Is this kind of storage ok long-term?

[Tron]

All,

we've been "blessed" by a pine beetle invasion two years ago and as a consequence we've lost quite a few pines. We've been cleaning up since and while we chip the branches and grind the stumps, I've been storing the wood for firewood as below.
The bottom has 4-6" branches and oddly-shaped pieces placed length-wise to keep the logs off the ground, and the cover is a sturdy 36' billboard tarp, tied to the ground.

Will that be ok for 10+ years? It will likely be a while before we even start going into those piles.

Thanks!

 

[weee123]

The bottom logs will probably rot away due to ground moisture, not exactly sure if they’ll last 10 years but you could probably get at least 5-6 with the rest.

 

[Tron]

The bottom logs will probably rot away due to ground moisture, not exactly sure if they’ll last 10 years but you could probably get at least 5-6 with the rest.

If they do, that's fine with me. We've got so much, in the end it'll probably be three of those piles in the foreground, so rotted bottom rows won't make a dent.
Like I said, they don't touch the ground, they're about 6" elevated. But even if...

I should add that this is Mississippi. Logs that just sit outside (like the ones that fell somewhere in the woods and weren't cleaned up) rot away rather quickly. It only takes 2-3 years until they're so rotten and light they become unusable as firewood.

 

[Whitenuckler]

If they do, that's fine with me. We've got so much, in the end it'll probably be three of those piles in the foreground, so rotted bottom rows won't make a dent.
Like I said, they don't touch the ground, they're about 6" elevated. But even if...

I should add that this is Mississippi. Logs that just sit outside (like the ones that fell somewhere in the woods and weren't cleaned up) rot away rather quickly. It only takes 2-3 years until they're so rotten and light they become unusable as firewood.

They attract bugs too. I had a cottage once, and after a mini tornado we lost some trees including pine. I just cut it up and left it. Soon some sort of wood loving ants started making holes in it. You also might get other animals and snakes living in it. If you can get more wood in the future, I'd get rid of most of it and keep what you can use.

 

[Tron]

I'd get rid of most of it and keep what you can use.

That's kind of the problem. We can't burn them here, there's really not a good spot for that. And our chipper will do 8" branches and treetops, but that's about it.

We've stored firewood in silos so far, off the ground and covered, and really had little issue with pests in there. The occasional opossum, but that was about it.

 

[begreen]

I suspect that bugs and carpenter ants or termites will find them. It's like someone showed up with a lifetime meal supply for them.

 

[djlew]

I try to keep up with my "get ahead" piles often in the summer and find a lot of bugs and critters find their way to it and that is after maybe a little over a year. My rule of thumb is if I won't use it in 3 years it needs to go somehow. Basically new wood seasoning over the course of 3 years, use the oldest wood, rinse and repeat. I assume wood stored this way longer than that will end up by the wayside sooner or later.

General rule of thumb I think you did a good job covering it. I wouldn't be against waiting and seeing what happens if it's far enough away from a living structure but if you wanted to actually see the wood get used I'd try and give it away, have more bonfires or see if someone wants to buy it and haul it away. I like pine personally, but I know a lot of people don't. Awesome looking stack either way and good luck!

 

[ScottLewis]

When the bottom logs rot away bugs will infest the entire pile. Jackson Mississippi. I think y'all have some termites down there.

A day late and a dollar short, but you should have used pressure treated 6x6s on the bottom, and set those on concrete blocks. Then your pile would be 14 inches off the ground.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I think re-doing the stacking using blocks and pressure treated would be the best move. Lot of work but 10 yrs is a long time for the wood to be there. Better to spend the time now than have a ton of wood that’s half rotted to deal with.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Wouldn't it be fun to have a little saw mill? Endless supply logs to practice on. I guess those ones
are a little small to bother with and not long enough.

 

[qwee]

Pine in my area (Southern Idaho) will probably last 10 years due to low humidity and low rainfall. Geography matters. Your area is a different story. You could just give your pine away. So giving it away might be hard in Mississippi due to there being plenty of trees with mostly warm days year around. In my area it is the opposite - not many trees and a long cold season. I'll illustrate this point with a funny story.

I saw a Cottonwood limb (15" diameter) falling off a tree about 6' up the trunk. I stopped and offered to the older owner to cut it down. He said - $60. I said, "No need to pay me. I'll do it for free. I just want the wood." He said, "You misunderstand. You need to pay me $60." Damn I thought, it's crappy wood and it is dangerous to cut down and he wants me to pay him. "No thanks."

