Stacking in single rows

[Ashful]

I've had BW that took over two years to dry. It was stacked in multiple rows in the shade. I only stack single rows now with anything. Believe the moisture meter. It is definitely the more accurate than hand weight or the bang test, but don't forget ignorance is bliss.

Apparently ignorance is bliss. The problem with the moisture meter is that it's not actually measuring moisture. It's measuring conductivity. The conductivity of wood relative to its moisture content is dependent on the actual species of wood. Unless your moisture meter allows you to select the species you're measuring, it's not all that accurate a measure of true moisture content. Some meters do a better job than others, allowing you to select two or three ranges of conductivities, and come supplied with a chart telling you which range to use for various species, but even this has somewhat limited accuracy. Any meter with a single range for all species is going to give pretty rough readings.

 

[etiger2007]

I've had mixed results knocking the splits together. I've got stacks of fast-drying wood like dead standing Ash and BL, but if I start knocking splits together I can find a few clunkers that just don't have that sharp, ringing sound. I'm pretty sure it's all dry though. I will get some more of those, then re-split and compare meter readings, just to be sure, but I think I'll find that the knock test isn't 100% reliable.
I've had trouble keeping some single rows upright, I think because the soil in the woods isn't packed down firmly. So I've been stacking double rows on pallets, leaving about 8" between. Seems a lot more stable but we'll see how they hold up over the long run...

I took two splits of ash and knocked them together yesterday and they made the thud sound, and they were kinda heavy. I split one and it was 18% and the other was 20%. By the meter Im good to burn both, this was year and a half split ash.

 

[Eric Johnson]

One good rule of thumb for determining whether wood has ever thoroughly dried is whether the bark is loose or gone. Thoroughly dried is the key, as wood that's been thoroughly dried can get wet, but it will dry out quickly once you put it in a dry place. Green wood, on the other hand, will take a long time to dry regardless, because the water locked up in the cell walls takes a long time to dry out. Loose or missing bark suggests that the wood has dried and shrunk enough to pop the bark loose.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Dennis, Do you keep very many rounds or do you split it all? Its looking to me rounds may not be ready after three years.

Tiger, most of the rounds we keep are small, like 3"- 5". Occasionally a couple a bit larger but not much. This picture was taken before I was finished stacking. All of those were left in rounds.


I like a few rounds for the cold part of the winter. But usually only put in one round at a time except for the really small stuff. By loading a round in the rear bottom of the stove, like you would with a large split, it helps to hold the fire longer, so on those really cold January nights, they are handy.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I also leave stuff in the 3-5" range unsplit and it dries very well in two years. The only time I'll split smaller stuff is when I need it to dry more quickly. Varies according to species and drying conditions, of course.

 

[jackatc1]

When it comes to red oak, I try to crack the small rounds 3" anything bigger gets split.

 

[Ashful]

My take away from all this is you need to split small to season in 2 years or less, but large to avoid going nuclear when reloading on an established coal bed. Not a great situation for a new burner, trying to accomplish both.


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[JP11]

My take away from all this is you need to split small to season in 2 years or less, but large to avoid going nuclear when reloading on an established coal bed. Not a great situation for a new burner, trying to accomplish both.


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Reading your post is exactly why I'm so happy with my lambda boiler. FILL ER UP. No worries about air controls, or wife loading it. Just let it keep doing it's thing. I think my only real advice to my wife is stop loading when the storage is at 180 or so. Plenty of room left at that point. I'm anxious for really cold weather, and being able to let the big dog eat.