covering wood stacks yes or no?

[jdscj8]

I noticed everyone is talking about having there wood covered so it don't get rained on, So i wonder why does it make a difference, once its dry it can't hardly soak up water unless all the splits are setting on the ground in completly saturated ground for months.

Ok so how can a stack of split wood actually soak up water by gettin rained on. I've never covered any of my wood till oct. when it gets moved closer to the house and put under the lean 2. I keep hearing about covering so they don't get wet, so i did a experament starting on July 10th, and we've got some good rain in that time. I found 20 pieces of 3 year seasoned walnut that were all reading 17% on my meter. I put them all on 2 pallets that had shade half the day and sun the other, covered 10 and left 10 out. This morning i went out and checked and resplit them and the moisture was the same in all of them. All i noticed was after it rained the outside was wet but within a few hours in the sun it was back to being dry again. So is it worth it to cover it or not. Do you realy think it makes that much of a difference? I'm exited to hear the responses of what everyone thinks of this and how you feel. JD

 

[savageactor7]

It's always be a debate when it's a good time to cover. One thing we all agree on is don't cover up wet wood.

 

[Bubbavh]

I noticed everyone is talking about having there wood covered so it don't get rained on, So i wonder why does it make a difference, once its dry it can't hardly soak up water unless all the splits are setting on the ground in completly saturated ground for months.

Ok so how can a stack of split wood actually soak up water by gettin rained on. I've never covered any of my wood till oct. when it gets moved closer to the house and put under the lean 2. I keep hearing about covering so they don't get wet, so i did a experament starting on July 10th, and we've got some good rain in that time. I found 20 pieces of 3 year seasoned walnut that were all reading 17% on my meter. I put them all on 2 pallets that had shade half the day and sun the other, covered 10 and left 10 out. This morning i went out and checked and resplit them and the moisture was the same in all of them. All i noticed was after it rained the outside was wet but within a few hours in the sun it was back to being dry again. So is it worth it to cover it or not. Do you realy think it makes that much of a difference? I'm exited to hear the responses of what everyone thinks of this and how you feel. JD

My experience is that wood that sees repeated moisture tends to rot over time more so then covered wood. I know you should burn it before that happens but sometimes you can get a little too far ahead. <--- Did I just say too far ahead... No such thing! What was I thinking? Better get back to splitting my new pile of pine!

 

[Tony H]

I usually wait until Oct to cover but just last week put some tarps over mine for two reasons
Had surgery on my foot and wanted them covered while I still can.
The leaves are starting to fall and I have a ton of them so with the covers I can blow them off and pick them up. Without the cover they get all down mixed in with the wood and hold moisture and freeze together making a bit of a mess for later.

 

[Wet1]

I don't ever cover. I've found wood tends to season very well during the winter months and I'm yet to see a piece of good wood soak up enough water from rain that it doesn't dry off in a few hours. Now if wood is punky, then I can see covering it, but as long as the wood is kept off the ground I've not had any issues with wood going bad.

 

[stee6043]

I cover my wood in mid/late October simply because I need it to be dry (not just seasoned, but dry too) before I throw it into my gasser. My setup won't tolerate "damp" seasoned wood or any that has been sitting with snow piled on-top. So that's why I cover it up late Fall...but only as much as I need for the coming winter. Next years wood stays uncovered...

 

[tw40x81]

I've got fungi partying on my slightly punky poplar. I've just loaded up my new shanty-town woodshed with the poplar with the hope that it puts a damper on the fungi festivities.

 

[smokinj]

I don't ever cover. I've found wood tends to season very well during the winter months and I'm yet to see a piece of good wood soak up enough water from rain that it doesn't dry off in a few hours. Now if wood is punky, then I can see covering it, but as long as the wood is kept off the ground I've not had any issues with wood going bad.

+1 but I will take it one step futer and put it on the ground winds are high here and no wind blocks

 

[Stevebass4]

i had two stacks one covered with rubber roofing and the other left to the elements

The covered wood is nice and clean and dry - my uncovered cord is black with fungi all over it :shrug: both burn well

i will cover my all my stacks this year middle to end of oct

 

[jdscj8]

OK, i put mine under the the lean 2 to keep the snow off, so i understand that and if you have to to keep stuff from growing on it, but i dont understand is why people cover it all summer or everytime it rains during the summer. don't that take away from additional drying? This is going to sound stupid but what do ya'll mean by PUNKY wood? JD

 

[gerry100]

In my experience, the reason you cover wood piles is so that water fron above can't find places to pool or collect in the pile.

Wood only rots when it gets wet and can't get dry.

Water can collect in knots,cracks etc and over time will rot,but most water will run right thru the pile.

 

[Danno77]

I haven't covered, but am this year. Too many times bringing in wood that has snow on it, or worse yet, late winter ice storms making 3-4 splits stick together. I hate that. I also have had the leaves get soggy in the stacks and then freeze it all together. Nothing to do with seasoning, just more to do with not having wet gloves or dripping snow on my floor in the winter.

 

[nocdpc]

I cover mine end of October when I move it closer to the house. I wait till October for 2 reasons:

1. It is cooler and easier to move the wood
2. The bees that have been building nests in my stacks have all died out =)

 

[quads]

The way I do it is I never cover it and I stack it directly on the ground. I am usually about 5 years ahead and have too much wood stacked all over out in the woods and wherever to cover it anyway. Have never had a problem, but I also have nothing to compare to, since I have not done it any other way.

