Just introducing myself

[7acres]

Hello All,
I've been lurking here for long enough. Time to join in on the good conversations with this helpful community! My wife and I had been toying with the idea of getting a wood stove back in November. We're 100% going to get one now! We live on 7 wooded acres of mostly hickory (75%), and cedar, oak and pine sprinkled around too. I've got a Stihl 362 and I'm in my mid 30s so I'm planning on splitting my wood with an ax. The Jotul T55 is what I've got my heart set on at this point.
Here's a question I'm wondering about as I contemplate wood shed designs. If the wood stove we buy accepts 18" logs do I need to saw them up in 18" lengths ideally? Or would that be a bad idea for some reason?

 

[Jags]

If 18" is the max length, you will probably want 16" long splits. You will want a bit of wiggle room on each side for ease of loading.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[maple1]

I'd get the wood cut & split before I built the shed. But maybe you already did.

And welcome.

 

[gzecc]

17.9" would be best.

 

[NH_Wood]

Go with Jags - a couple inches shorter than max. The max split length stated for my stove is crazy. Can I fit a couple max size splits in the stove? Yes. But then you have more and more trouble loading the rest of the stove - especially if you are loading east/west. Cheers!

 

[BrotherBart]

Burning is better also if there is an inch or so of space between each end of the splits and the bricks so the gases escaping out of the ends of the splits can get air to burn.

16" is the way to go.

 

[7acres]

Awesome, I'm glad I asked! Is 16" the size they'd come if you buy your wood from a firewood supplier?

 

[firefighterjake]

As mentioned . . . get them a couple inches shorter since invariably you will get a build up of ash or they will not be perfectly straight and it's nice to have the wiggle room.

As for the size . . . it depends on the seller. Some places I've seen will sell in different lengths . . . other places only offer in one size . . . other places will custom cut it for you (but don't expect seasoned wood from these places usually.)

 

[Paulywalnut]

Welcome 7 acres! 16 inch pieces are ideal. Your stacks will be 16 inches x 8 feet x 3 and that will be a cord.
Simple and neat. I've got 30 of them and none have fallen down. Oops probably shouldn't have said that.
Good Luck! Sounds like you're ready.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum 7acres.

You'll want to get a bunch cut, split and stacked as quickly as possible. Even then, if none has been put up already, it could still be a tough winter next year as the wood won't be ideal. You can work around it but help yourself as much as you can by getting the stuff ready quickly.

As for the wood shed, they are nice but certainly not necessary. We went many years without a wood shed and had no problems. Here is a couple of the wood piles to show what we do. In that second picture our splitter is covered with a gray tarp. The wood is covered with old galvanized roofing. No shed required.

 

[Nick Mystic]

Welcome 7acres. Definitely want to keep your length a couple inches shorter than the maximum length for the stove. If you are side loading (which is where they take the maximum log size from usually) it is easy to drop the log before you get it fully inside the stove and it will snowplow the ashes and coals up against the side wall stopping you short from fitting some logs into the stove without pulling it back out and trying again. That's okay on a cold stove, but with a hot reload you can end up with a flaming log and two inches still sticking out the door! My Jotul F 600 can take 24" logs, but I try to cut between 20" - 22" for better loading and burning.

 

[7acres]

Thanks for the idea, Backwoods Savage. Back in November of last year I felled 3 old hickory trees that were dying due to ant infestation. I cut them all up and stacked them out in the open much like your photos. Using a cord calculator website I think I have 1.75 cords drying out for next winter.

From my reading hickory has one of the longest drying times of all the various species. I figured a wood shed would help speed up the drying time. Would it?

Welcome to the forum 7acres.

You'll want to get a bunch cut, split and stacked as quickly as possible. Even then, if none has been put up already, it could still be a tough winter next year as the wood won't be ideal. You can work around it but help yourself as much as you can by getting the stuff ready quickly.

As for the wood shed, they are nice but certainly not necessary. We went many years without a wood shed and had no problems. Here is a couple of the wood piles to show what we do. In that second picture our splitter is covered with a gray tarp. The wood is covered with old galvanized roofing. No shed required.
View attachment 126229 View attachment 126230

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hickory is great firewood! Congratulations on getting it.

You don't need a cordwood calculator as you can do the simple math yourself. H x W x L / 128 gives you the total cords. Hence, a 4 x 4 x 8 stack would equal 4 x 4 =16; 16 x 8 = 128, so that would be exactly one cord.

 

[7acres]

Ah, I see. That's pretty simple to calculate. For the calculation does it matter whether the stack is split or in unsplit logs?

Hickory is great firewood! Congratulations on getting it.

