Evidence to not cover woodpile in the summer

[michaelthomas]

I just moved some wood from a shady part of the yard that has been cut and split for about a year. Many of the red oak splits had fallen through the pallet and was laying submerged in a puddle of water. It had been in the water for over a month and buried in ice for months before that. It was soaking wet and had no radial checks and was almost mushy on the outer surface. I put it on the top of the wood pile last night and today it is not soaking and has got its radial checks back. It was soaked much more than a rainstorm would do and it dried quickly once it was out of the wet. We don't get months of rain like they do in the PNW. I think that covering would keep the leaves and Pine needles out but I don't think that a few rainstorms are going to soak my wood to the point where it is not going to dry in a day once the rain is stopped.

 

[Stevebass4]

i am going to cover mine - i noticed that the wood seems to season much faster when under the cover - i am guessing because of some solar gain. this spot gets sun all day and the rubber roof cover gets pretty warm -

 

[iceman]

gosh.. i thought not to cover until sept oct

 

[Stevebass4]

so many different schools of though.. i covered some stuff i split in Oct and it was perfect in Feb - the dry air can still flow though my piles but as mentioned the covers get hot so i am guessing that helps to season my stuff faster (btw all my splits are no longer than 10 inches due to the small insert i have)

 

[fossil]

I've had wood outside that got rained on, and got snowed on, and I shook it off and brought it in and burned it. I think if the wood is seasoned (thoroughly dry throughout) that a little rain or snow on the surface isn't gonna make a big difference. It would take a long time soaking in water to "unseason" the wood. That said, I keep my wood either under roof, or under a tarp when there's rain or snow in the forecast, just to keep it as dry as I can. Rick

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i never covered wod in the spring/summer months , i would however make sure to cover it once the leaves started turning though and it would stay covered through the winter. i never saw "overseasoned" wood though it didnt hang around long enough to get that way.

 

[mtarbert]

The wood I don't keep in a 20ft storage container I keep covered with...Good Old Rubber Roofing.....IMHO the best wood tarp....bar none.

 

[billb3]

I left my car out last night instead of garaging it.
It started just fine this morning, so that must be evidence for not garaging any more.

 

[gpcollen1]

I leave it uncovered until fall. Even then, I uncover it for extended periods of dry weather and cover it back up for rain. Pretty easy really.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I say leave it uncovered until fall, but once I cover it, I'm not about to take it back off even if the weather is nice. It will stay covered until used.

 

[RedRanger]

I say leave it uncovered until fall, but once I cover it, I'm not about to take it back off even if the weather is nice. It will stay covered until used.

Dennis: would you still give the same advice if you lived here in the pacific north west? also known as the "wet coast".. :coolsmile:

 

[TMonter]

Dennis: would you still give the same advice if you lived here in the pacific north west? also known as the “wet coast”.. cool smile

Not all the PNW is real wet, most of that is west of the cascades.

 

[RedRanger]

Dennis: would you still give the same advice if you lived here in the pacific north west? also known as the “wet coast”.. cool smile

Not all the PNW is real wet, most of that is west of the cascades.

Oh,alright then TM-guess the wet coast thing is strictly a canuck slang. What about it though? If you lived "west of the cascades",would you cover the tops of your piles? before you answer, let me say that for the most part we have had crap weather out here for the past 18 months,yes that`s right - a year and a half. Last summer we had 2 weekends without cloud or rain.

FYI I cover the top of my piles.

 

[BrotherBart]

Oh,alright then TM-guess the wet coast thing is strictly a canuck slang. What about it though? If you lived "west of the cascades",would you cover the tops of your piles? before you answer, let me say that for the most part we have had crap weather out here for the past 18 months,yes that`s right - a year and a half. Last summer we had 2 weekends without cloud or rain.

FYI I cover the top of my piles.

Several years ago me and some others went to visit the refinery in Bellingham, WA. The other two are pilots so we rented a plane to go look around B.C. Flew in and above clouds all afternoon and I still haven't seen B.C. from the air.

 

[bcnu]

I live west of the Cascades and am not sure what I'll do this year. I have a 12x35 ft. storage shed that has about 10 cords from last year. I hope to get another 7-10 cords this year but will not have any covered area. I'll probably uses pallets and stack behind my shed - but it's shaded all day by fir trees. Guess that since I wouldn't tap into it for 3+ years should give it time to season.