I also have never elevated it from the ground. Of course, the only pieces touching the ground are on the bottom row and if that's kind of wet I throw those pieces over onto the top of a still seasoning stack and use them next year.

I also keep a month's worth on the porch during the heating season.

Not saying one way or the other is right or wrong, don't care, that's just the way I do it and have never tried it any other way.

 

[nlittle]

I've got fungi partying on my slightly punky poplar. I've just loaded up my new shanty-town woodshed with the poplar with the hope that it puts a damper on the fungi festivities.

A mushroom walks into a bar.
The bartender says - Sorry we don't serve mushrooms here.
The mushroom says - But hey, I'm a FUN GUY!

 

[stejus]

I've got fungi partying on my slightly punky poplar. I've just loaded up my new shanty-town woodshed with the poplar with the hope that it puts a damper on the fungi festivities.

A mushroom walks into a bar.
The bartender says - Sorry we don't serve mushrooms here.
The mushroom says - But hey, I'm a FUN GUY!

:lol:

 

[SolarAndWood]

If it weren't for 10' on average of snow a year, mine would stay out in the heap in the wind and sun until it was their time to burn. And it would never get stacked.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I noticed everyone is talking about having there wood covered so it don't get rained on, So i wonder why does it make a difference, once its dry it can't hardly soak up water unless all the splits are setting on the ground in completly saturated ground for months.

Ok so how can a stack of split wood actually soak up water by gettin rained on. I've never covered any of my wood till oct. when it gets moved closer to the house and put under the lean 2. I keep hearing about covering so they don't get wet, so i did a experament starting on July 10th, and we've got some good rain in that time. I found 20 pieces of 3 year seasoned walnut that were all reading 17% on my meter. I put them all on 2 pallets that had shade half the day and sun the other, covered 10 and left 10 out. This morning i went out and checked and resplit them and the moisture was the same in all of them. All i noticed was after it rained the outside was wet but within a few hours in the sun it was back to being dry again. So is it worth it to cover it or not. Do you realy think it makes that much of a difference? I'm exited to hear the responses of what everyone thinks of this and how you feel. JD

JD, there has been much debate on this subject and it appears that most do cover their wood and claim that rain does some harm. I'm with you in that it does no harm. However, we leave ours uncovered the first summer and fall, covering it in late November or early December most years. It has worked out best for us and we have tried it different ways, including like quad; leaving it uncovered all the time.

I do suspect in some areas of the east and Pacific West that they might do best to cover it simply because they don't get the drying air like you will.

So what is best? I guess whatever one feels the most comfortable with.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

OK, i put mine under the the lean 2 to keep the snow off, so i understand that and if you have to to keep stuff from growing on it, but i dont understand is why people cover it all summer or everytime it rains during the summer. don't that take away from additional drying? This is going to sound stupid but what do ya'll mean by PUNKY wood? JD

JD, punky wood is that stuff when you go to split it, it just crumbles. Soft and spongy worthless crap that has sit around usually on the ground rotting.

 

[woodgeek]

to the OP---I'm a top coverer, and I don't think rain soaks into dry splits stacked off the ground. I just think uncovered takes longer to dry. I appreciate the experiment, but it doesn't disprove my theory--they were both well seasoned to begin with.

 

[JotulOwner]

I don't think that there is a right or wrong way. For me, I cover the top all year because I find that it is difficult to dry the interior of a large stack after it gets wet. I don't cover any part of the sides until burning season when any rainwater hitting the splits along the sides will delay burning that wood until the water evaporates. The Sun can't reach beyond the top row for the most part so why leave it exposed? As long as dry air can blow through to carry away moisture from the seasoning splits, that should do the trick.

Just my opinion. Whatever works for you is the right way!

 

[jdscj8]

I'm not saying that any way is bad, and that my way is right, i to have to much to cover, i was just curious what the reasoning behind covering it was, i didn't think about different climates and such, thats why i'm asking your for your reasoning and point behind covering or not. Don't get angry with me, i'm just tring to open up to different ideas and understand, a person is always learning. JD

 

[Got Wood]

At the end of the day it probably doesnt make much difference if you give it time to season fully. The ideal situation is probably a well ventalated wood shed thats big enough to hold 3 seasons of wood but that isnt an option for alot of us.
I have noticed that wood at the bottom of my stacks (not ideal always - like 8x8x4) is damp/wet which cant be good. So, maybe stacking style comes into play (say if you did the ideal single row vs the 8x8 pile).
One thing I agree with is covering during leaf falling season.

 

[quads]

what do ya'll mean by PUNKY wood? JD

If you see a tree that broke off, often times that wood is punky where it broke. There will also many times be a disk shaped fungus sticky off the side of the tree at the punky spot. The wood is light and soft like a dry sponge. If you try to split it, it usually just crumbles or breaks up in chunks. Leave it in the woods to rot, it's not much good for burning.

 

[Hurricane]

I covered about half of mine 2 weeks ago and it has rained very heavy quite a few times since. I covered because my wood is stacked under trees and the leaves and acorns are falling and once the piles get full of leaves it gets ugly.
I did notice that the wood was all cracked up when I covered and is still cracked on the ends, the wood I did not cover the cracks have disappeared and will come back after the rain dries off.
Not sure what that means but all of my wood will be covered in the next week because of the way the leaves are falling.