You don't need a cordwood calculator as you can do the simple math yourself. H x W x L / 128 gives you the total cords. Hence, a 4 x 4 x 8 stack would equal 4 x 4 =16; 16 x 8 = 128, so that would be exactly one cord.

 

[7acres]

Hi NH_Wood, I've got a newbie question for you. When you say you always have 4 years of wood waiting for winter, what does that mean?

Go with Jags - a couple inches shorter than max. The max split length stated for my stove is crazy. Can I fit a couple max size splits in the stove? Yes. But then you have more and more trouble loading the rest of the stove - especially if you are loading east/west. Cheers!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Generally you will get a tighter stack with splits rather than rounds but it is not a huge amount so I would not do anything differently. We have to remember this is our own firewood so what if you aren't exact? No problem.

For the different lengths of the splits, just break it down to feet rather than inches. For example, an 18" would be 1.5 feet, etc.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hi NH_Wood, I've got a newbie question for you. When you say you always have 4 years of wood waiting for winter, what does that mean?

He no doubt is like most of us. We preach the 3 year plan which means you always have 3 years of wood cut, split and stacked on hand. That will solve over 90% of all wood burning problems. In addition, you will find you need less wood too because it is excellently dried.

 

[7acres]

Ah, I see! So wood seasoned 1 year gets you some passable firewood. But after 3 years it's awesome firewood? If so, I guess I better factor that into my woodshed size. And I might as well go out on the property and identify several more trees to fell so in 3 years I'll have ideal firewood.

He no doubt is like most of us. We preach the 3 year plan which means you always have 3 years of wood cut, split and stacked on hand. That will solve over 90% of all wood burning problems. In addition, you will find you need less wood too because it is excellently dried.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

But all of your dry wood doesn't have to be in a shed. For us, in October we move 2.5 to 3 cord of wood into the barn. That gets us through the winter and then we have use of that space in the summer if we need it.

In addition, if wood gets snow or rained on, usually it has dried from that within 24-48 hours. That is only surface moisture; wood is not a sponge unless it is punky. We've had 4" rainfall and found the wood all dried within 2 days. Of course the wood is top covered so we are talking about the rain hitting the sides of the stack. We worry not about that.

 

[7acres]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful. After taking a second look at Backwoods Savage photos it clicked. I can store my wood I need to use for the current winter on my long front porch and keep a 3 year pipeline of drying wood stacked in the back of the back yard covered on top just like the photos. My front porch shares a roof with my house.. So I don't believe I have any need to build a wood shed now. I'm not done learning. But I'm glad I piped up with my initial question! Thanks again, everyone.

But all of your dry wood doesn't have to be in a shed. For us, in October we move 2.5 to 3 cord of wood into the barn. That gets us through the winter and then we have use of that space in the summer if we need it.

In addition, if wood gets snow or rained on, usually it has dried from that within 24-48 hours. That is only surface moisture; wood is not a sponge unless it is punky. We've had 4" rainfall and found the wood all dried within 2 days. Of course the wood is top covered so we are talking about the rain hitting the sides of the stack. We worry not about that.

 

[BobUrban]

7acres - all my wood(roughly 20 cord) is outside under the elements. I would like a shed or at least some top cover but for now it is working just fine. Lots of debate on top cover/no top cover with top cover looking to be the big winner and it really depends on your location and weather as to when or how you protect you commodity. Most important is keeping it off the ground and stacking neatly enough to not need to re-stack later due to settling of the pile causing a collapse.

Wood sheds are really, really nice but not necessary for all the wood, all the time. Mostly they are used to prepare for the upcoming season so that the wood coming into the house is not being dug out of a snow bank. Best and most common practice is to build a shed large enough to hold a seasons worth + of burning and the general rule is roughly 4-5 cord. Again, this is effected by where you live, average temps, stove and sq' you are heating. May make sense to get a feel for what amount you will need to get through the winter and build after that - or leave space for additional wood shed if you discover you need another cord or two.

On the other hand, if you have the space, time and money to build a monster wood shed - go for it. I love the pics of some of the sheds here. One in Alaska comes to mind

 

[blazincajun]

Welcome to this site. You will find that we understand that you are interested in our passion and we have some very knowledgeble folks here at your request. You may find that your immediate wood gathering will conflict some of your other passions. Just do it!

 

[red oak]

Welcome to the forum 7acres! I'm kind of in your boat in that I would like a woodshed, and would build one if someone gave me all of the materials required. So now it's outside, with a small amount under my deck to stay dry. Plenty of us get by without a shed just fine.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

A little late to say welcome but better late than never! Some good fellas (and gals) on here, you'll have fun!