 

[Highbeam]

No problem in the northwet just covering the top and one foot over once the winter rains start. I did it last year with great results and have my 6 cords exposed in the weather right now drying and waiting for September. Our climate and soaking type of rains make it especially bad to cover the entire stack with plastic. It'll mold in a tent. Ideally we all could have a nice long woodshed with the sides open.

I stack on pallets in a long double wide row. 60 some feet long x 4' tall x36" wide right now for just under 6 cords right now.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I say leave it uncovered until fall, but once I cover it, I'm not about to take it back off even if the weather is nice. It will stay covered until used.

Dennis: would you still give the same advice if you lived here in the pacific north west? also known as the "wet coast".. :coolsmile:

Well....in some parts maybe yes but in others, definitely no. Oh the mold must be awful out there in spots.

Like us, maybe you should take a trip to Arizona for part of the winter. Really makes you wake up when the sun shines every day! What a change...

 

[Highbeam]

Here's a photo of how it looks Spring to fall.

 

[RedRanger]

Thanks Highbeam for the pm: and nice pic. Alright, gonna try it,just so I can blame you if it doesn`t work?

Just kidding

 

[Highbeam]

Sure you can blame me but be sure to note that everything is out in the sun and wind. You've got some trees that make an awful lot of shade and may trap moisture down there. Here are a couple of photos more.

The first photo is the remainder of the cottonwood that was stacked last spring and tarped in the fall. It is burning as we speak. I measure just over two cords there. Black plastic is rolled up as I go like a sardine can. It works great except a little fragile if your wood is pokey on top.

Second is the 4.5 cords of fir from my unicorn adventure plus 1.5 cords of alder and willow on the left from my woodlot. It'll sit like this all summer and be dang good in the fall.

My weather station lists current outside temp at 50F with 25% RH outside right now at 6PM.

 

[RedRanger]

Sure you can blame me but be sure to note that everything is out in the sun and wind. You've got some trees that make an awful lot of shade and may trap moisture down there. Here are a couple of photos more.

The first photo is the remainder of the cottonwood that was stacked last spring and tarped in the fall. It is burning as we speak. I measure just over two cords there. Black plastic is rolled up as I go like a sardine can. It works great except a little fragile if your wood is pokey on top.

Second is the 4.5 cords of fir from my unicorn adventure plus 1.5 cords of alder and willow on the left from my woodlot. It'll sit like this all summer and be dang good in the fall.

My weather station lists current outside temp at 50F with 25% RH outside right now at 6PM.

Highbeam: you did read the part of "just kidding,didnt you?'..

I hear what you are saying, if I am going to stack amongst the trees, then may as well cover, right? You are still a trouper however, in trying to do the best and I appreciate it.

Actually, maybe I won`t experiment. I know that the wife has already recognized no rose garden here cause we need at least 8 continious hours of sunlight and we don`t get it anywhere on this property. hmmm

And I don`t have a way to measure the humidity, cept what the weather network tells me and it ain`t good, 68% today. But you are a good lad ,specially spotting the fact that we live in a little forest,and therefore making me rethink.

 

[Highbeam]

I got the just kidding part, was in a hurry to post some pics up on topic. It is related though I think, whether you are in a deep forest or out in a pasture. Exposure to wind and light must make a big difference. If in the deep woods I would think that covering year round with a shed roof elevated off of the woodstack would be way better.

We always had roses growing up out on the Kitsap peninsula. Not many bushes, say 10, but the bushes were chosen for aroma so we had some strong ones.

 

[thechimneysweep]

You folks in the NE are fortunate: It may rain occasionally in your Winter months, but by and large In the Pacific NW, the ambient moisture level is 14%, which, coupled with the nearly constant drizzle in Winter months, creates the need to cover your woodpile at all the times. An uncovered woodpile in the Pacific NW will not only adversely affect the performance of your stove, but will go "punky" so fast it will make your head spin.

 

[WarmGuy]

I left my car out last night instead of garaging it.
It started just fine this morning, so that must be evidence for not garaging any more.

Were the radial checks still there?

 

[billb3]

I left my car out last night instead of garaging it.
It started just fine this morning, so that must be evidence for not garaging any more.

Were the radial checks still there?

Absolutely !

I <3 science.