Storing wood just before burning

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I keep my wood stacked and split in the back yard where it is exposed to as much sun and wind as possible. Usually I'll send the kids out with a sled or wagon every week or so to fill a small rack in the screen porch during the winter.

That means sometimes the wood has ice and snow on it before it comes into the house and is put in the stove and/or insert.

How much efficiency is lost by this amount of water?

I'm contemplating moving the whole winter's worth of wood into the screened porch so it will be kept free of snow/ice/rain. At the moment however I don't need another project.

 

[CageMaster]

i burn wood that comes into the house with snow and ice on it as well, however i have a wood box that is in the same room as the stove so the wood always has at least a day to "dry off", then i don't have to worry about any lost btu's

 

[weatherguy]

Thats why I top cover my wood, then I bring about 4-5 days worth into the house. If I had a porch like you I would probably put in a couple weeks at a time and top cover so the wood wouldnt get snow and ice on it.

 

[onetracker]

i always top cover stacks to be burned this year. everyone has their method.

i bring about 2 cords in the basement on thanksgving weekend. then 2 more around late january/early feb. till then i burn shoulder season wood. last year i returned almost a full cord to the outside stacks cuz of the mild winter. so now that pile will be 3 year seasoned.

 

[milner351]

We are blessed with an extra deep attached garage - I built a rack there which holds a week or more of wood out of the weather.

I have not yet come up with a good method for keeping outdoor wood dry, other than a tarp here or there.

I also need stacking lessons - I keep ending up with one stack a year or so falling over outside.... I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Markyboy]

I have enough room for 2-3 weeks on my covered porch in the front and about the same on the back porch. I position the next several loads, so they are easy to get to in the winter, then keep the supply chain moving! I probably "touch" the wood one too many times, but it's always dry and ready! The porch is stone, so every time I empty it out, I spray a little bug spray in the area, let it dry, then fill it back up the next day with wood. I don't really see any more bugs than in the summer when theres no wood on the porch. As mentioned above, I do try to keep the next couple piles top-covered before it comes to the porch, it's just that much drier. My 10 and 12 year old boys are about to become "wood-movers" and they don't even know it!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I keep my wood stacked and split in the back yard where it is exposed to as much sun and wind as possible. Usually I'll send the kids out with a sled or wagon every week or so to fill a small rack in the screen porch during the winter.

That means sometimes the wood has ice and snow on it before it comes into the house and is put in the stove and/or insert.

How much efficiency is lost by this amount of water?

I'm contemplating moving the whole winter's worth of wood into the screened porch so it will be kept free of snow/ice/rain. At the moment however I don't need another project.

I feel your pain. For years and years we did the same but we top covered the wood so there was not much snow or ice to bring in. We eventually started stacking about a month's worth of wood on the porch inside the carport and have since put up a metal barn. One corner of that is dedicated to the winter's wood supply. From the barn we move a little to the porch and that porch is right near the stove.

Notice that this particular wood pile has galvanized roofing on it. We've also used tarps but I don't like them. I came upon some more galvanized roofing a couple years ago and now we should never have to use a tarp again. Thank the Lord for that!

btw, in the second photo, our splitter is sitting there covered by a tarp. We wait for snow melt before splitting what we cut in the winter months.

 

[JOHN BOY]

We dont get alot of snow here , so i top cover mine about 6 weeks before we start to burn.

 

[red oak]

i burn wood that comes into the house with snow and ice on it as well, however i have a wood box that is in the same room as the stove so the wood always has at least a day to "dry off", then i don't have to worry about any lost btu's

This is what I do as well - whether you cover or let it dry out indoors, or both, I think it's more efficient to let that surface moisture get off the wood before burning.

 

[Stax]

Step 1.

Step 2.
It has since been shingled.
Step 3.

 

[Monosperma]

I have a glassed-in porch, where I can bring in several days' worth. Snow and ice (if any) can melt off, plus it brings the wood up in temperature. And, AND, it scents my house like pinon and juniper. So that's the way I roll these days.

 

[nate379]

I keep about 1/2 a cord on my front porch, which is roughly a month of wood. Pull off that into a bin on wheels I roll out to the porch and roll near the stove. Holds 3-4 days of wood.

 

[bogydave]

I have a weeks worth in the wood box in the basement.
Wood shed to basement, not much ice & snow but what's on it evaporates before going in the stove.

 

[Mr A]

[btw, in the second photo, our splitter is sitting there covered by a tarp. We wait for snow melt before splitting what we cut in the winter months.

View attachment 77799View attachment 77800[/quote]
Oh, yea. The camouflaged white tarp there in the bottom left corner? I read in another of your posts you have 21 cords of CSS firewood. It is my first full winter with my insert( EPA II Jotul C450) My winter is probably like your shoulder season. I get high 40's to mid/high 50's during the day, high 30's to mid 40's at night, occasional overnight freeze. i have squirrelled away almost 10 cords this year since just March when I started. I have 3 cords that are dry enough to burn this winter. I am anxious to start burning my firewood this year as a sole source of heat. I have no idea how much wood I will actually need to do this. Any help, please. What is a good guess? i find find wood everywhere, and now , since I live on a suburban city block, I have reached my capacity for storage.

 

[firefighterjake]

Can't answer the efficiency question . . . but I am pretty much doing what Stax does.

Wood is stored in the woodshed . . . nice and dry.

Each week or so I stack wood on my back porch . . . I figure it is so much nicer to only have to walk outside a few steps to get some splits vs. trudging in the snow . . . plus if I get sick my wife can easily get the wood on the porch.

Each day I fill up the woodbox beside the stove.

A few extra steps for me . . . but it works for me.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

[btw, in the second photo, our splitter is sitting there covered by a tarp. We wait for snow melt before splitting what we cut in the winter months.

Oh, yea. The camouflaged white tarp there in the bottom left corner? I read in another of your posts you have 21 cords of CSS firewood. It is my first full winter with my insert( EPA II Jotul C450) My winter is probably like your shoulder season. I get high 40's to mid/high 50's during the day, high 30's to mid 40's at night, occasional overnight freeze. i have squirrelled away almost 10 cords this year since just March when I started. I have 3 cords that are dry enough to burn this winter. I am anxious to start burning my firewood this year as a sole source of heat. I have no idea how much wood I will actually need to do this. Any help, please. What is a good guess? i find find wood everywhere, and now , since I live on a suburban city block, I have reached my capacity for storage.[/quote]

We've had that much wood and more at times but the quantity fluctuates. For example, we were pretty well set with wood to run through 2019 but that has shrunk a bit. It happens when others run out of wood. We sell some and give some away.

As to how much you will burn, it will all be a SWAG right now as we don't even know the size of your house. However, with your climate you may not even burn 3 cord in a winter.

 

[firewoodjunky]

During peak burning time I head out to the stacks about once a week and bring wood into the three-season porch. I don't top cover any of my stacks, usually I just give the splits a good whack together before I put them in the carry bag. That knocks off about 90% of the snow/ice, then the three season usually gets warm enough during the day to take care of the rest. Every body has there own methodology. This one works for me.

 

[JP11]

Planning no covers at all. Wood might have a couple feet of snow on the pallet full when I bring it in.

Storage space has radiant heat, and a center floor drain. I should have at least a couple weeks between bringing it in, and burning it.

We'll see how it works.

 

[Mr A]

[as to how much you will burn, it will all be a SWAG right now as we don't even know the size of your house. However, with your climate you may not even burn 3 cord in a winter.[/quote]
My place is 1200 sq. ft. Average wood framed built in the early 80's. R-13 fiberglass in the stud bats, blown in in the attic.