My first holzhausen

[KindredSpiritzz]

Ran out of pallets to stack so i built me my first holzhausen . Always wanted to give one a try and join that elite club. I was surprised at how much wood fits in the middle. Probably bust open like a pinata at some point over winter but its kind of neat to look at til then. I know i probably should of gotten it off the ground.

I like splitting big rounds so i can make flat square chunks that are easy to stack and very stable on a pallet. Pretty much all ash seasoning and awaiting its time.

The big steel stove. Seems only yesterday i was on here asking advice on its installation but its been 3 years already, time flies.

 

[firefighterjake]

Is there any lean to the inside? I found that if I intentionally placed the splits in a manner so that it leaned inward as it went upward in height that it kept the stack from blowing out.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

no, it decidedly leans outward. I see ways for improvement on my next one and usually i have to do everything twice anyways so when this one falls apart i'll restack it using what i learned on this one.

 

[firefighterjake]

no, it decidedly leans outward. I see ways for improvement on my next one and usually i have to do everything twice anyways so when this one falls apart i'll restack it using what i learned on this one.

On your next one every so often run a ring of splits along the outside edge of the stack and then continue stacking like before. This will tip the stack to the inside a bit and give the holtz miete a more conical shape while also forcing the weight of the wood to lean inward. If you fill the hole in the middle it will want to push the weight into the middle.

 

[Dobish]

agreed, especially as it settles, it will want to collapse. You can see a few pieces running horizontally, which help keep everything together.


This one has been standing since February, and is noticeably shorter now



I have a few more piles out back that I need to finish stacking, and I am debating between traditional stacks or holzhausen.

 

[Dobish]

and welcome to the exclusive club

 

[Rangerbait]

no, it decidedly leans outward. I see ways for improvement on my next one and usually i have to do everything twice anyways so when this one falls apart i'll restack it using what i learned on this one.

Don't worry man, my first one collapsed since I didn't maintain the inward cant...you can do it!

These ones have been going strong for a solid 9 months now:

 

[Dobish]

Don't worry man, my first one collapsed since I didn't maintain the inward cant...you can do it!

These ones have been going strong for a solid 9 months now:

View attachment 202106

those are huge!

 

[Woody5506]

I like those nicely squared ash splits

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I like those nicely squared ash splits

yeah i should be able to pack the stove tight for some good over night burns with that stuff.

 

[kennyp2339]

Also, because I didn't do this with mine but kinda wish I did, after getting the walls up and filling it in, once you get the 1st row of the roof in and everything is pitched, lay a tarp in there and then start on top of that with the center circle 12" cut out, that will keep the majority of rain / snow melt out of the middle, but still allow moisture to escape.

 

[CincyBurner]

Definitely want to maintain a cant toward the inside, and don't lay wood directly on the ground.
Also, I found that splining with splits between the outside and inside rows increases stability.
Stability for a holz miete seems a bit like snowfall conditions prior to avalanche. It's the weak interface layer where the system fails. It only takes one weak spot in a critical zone, especially at the bottom.
Probably doesn't make sense to stack this way over traditional rows, but it's different and a bit of a challenge and puzzle.
We'll see how well the oak I laid up in 2014 (~3 cords) seasoned in my first miete.

 

[firefighterjake]

. . .
Probably doesn't make sense to stack this way over traditional rows, but it's different and a bit of a challenge and puzzle.
. . .

Building one gives you street cred here at hearth.com.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

Building one gives you street cred here at hearth.com

I don't know what kind of street cred im gonna have in spring when its laying there in a pile but then again i'll probably keep that to myself

 

[Rangerbait]

those are huge!

They're 12' in diameter, which results in just under a cord for every foot of height...my 15 year old daughter and 7 year old son stacked the HH in the foreground...I just got them going on the initial course and they did the rest.

 

[They Call Me Pete]

My wife wants me to build these but my only thing is how you tell how many cords go into each one. Going back to wood next year.

 

[armanidog]

My wife wants me to build these but my only thing is how you tell how many cords go into each one. Going back to wood next year.

8 feet diameter by 8 feet tall will hold about a cord and a half of wood is what I've read.

This is from a fellow in Australia who experimented with the drying time between a traditional rick and a holzhausen:

Here is my summary of findings:

• Standard Ricks are a standout winner in the seasoning stakes over a HH. Ricks started with an average of 52% MC and fell to an average of 25% MC for a 27% MC fall, compared to the HH which started with an average of 51% MC and fell to 32% MC (those percentages are rounded hence the apparent discrepancy - the excel spreadsheet has the exact figures) for a 20% MC fall, which means the ricks lost a further 7% MC than the HH over the 18 months / 2 summers seasoning - or lost a third more moisture than the Holz Hausen. This is a significant difference in my opinion.
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  Mould or fungus growing on splits inside the Holz Hausen
  The claim that a Holz Hausen can accelerate seasoning of firewood, even accomplishing it in 3 months , is ludicrous. Wood seasons with sun and wind and the more exposure to sun and wind the faster it seasons, so it makes complete sense to me that ricks would enjoy a significant advantage over HH's.
  
  
  
• The wood inside a HH seasons more slowly than wood in the outside ring. Mine even had some type of mould / fungus growing on it, which whilst it might be a new generation of pennicillin, still doesn't help the seasoning and shows how damp and humid the air was all the time inside the HH. Again, this makes sense as per the above points on seasoning.
  
  
• Of some surprise to me was that the difference between the 4 compass points on the HH in terms of seasoning benefits from direct sunshine, was minimal. 2% better for North over South (remember I'm Down Under) - I would have thought it was much greater, but that's what careful measurement and experimentation is about.

http://soede.net/soede/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=485&Itemid=29

I have one made of red oak that is 8 feet by 6 feet. I think the main advantage is the space saving aspect over traditional piles.

 

[CincyBurner]

Pete, you can figure how many cords you like for each miete, and estimate and plan accordingly using the formula for the volume of a cylinder: V = π r 2 * h

where h = height, and r = radius (squared)​

Lots of online calculators.