Either I'm getting taller or........

[NordicSplitter]

Either I'm getting taller or my wood stacks are getting shorter. Set them at 5ft in late april early may. Some are at 4' 4"! Anyone else see this happen? Was there really that much moisture in them?

 

[Battenkiller]

Either I'm getting taller or my wood stacks are getting shorter. Set them at 5ft in late april early may. Some are at 4' 4"! Anyone else see this happen? Was there really that much moisture in them?

Green wood shrinks about 10% as it dries, plus a bit of settling over time... yup, you're getting taller.

 

[DexterDay]

Either I'm getting taller or my wood stacks are getting shorter. Set them at 5ft in late april early may. Some are at 4' 4"! Anyone else see this happen? Was there really that much moisture in them?

Green wood shrinks about 10% as it dries, plus a bit of settling over time... yup, you're getting taller.

Made all my stacks at 4 1/2 feet tall. BackwoodsSavage was the one I remember sying this. Build them to 4.5' and they shrink to 4'. Well, most of my wood has done the half of a foot already. So Yes. The stacks do shrink, when the splits lose moisture.

 

[Thistle]

Have about 1 1/2 p/u loads of Norway Maple,Silver Maple & Mulberry next to south side of shed that I cut pruning neighbor's trees & removing 2 scrubs from sister's yard 1 month ago.In full sun at least 1/3rd of the day,its already dropped 4 inches in this heat.

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

I kinda noticed that with my wood, the shrinkage. I thought my neighbor was "barrowing" wood from me. The wife thoought I was paranoid but then she with her wonderful insight said maybe it is shrinking? That seemed to make the most sense....My trip wires and booby traps have not been tripped so it must be shrinkage! ;-)

 

[maplewood]

I'm not over weight - I'm under tall.
Yes, I'm experiencing shrinkage in my wood too.
(pun intended.)

 

[Danno77]

Let this be a lesson to anybody who buys wood. When you buy a cord of seasoned versus a cord of green, you actually get more wood. Unless you like paying for water, pay accordingly.

 

[joefrompa]

My super wet pine went from about 5'5" high to 4'5" in about 3 months, stacked thickly on pallets but with good sun exposure and air movement around them.

 

[Got Wood]

I built a Holz Hauzen in Feb 2010. When building it a put a long pole right in the middle and put a rubber ring on it marking the top of the HH. The top of the HH is now about 14" below the ring.

 

[tfdchief]

I always knew my stacks shrunk some and once in a while one falls over because of it. However, I sure didn't know there was that much shrinkage. No wonder they want to get a little unstable sometimes......my stacks are generally mixed species with, I am sure, different shrinkage rates. Which would explain them getting unstable. Almost 40 years burning and still learning.

 

[wannabegreener]

I built a Holz Hauzen in Feb 2010. When building it a put a long pole right in the middle and put a rubber ring on it marking the top of the HH. The top of the HH is now about 14" below the ring.

That's a neat idea. I'm in the process of staking some freshly cut and split wood for the future. I'll have to put some marker poles someplace to see how much is shrinks in the next coming months/years.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Either I'm getting taller or my wood stacks are getting shorter. Set them at 5ft in late april early may. Some are at 4' 4"! Anyone else see this happen? Was there really that much moisture in them?

Green wood shrinks about 10% as it dries, plus a bit of settling over time... yup, you're getting taller.

Made all my stacks at 4 1/2 feet tall. BackwoodsSavage was the one I remember sying this. Build them to 4.5' and they shrink to 4'. Well, most of my wood has done the half of a foot already. So Yes. The stacks do shrink, when the splits lose moisture.

My apologies, as most have seen this picture before. The wood was cut during the winter of 2008-2009. It was split and stacked in April of 2009 and after stacking it measured 4 1/2' tall. I've reported in the past that it had shrunk to (I think) around 46". This thread made me curious so I just walked out to measure it again and each time I have measured it in the same spot. It now measures 45 1/4" in height. It is all white ash and it was dead or dieing when it was cut. So the height of the stack went from 54" to 45.25" in 27 months.

We plan to burn some of this wood this coming winter and then will finish that stack in the winter of 2012-2013.

 

[woodchip]

My apologies, as most have seen this picture before.

No need to apologise, we never tire of seeing your piles ;-)

 

[Danno77]

My apologies, as most have seen this picture before.

No need to apologise, we never tire of seeing your piles ;-)

LoL, I dunno. I'm getting pretty sick of it. I'm dealing with it, though. Envy is one of the 7 deadly sins, after all...

 

[NordicSplitter]

Shoot. I was really hoping I was getting taller. Lol

 

[nate379]

That is the reason I stack to 4.5 feet and only count it at 4ft when measuring for a cord.. unless the wood is already truly seasoned.

 

[billb3]

I stack kinda fast and loose, so I always blamed the piles seeming shorter on settling of contents.

 

[weatherguy]

Thats why I stack a foot over the top of my racks,, by November when its time to cover they should be even with the top.

 

[Valhalla]

Wood shrinks as it is seasoned...just like us!

 

[woodchip]

Yeah but at least the stacks keep the same general shape and don't all sag to the bottom ;-)

 

[CTYank]

And ... a bonus here for those obsessing over MC of wood in their stacks:
Were you to track the shrinkage over time, that'd tell you most all you need to know about getting rid of free (intercellular) moisture.
When that stops, assuming you still have good drying conditions, you are then losing bound (intracellular) moisture. The earlier in the season you get there, the better for burning this season (obviously.) This will correlate to checking in the end-grain, which has now essentially closed, after opening up earliier.
Then, sometime in the fall, when the first small fires get lit, wood starts its annual migration to racks near the stove, to end up around 5% MC, per MM. This is why I refuse to obsess about precise state or max extent of drying outdoors- that is NOT the end-game here.

 

[wannabegreener]

I measured my wood pile for this winter and it is measuring 5 ft tall exactly. It was either 5 ft 6 in when I started or 5 ft 9 inches. I have straightened out a nasty lean in the pile a couple of weeks ago, but didn't think about them shrinking. I'm now down to a little over 4 cords vs the 4.5+ cords I had when I started. I think on my rows for next year, I'll put in a t-post and set a mark on the post where the height of the row is before any serious drying happens.

 

[woodchip]

If it is a wooden post, it might shrink with your piles ;-)

 

[weatherguy]

I measured my wood pile for this winter and it is measuring 5 ft tall exactly. It was either 5 ft 6 in when I started or 5 ft 9 inches. I have straightened out a nasty lean in the pile a couple of weeks ago, but didn't think about them shrinking. I'm now down to a little over 4 cords vs the 4.5+ cords I had when I started. I think on my rows for next year, I'll put in a t-post and set a mark on the post where the height of the row is before any serious drying happens.

Thats why they fall over, shrinkage. The first year my piling skills were very amateur and I had a tip over, now I have some solid racks I built and they stay standing.