Do you cover your wood while it's seasoning?

[GS7]

I have 3 wood piles, one is covered 2 have never been covered. The uncovered piles have seasoned FASTER than my covered pile and one of the uncovered piles is in a shaded area! I'm thinking next time I may leave everything uncovered until maybe october 1st? What do you all do to get your wood seasoned the fastest?

 

[red oak]

Uncovered for me until October of the year that I'll burn it, then I put some under the deck to stay covered. Those that cover on here typically top-cover only, leaving the sides open for air to go through. Keeping the wood off the ground is important too.

 

[GS7]

It's going to be uncovered for me until October. I had the top covered and sides open on 1 pile, and both uncovered piles seasoned faster.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I do not cover it until the end of the summer, and I only cover what I intend to burn this year..... But my wood seasons fast because I single stack it in the sun and wind.......

 

[Nick Mystic]

Anyone in western NC with uncovered stacks would be in poor shape this winter for burning since we already have received 70 inches of rain so far! In July alone we got over 17 inches. Without at least a top cover you'd be hard pressed to find a piece of dry wood in your stacks.

 

[bogydave]

Got a picture of each ?
Good observation, was it a relatively dry year there?

I wonder if it were in the PNW with lots of rain .
Air to & thru the top might help there too.

 

[weatherguy]

I leave uncovered a year then cover in Oct, I'm covering my stacks tomorrow since they're pretty dry right now.

 

[Nixon]

I generally top cover my stacks as soon as I finish it . Just habit on my part. That , and the stacks will sit undisturbed for a minimum of 3 years so top covering won't effect the enough to notice any way .

 

[BillLion]

Uncovered and then I cover right before 1st snow.

But I'm a rookie, so listen to everyone else!

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

It seems to me that there is no one right answer, Nick Mystic needs to have his covered because of the location that he lives in, I this year needed mine to be out in the open, split small, needing sun and wind, that's how I now have dry wood for this year. Maybe down the road that will change for me, I have 5-6 cords on my property now with only this years ready to go, my red oak that I will use in future years is single stacked and I will keep it uncovered till its ready to go, I get wind all year and will take advantage of it....

 

[red oak]

For those that do top cover with a tarp or other material, does it trap moisture in at the top? If there was a way to elevate the cover so that air can get in underneath I'm guessing that would be the best idea?

 

[basod]

I throw tin on top of the stacks that will be burned this season in late August.
Tested a few pieces last night from the same tree out of the same stack where the tin ends, seems to be about a 20min difference in light off between the pieces.
I picked down a couple rows to get less damp pieces from the uncovered area as we had a some pretty decent rain this week

 

[oldspark]

"It seems to me that there is no one right answer"
There are many wrong answers.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I have 3 wood piles, one is covered 2 have never been covered. The uncovered piles have seasoned FASTER than my covered pile and one of the uncovered piles is in a shaded area! I'm thinking next time I may leave everything uncovered until maybe october 1st? What do you all do to get your wood seasoned the fastest?

What do you mean by "covered"?

If I'd ever finish my woodshed the answer would be "yes" because it'd all go right in the woodshed.

 

[Trktrd]

My woodshed only holds about 2 1/2 cords which gets me pretty far but not quite enough. So I only cover as much as I think I'll need to get through the end of burning season. The rest stays uncovered all the time.

 

[Flame On]

I keep my stacks uncovered until October as well and then it is more about keeping the falling leaves and later snow off of the pile. I find that even after heavy rain, the wood "dries" off quickly.
I'm with Red Oak when he asks about top covers trapping moisture. Evaporation doesn't happen sideways, so If your stacks are top covered, won't water build up on the tarp and then drip back down?

 

[oldspark]

I keep my stacks uncovered until October as well and then it is more about keeping the falling leaves and later snow off of the pile. I find that even after heavy rain, the wood "dries" off quickly.
I'm with Red Oak when he asks about top covers trapping moisture. Evaporation doesn't happen sideways, so If your stacks are top covered, won't water build up on the tarp and then drip back down?

Yes in can, if you get a lot of rain (70 inches ) top covering during seasoning is probably a good idea, the bet way to top cover they claim is to have an air gap between the wood and top cover to let the air flow over the wood.
I don't bother here until the wood is dry and I will use it that winter, I have to cover the sides also but the wood is dry before I cover it.

 

[smoke eater]

I left my single stack rows of oak uncovered for 2 years. Many pieces on the top couple rows started to get punky. Didn't expect that. Have to use it all this year. I'd say I lost around 10-20% of it. It gets a lot of leaves and partial sun. The rest of it is around 18-20% on the meter, hard as a rock. Might be covering this spot in the future. Top only.

 

[GS7]

What do you mean by "covered"?

If I'd ever finish my woodshed the answer would be "yes" because it'd all go right in the woodshed.

I mean covering the top and maybe 1 foot down the sides and I noticed the top of my covered pile is the least seasoned and still light in color

 

[GS7]

I generally top cover my stacks as soon as I finish it . Just habit on my part. That , and the stacks will sit undisturbed for a minimum of 3 years so top covering won't effect the enough to notice any way .

WOW minimum of 3 years seasoning! Your wood piles must be ever growing larger

 

[GS7]

For those that do top cover with a tarp or other material, does it trap moisture in at the top? If there was a way to elevate the cover so that air can get in underneath I'm guessing that would be the best idea?

Yes my tarp did trap moisture at the top and that seems to be the issue. I agree an elevated cover would be perfect

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We stack in spring but do not top cover until early winter or late fall.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I don't cover until October. Only the wood I plan on using this winter. It's been so nice I haven't covered any yet.
Now I'm thinking it wouldn't be that difficult to top cover 3 cord. When a nice stretch of sunny weather pops up I'm
Uncovering it again. Not that big a deal and I think it will keep moisture to a minimum.

 

[oldspark]

I don't cover until October. Only the wood I plan on using this winter. It's been so nice I haven't covered any yet.
Now I'm thinking it wouldn't be that difficult to top cover 3 cord. When a nice stretch of sunny weather pops up I'm
Uncovering it again. Not that big a deal and I think it will keep moisture to a minimum.

I'm confused, if the wood is seasoned you wont have any moisture under the tarp.

 

[BrotherBart]

I'm confused, if the wood is seasoned you wont have any moisture under the tarp.

Ground moisture rises into the stacks. Had it happen with this years supply when two one cord stacks leaned into each other.