How do you stack?

[Berner]

Just curious how everyone has their splits stacked. I'm new to the wood burning in fact I'm still in the process of getting my stove setup but the more I read the more it suggests that you guys stack your wood according to species. I seem to read a lot about shoulder season wood and then tapping into oak or locust during the cold snaps.

I got my grapple load last year bucked it, split it and stacked it in no particular order. As I said I am a newbie but where did you guys learn your wood identification skills? I can barely determine the type of wood when it's in log form. Now that all the splits are mixed in together it makes it nearly impossible. Anyone have any suggestions for upping my wood identification IQ?

So I ask how do you stack your wood?

A) chronologically.

B). By species.

C). Any other methods.

 

[Pallet Pete]

It all goes in bins the Pine, Soft Maple and other softwoods have there own bin the rest goes together ( Medium and Hardwood ). The only exception is Oak when I find some it goes to the back of a bin for a few years.

Pete

 

[eclecticcottage]

We just stack as we split, whatever we have at the time. It's mixed. Although we pretty much only get softwoods when we scrounge so I don't know that it would matter. We do plan to buy a few face cord of hardwood delivered because it's pretty cheap from one supplier, and that will be stacked separately because we'll stack it after we get it.

 

[osagebow]

Mixing in some easy to light stuff like maple and sass in the locust stacks I'm doing now. Currently burning 18 mo. CSS locust that burns great but it's hard to get going.

 

[DexterDay]

Most of my stacks are separated by species. If there is more than one species, its still separated (one species on top, other on bottom).

I had a Log load delivered this past spring and it was 90% Ash. The 10% that wasn't (Some Hickory and 1 Walnut) didnt go in the Main stack. So this large stack is all ash. As is a lot of my wood behind my garage.

 

[Hearth Mistress]

Wow! I stack it as I get it, I don't know any of it, I barely can I identify them when they are standing with leaves! Since almost everything around here is ash, that's most of it. We have some cherry and one sort of walnut too someone gave us but there is something sort of reddish (not cedar) and something that the bark peels off in a thin layer but couldn't tell ya'. It ain't oak, that's for sure but it's all wood to me and eventually burns up I don't worry about it, I just CSS since I don't know one from the other and even really trying to learn makes my head hurt, I just can't get it to sink in. It's 80 in my living room, I'm happy

 

[BrotherBart]

After bar coding the splits for species, weight, date cut, date split and date stacked I enter the info for each split into a spreadsheet.

 

[tfdchief]

I just stack. The species get mixed. I like it that way. As for date, I do date each stack.

 

[swagler85]

I use these pallet racks and move them around with the tractor. Stuff I'm burning now is all mixed but after the next 3 cord it's all separated by species in pallets 1/3 cord each. This also helps me be able to rotate wood without having to handle it.

 

[bboulier]

After bar coding the splits for species, weight, date cut, date split and date stacked I enter the info for each split into a spreadsheet.

And FIFO - first in, first out.

 

[BrotherBart]

And FIFO - first in, first out.

Except for shoulder seasons. GIGO - Garbage in, garbage out.

 

[bogydave]

Easy for me, 2 types, birch & spruce.
Birch & spruce stacked separate. Stacked by when cut, birch will be 2 to 3 years CSS when burned.
Spruce shoulder season & when temps above 30° during he day, 1 yr+ CSS.

 

[PapaDave]

Pretty easy here too.
I got 95% oak log loads and did all that together.
This past late fall/early winter, I c/s/s a few maple, so all that went together. In between that, I did about 2 cord of oak.
I've got some pine that's all together, because it was what I was working on at the time....2/3 cord of that next to the shed in case of need this spring (doubtful).
I know when it's all cut, so that I can know when to use it. I wouldn't try to use the oak cut this past fall next year, but the maple might be ready. Might.
Don't need either for another couple years anyway.....no worries.
Wait til you see the ones that have maps of where all their wood is and when it was cut....oh, and the guys (I won't mention names) who date the stacks.
Good times.
A: yes
B: yes
C: yes
Post pics of what you've got, some here are expert at tree id......literally.

 

[renewablejohn]

You must have way to much time on your hands in the US producing all these nice stacks. All we do is process direct into IBC containers and then with pallet forks on the tractor load into the solar kiln where it stays until we need to use it.

