Hitting singles... Score.

[Andy S.]

Nice little load of Pine rounds dropped off this morning will give me an excuse to enjoy a few beers this weekend.

 

[Andy S.]

So I've got a little more than a face cord c/s/s loosely on their own skids. I'm estimating it will be be more than a cord when done.and plan to finish it up in the evenings. With my 2nd season coming up I'm thinking I'm just about covered if this stuff will be dry enough to use by March 2015. I plan on leaving all of my wood uncovered until September. It will get plenty of sun and wind where I have it. Any guidance to the contrary? I've got about a cord of mixed hardwood left over from last year and three cords of Pine. Fingers crossed.

All scrounging going forward will be for fall of 2015.

 

[Grisu]

I would top-cover at least the pine. That stuff is like a sponge. I had about 2 ft in my row of pine that the tarp was not long enough for. Those splits were noticeably heavier than the covered ones when I wanted to put them away for the winter. The advantage is, there is a good chance the smaller pieces will be good to go come fall.
Be also aware that 3 cords of pine are more like 1.5 to 2 cords of hardwood. You may want to add some more.

 

[Paulywalnut]

It's great you've been able to store away that much. Try to hold up on pine and go after the hard woods.

 

[Andy S.]

Try to hold up on pine and go after the hard woods.

Thanks for the advice. I just wish it were that easy. Due to the Boogieman scare stories about Pine (that I used to believe until I started reading this site) free Pine is much more available than the good stuff. I'm keeping an eye on CL and still have a neighbor's downed Bradford Pear to process but so far I seem to be a Pine magnet.

Be also aware that 3 cords of pine are more like 1.5 to 2 cords of hardwood.

I saw from this past shoulder season that I'll be going through the wood quickly. It is even more work for me because it coals so poorly. My small firebox leaves me little hope of a quick morning startup with Pine. I'll be sorting carefully to make sure the good stuff is in the last load of the day.

 

[Andy S.]

I would top-cover at least the pine. That stuff is like a sponge. I had about 2 ft in my row of pine that the tarp was not long enough for.

Thanks for that. From your experience will loosely-stacked, top covered Pine be dry between now and March '15?

 

[Grisu]

I saw from this past shoulder season that I'll be going through the wood quickly. It is even more work for me because it coals so poorly. My small firebox leaves me little hope of a quick morning startup with Pine. I'll be sorting carefully to make sure the good stuff is in the last load of the day.

With coaling poorly, you mean you won't have many coals in the morning? That's true, for overnight burns you want to use hardwood. On the other hand, startup fires are a breeze with dry pine. And you will appreciate the minimal coals of pine when it gets really cold. I can fill my stove then with a fresh load of pine about every 3 to 4 hours and keep the stove above 450 F to 500 F all the time, while with hardwoods and their extensive coaling stage there won't be enough room for a full load.

Thanks for that. From your experience will loosely-stacked, top covered Pine be dry between now and March '15?

Straight pieces with 5" or less have a good chance of being dry in the fall already. The knotty pieces I like to dry longer. I would not count on a lot of drying in the winter anyway, so the difference between October '14 and March '15 will probably be minimal.

 

[Andy S.]

The knotty pieces I like to dry longer.

They are also impossible to split! They should teach that pine swirl around the knots in engineering schools!