As if I needed an hour and a half project- stack maint.

[mywaynow]

Some may recall I had been toying with different ideas on how to store and easily retrieve the butts/end/knots that you inevitably end up with when processing. I am all for using as much as is realistically possible when it comes to the tree. I came up with the idea to load these pieces into burlap bags which I could stack on the pile along with the full length wood. Well after a year I checked in on the progress and see that all the burlap had broken down and would tear easily when tugged on. So, failure was the result. Fast forward 8 months or so and today I decide to dig into that part of the stack that has these bags. It so happens to be about dead center of my 30x30 stack. 2 pallets worth of these are there. I start to see very quickly that there is a much bigger problem than burlap failure. The burlap is holding moisture and the ends are a mess. Only resolve is to throw them all off to the side of the stack and junk them. No easy task since the stack is 5 feet tall. 90 minutes later and all the junk is out. No doubt had I not checked on this and left it alone, the rot would have penetrated much more than the ends. All surrounding wood was very, very wet. I left the 2 pallets empty for now. I think late March, early April I will restack them. For now I want as much air as possible getting to the surrounding wood. Late next week the cold returns and I will take the new machine and dump the ends into the woods. Dang, the time I spent putting all that wood into bags just to make mulch!

 

[jdinspector]

Some may recall I had been toying with different ideas on how to store and easily retrieve the butts/end/knots that you inevitably end up with when processing. I am all for using as much as is realistically possible when it comes to the tree. I came up with the idea to load these pieces into burlap bags which I could stack on the pile along with the full length wood. Well after a year I checked in on the progress and see that all the burlap had broken down and would tear easily when tugged on. So, failure was the result. Fast forward 8 months or so and today I decide to dig into that part of the stack that has these bags. It so happens to be about dead center of my 30x30 stack. 2 pallets worth of these are there. I start to see very quickly that there is a much bigger problem than burlap failure. The burlap is holding moisture and the ends are a mess. Only resolve is to throw them all off to the side of the stack and junk them. No easy task since the stack is 5 feet tall. 90 minutes later and all the junk is out. No doubt had I not checked on this and left it alone, the rot would have penetrated much more than the ends. All surrounding wood was very, very wet. I left the 2 pallets empty for now. I think late March, early April I will restack them. For now I want as much air as possible getting to the surrounding wood. Late next week the cold returns and I will take the new machine and dump the ends into the woods. Dang, the time I spent putting all that wood into bags just to make mulch!

I had a similar experience with scraps. I put them in a wood crate that had a lot of ventilation. Alas, a year later, the carpenter ants were all over them. You have to cover this stuff is my experience.

 

[jatoxico]

Uglies and crotches are the last on top of the stack or act as weights for any top covering I have which isn't much. Also, throw them on a spare pallet if I have one whatever woks at the time. Sooner or later they all meet their end.

 

[fabsroman]

Uglies and crotches are the last on top of the stack or act as weights for any top covering I have which isn't much. Also, throw them on a spare pallet if I have one whatever woks at the time. Sooner or later they all meet their end.

Same here. I put all the uglies and scraps up top.

 

[fabsroman]

Some may recall I had been toying with different ideas on how to store and easily retrieve the butts/end/knots that you inevitably end up with when processing. I am all for using as much as is realistically possible when it comes to the tree. I came up with the idea to load these pieces into burlap bags which I could stack on the pile along with the full length wood. Well after a year I checked in on the progress and see that all the burlap had broken down and would tear easily when tugged on. So, failure was the result. Fast forward 8 months or so and today I decide to dig into that part of the stack that has these bags. It so happens to be about dead center of my 30x30 stack. 2 pallets worth of these are there. I start to see very quickly that there is a much bigger problem than burlap failure. The burlap is holding moisture and the ends are a mess. Only resolve is to throw them all off to the side of the stack and junk them. No easy task since the stack is 5 feet tall. 90 minutes later and all the junk is out. No doubt had I not checked on this and left it alone, the rot would have penetrated much more than the ends. All surrounding wood was very, very wet. I left the 2 pallets empty for now. I think late March, early April I will restack them. For now I want as much air as possible getting to the surrounding wood. Late next week the cold returns and I will take the new machine and dump the ends into the woods. Dang, the time I spent putting all that wood into bags just to make mulch!

Wish I had known you were using burlap. I could have told you it was a bad idea. Used burlap camo on a portable waterfowl blind for years, but we kept it inside a shed. Seemed to last about 3 to 4 years when kept under cover while not actually hunting in it. Left it outside for one full year inbetween seasons and the burlap was toast come the next hunting season.

Good that you found the problem now before you had a lot of rotten wood. Sucks that you had the problem though.

 

[loadstarken]

That sucks about the burlap bags ruining the wood.

I made a little basket like thing out of chicken wire and put the odd ball crap in it then stack it into the wood pile.
The idea came to me when I saw a wall built with a bunch of wire baskets with rocks in them along the highway.

I'd take a picture but it all went into the fire pit last month.
I'll have more odd ball crap soon after I C/C/S my driveway of wood.

 

[rideau]

I processed two huge maples with very full tops this past year. Had lots of uglies. Lined four pallets up at right angles to and about thirty feet from my other stacks. The two end pallets I covered as best I could to about four feet with uglies, carefully stacked and crossed etc. Then did two stacks between them, the rest of the uglies from the maple and some apple uglies, one on either side of the pallets. Left it uncovered all summer, covered when the rain came. Removed the cover sunny days. The wood was mostly short, the sun was hot, the winds were strong, and the wood dried really well.
I've just finished burning it as my shoulder season wood.

The onlt hairy day was when a chipmunk was spotted and chased by my Wheaten, and sought refuge amongst the uglies. Artan went crazy trying to get the darn thing, and I though for sure the pile was coming over and that would be the end of Artan...guess I had it pretty well stacked. Not an enjoyable test.

 

[Woody Stover]

Right now I have two pallets together, with T-posts and woven fencing to contain the wood. I have it top-covered. I've been tossing the Oak on one end and quicker-drying stuff on the other end. Maybe it'll be ready next season...the quick stuff anyway.
I have some chain-link fence about 6' high. I want to use it to contain a narrow 'wall' of wood. I'll put down a line of half pallets and line both sides with the fencing, with open ends to get the wood out when it's dry. So the pile might be 2' wide by 6' high by about 10' long. The wind should blow through the wood pretty well, I would think. Same setup, Oak at one end, quicker stuff at the other...

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I make a HH stack. The butts/uglies get thrown in the middle. Works great.

(broken image removed)