 

[firefighterjake]

Double row on pallets . . . a "generous" cord in each stack . . . all mixed in wood. I do however admit that I attach a cedar shingle to each stack and write on the date that the wood was split/stacked.

 

[jatoxico]

BBart I would think by now you would know it's not worth keeping track of date cut.

 

[TradEddie]

Haphazardly, mostly chronologically, but with fresh splits in Spring going on top of older wood to fill racks. It used to not matter with my old slammer, but with the new EPA insert, I realize that I will need to be more organized in future. I am considering tracking on a spreadsheet so I can remember where everything went. I have everything from ash to red oak on my property, so in future I will stack by species.

TE

 

[wishlist]

Easy for me, 2 types, birch & spruce.
Birch & spruce stacked separate. Stacked by when cut, birch will be 2 to 3 years CSS when burned.
Spruce shoulder season & when temps above 30° during he day, 1 yr+ CSS.

I feel for Dave, if you ever seen pics of some of his stacks there 2nd to none!
At least until mother nature " shakes" then not so much!

 

[Wood Duck]

I stack chronologically. Whatever I get, I stack in the holz hausen (round stack) that is currently under construction. I burn one stack, then move on to the next. The exception is that if I come across some slightly punky wood I stack it separately, cover it, and burn it next year. I don't want to stack punky wood with solid wood because the punky stuff keeps getting punkier in my uncovered stacks. The solid wood stays nice and solid despite being uncovered.

Think the way to learn firewood ID is to learn one species at a time. Collecting your own firewood is the way to do this. When you get a downed tree or even a branch, ID the tree based on leaves, twigs, and other features that are shown in tree ID books. Then when you cut the wood you can learn what the wood looks like. Focus on bark, the color and thickness of sapwood (the lighter wood under the barks) and heartwood (center of the trunk or lrage branch). It takes a while but I find I cannot learn ID of trees, plants, birds, or anything else by doing it all at once. One tree at a time is the way to go.

 

[jharkin]

I stack it as I get it and work through the stacks by age. I used to stack single row because I was burning stuff the same year, or 1 year old at most - but now that I am into a 2 year ahead rythm I'm stacking in double rows to fit more wood.

 

[ScotO]

I'm with Jeremy for the most part. I am three skids wide on my stacks with an airspace between them. I put all the dense hardwoods on one of those sides (white and red oak, black and honey locust, beech, hickory, hard maple), while the other side gets the softer woods (silver and red maple, ash, walnut, etc). Since my wood has over 3 years to season I am good to go just picking from either the dense wood side or softer wood side, depending on what my needs are.

 

[Ralphie Boy]

By date split and species. Oak and hickory together soft maple sometimes with ash but mostly ash alone.

 

[PapaDave]

You must have way to much time on your hands in the US producing all these nice stacks. All we do is process direct into IBC containers and then with pallet forks on the tractor load into the solar kiln where it stays until we need to use it.View attachment 88519

Nice setup John. Is this your business, or home?
I don't suppose it took much time to acquire all that equipment, eh?
Independently wealthy? Or, you had to spend time to make the money to purchase. Hmmm.
Just a thought.

 

[renewablejohn]

Nice setup John. Is this your business, or home?
I don't suppose it took much time to acquire all that equipment, eh?
Independently wealthy? Or, you had to spend time to make the money to purchase. Hmmm.
Just a thought.

Part of our Biomass power generation business. Fortunately we had a government grant for the log processor to go on our old farm tractor

 

[mustash29]

Historically I have been a little behind the 8 ball every season, but trying to get 2+ seasons ahead.

I scored 72 FREE pallets from a local printing business last fall. I'll probably burn the crappy ones and save the good ones for stacking.

Processing / storage area in the back corner of the yard. Still trying to decide what to do back there. We may build a large shed with storage all around it.

My neighbor has a 50' right of way for his driveway and allows my deliveries to use it to stuff the sticks onto the corner of my lot.

I usually pull them off the pile with the Warm M-8000 on the front of the truck. A few years ago when my back was giving me fits I had a strap and snatch block hanging in a 12" pine that I was using as a "get it off the ground to cut" hoist.

2-5 cord goes under the deck before the snow flies.