What is the purpose of stacking? Can I just make a big pile right beside my splitter until it’s used?
Is stacking necessary?
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Stacking allows all the wood to get the maximum area of wood face to be exposed to the wind/sun/ventilation. With a pile the wood in the middle gets little chance of wind/sun/ventilation.
I tried that 40 years ago. It seemed like a good idea. The bottom third of the pile
never dried at all and started to rot, from the rain ,snow, and ground moisture.
Then I tried it in a loose pile with just the top covered. It did not do much better.
Even a tight stack is better than no stack. Got to have some air circulation.
Sawset
Minister of Fire
Wood dries by low relative humidity. Dark shadows and calm equals damp and wet, fungus and mold. Sunny and bright, wind and breeze equals nice and dry, and preserved for the long term.
TheAardvark
Burning Hunk
Stacking is only necessary if you want dry wood.
Some folks have gone with corn crib style storage. Get it off the ground with good cover and plenty of air flow and its just as good as stacking. Stacking is the the handiest way to store in bulk yet have good drying. Just stacking it on the ground is one step away from not splitting it at all.
Ok I understand now. I have to stack. Since I unexpectedly ended up burning wood in a blaze king ultra this year I don’t have any wood so I been cutting dead standing ash. It’s working and I guess dry enough yo get by. Should i stack it? It’s cold winter here in Indiana so does any drying take place in winter? Rarely have sun
Sawset
Minister of Fire
The stacks that get direct sun here do get warm and dry in the winter. How dry is debatable. I don't think many people depend on winter sun to dry firewood to <20% levels on a timely basis.
There is on going thread on cold weather kilns here
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hickoryhoarder
Minister of Fire
Stacks are usually the best way to get enough sun and air, and block the rain with some type of cover (firewood itself can be a cover).
It's like a pile of wet clothes, would you rather leave them in a big pile on the floor hoping they will dry or hang them out on a line in a row?
Big piles of wood are like big piles of wet clothes, they won't dry very well!
Big piles of wood are like big piles of wet clothes, they won't dry very well!
Qvist
Burning Hunk
I have tried it with slabwood since it stacks with few air spaces. Only the outside pieces dried well.
Grizzerbear
Minister of Fire
It sure sucks having wet wood. If you dont stack it, it will never season and with a new epa stove your life will be hell lol. For good seasoned wood and less stress.....yes totally necessry lol.
I left a couple cords of ash in a stack for a while since I was too busy to get to it. The top one or two layers dried out nicely, the bottom layer was filthy and it was stacked on 8 inches of stone.
My grandfather used to say stacking fire wood is a lot like dancing. It seems difficult and a waste of time at first, but the performance of the wood in the oven makes it all worth while. I never quite got the analogy but I have been stacking and dancing for many years now.
Agreed, my wood is stacked under a metal prefab carport on crushed stone. The layer that's on the ground gets pulled and set on top of the next stack for next years wood, because it absorbs moisture from the ground/stone. I could use pallets but they rot and attract vermin.