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Pine in my area (Southern Idaho) will probably last 10 years due to low humidity and low rainfall. Geography matters. Your area is a different story. You could just give your pine away. So giving it away might be hard in Mississippi due to there being plenty of trees with mostly warm days year around. In my area it is the opposite - not many trees and a long cold season. I'll illustrate this point with a funny story.

I saw a Cottonwood limb (15" diameter) falling off a tree about 6' up the trunk. I stopped and offered to the older owner to cut it down. He said - $60. I said, "No need to pay me. I'll do it for free. I just want the wood." He said, "You misunderstand. You need to pay me $60." Damn I thought, it's crappy wood and it is dangerous to cut down and he wants me to pay

Sounds like the guy in your story is a real piece of work.

 

[qwee]

No, he isn't. Just an older guy who earned his way through life. Working type of community. People burn wood to stay warm. Very little wood makes even 'so-so' species valuable - poplar, cottonwood and willow.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

No, he isn't. Just an older guy who earned his way through life. Working type of community. People burn wood to stay warm. Very little wood makes even 'so-so' species valuable - poplar, cottonwood and willow.

I get it, different things are worth different in different places. I can see that.
In my area, trees are fairly abundant. In my experience here I think most people would be thrilled if a tree limb got taken away by someone for free.

 

[Tron]

General rule of thumb I think you did a good job covering it. I wouldn't be against waiting and seeing what happens if it's far enough away from a living structure but if you wanted to actually see the wood get used I'd try and give it away, have more bonfires or see if someone wants to buy it and haul it away. I like pine personally, but I know a lot of people don't. Awesome looking stack either way and good luck!

Thanks!
There is absolutely zero chance of even giving it away for free, nobody wants it. As mentioned, heating season is rather short down here and few people even have wood-burning fireplaces or stoves. I'm probably the odd one out here. Most have a gas-fired fireplace at best.
Add that to the fact that the pines have been dying in 2023 all over Central Mississippi, lots of people still have standing dead trees in their yards and pay contractors a lot of money to get rid of them.

I'll probably just see what happens, the piles are well-aired and dry and I usually only see insects in damp wood. The piles are well off the house, so even if they get infested, I'm not really worried. The oldest silo we have is currently 4 years old, I think, and mostly only the lowest splits are rotted because they eventually touch the ground. I put strong branches in the mesh to create an elevated floor in the silos, but those didn't hold up as well as expected.

We expect to use about 2 of our silos each winter, so I'll either refill them in spring from the piles or look for more totes and use those. Now that I have a tractor that can lift a tote full of (dry) wood, getting one up to the house to feed the stove from has gotten a lot easier.

Regarding the pine itself, our woods are mostly comprised of pines and gumwood. While I have burned the latter, it leaves a lot of ash, so I really prefer the pine. Will the BK run for 24h on a load even with our low heat demand? No, but a 12h burn is easily achievable, and so I just reload twice a day.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Pine sounds like perfect wood for shorter burning seasons. Good luck!

 

[Whitenuckler]

Thanks!
There is absolutely zero chance of even giving it away for free, nobody wants it. As mentioned, heating season is rather short down here and few people even have wood-burning fireplaces or stoves. I'm probably the odd one out here. Most have a gas-fired fireplace at best.
Add that to the fact that the pines have been dying in 2023 all over Central Mississippi, lots of people still have standing dead trees in their yards and pay contractors a lot of money to get rid of them.

I'll probably just see what happens, the piles are well-aired and dry and I usually only see insects in damp wood. The piles are well off the house, so even if they get infested, I'm not really worried. The oldest silo we have is currently 4 years old, I think, and mostly only the lowest splits are rotted because they eventually touch the ground. I put strong branches in the mesh to create an elevated floor in the silos, but those didn't hold up as well as expected.

We expect to use about 2 of our silos each winter, so I'll either refill them in spring from the piles or look for more totes and use those. Now that I have a tractor that can lift a tote full of (dry) wood, getting one up to the house to feed the stove from has gotten a lot easier.

Regarding the pine itself, our woods are mostly comprised of pines and gumwood. While I have burned the latter, it leaves a lot of ash, so I really prefer the pine. Will the BK run for 24h on a load even with our low heat demand? No, but a 12h burn is easily achievable, and so I just reload twice a day.

Are there any pulp mills in the area? Where worked once in NB, they used to bring truckloads of pulp wood to be ground up to make paper products.

 

[Tron]

Are there any pulp mills in the area? Where worked once in NB, they used to bring truckloads of pulp wood to be ground up to make paper products.

I don't know of any, but there might be. Even so, I suppose they're swamped with free wood that the landscapers deliver anyway. Like I said, everybody around me has dead trees in their yard, and I see landscapers cutting them down and hauling them away all the time.