build two stacks in the basement. One stack is the really good stuff...the oaks, hard maple, locust. The other stack is the ash, cherry, soft maples, beech, etc. I save the good pile for overnighters, extended burns and really cold spells. The softer stuff we burn during the day, or when we are home. Some woods take a lot longer to season so if you are only storing enough wood for a year or two to may not want to mix your oaks with the other woods as oak takes a lot longer to season.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Wood duck. For most wood we do not sort. We don't have a lot of oak on our place but what we do cut we also stack separately. We burn that mostly only at night during the peak cold of winter. The only other thing would be some uglies. Those usually get burned early in the fall. Well, one more: kindling. That gets stacked separately.
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