New Holzin' Heapenhappyhausen in progress

[pulldownclaw]

The one I built last year I stacked the splits vertically in the center like you're supposed to, but this time I'm using the center for all my weird, funky, ugly splits and chunks. It's working great, the nice splits go around the outside, and the fuglies go on the inside!

 

[f3cbboy]

that looks good! nice pile!

 

[LLigetfa]

There's some real punky stuff there. I noticed you don't have any correction cross pieces (except for the first course) to keep the stack level. You must be splitting them so they're thicker on one end than the other. Hard not to make tapered pieces with punky stuff sometimes.

 

[kenny chaos]

There's some real punky stuff there. I noticed you don't have any correction cross pieces (except for the first course) to keep the stack level. You must be splitting them so they're thicker on one end than the other. Hard not to make tapered pieces with punky stuff sometimes.

The guys proud of his pile and you shoot it down.
Before I spoke I enlarged the pics and gotta admit,
that's the stuff we burn in the camp fire ring in the back yard all summer.
Didn't somebody just ask about wood being too well seasoned?

 

[LLigetfa]

The guys proud of his pile and you shoot it down.

It's a nice looking pile. A lot nicer than some that have all those horizontal correction pieces. You can tell he take the time to sort through and put the pieces the right way around.

As for the punky comment, it is what it is. I split and burn punky stuff too. When it gets so punky that it blows apart instead of splitting straight, I toss it on the brush pile because it messes up my stacks. Obviously not so with a holtz.

 

[pulldownclaw]

Yeah, the stuff in the middle is either punkier stuff that's been on the ground awhile :red: or funky shaped slabs that are coming off the monster red oak rounds I'm splitting. The outer ring is nice solid splits that are good to go. I just think it works out well to have the form/function of a stack that holds all your less than ideal stuff. I haven't found the need to use many correction pieces, but I will when it's needed. In the end, it'll all burn one way or another whether it's ideal or not.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

That is one of the nice features of the HH is that in the middle you do not have to worry about careful stacking, it handles the odd shape pieces. I think stacking them all vertical in the center is crazy. I did mine with just the very center vertical. I think next time I won't even bother with that. The roof is a nice feature too to route the water away without tarps. I hate to tear mine apart but I think another neat feature will be just removing a slice of the pie and then rebuilding it. I think I will only use about 1/3 of mine this year. So I may be able to get 3 years out it and just keep rebuilding as I go. I did a 10 foot diameter one. I might be wrong though, I am going through my traditional rows like they are going out of style. It has been pretty cold here for this time of year and I am enjoying the new stove.

 

[kenny chaos]

It's tough guys.
On one hand, life has so many demands on our time
that those look like a lot of work for little reward.
On the otherhand, it's like putting the culture back in agriculture instead of agribiz.
I respect you for your effort and understand anybodies reluctance to do it again.

 

[pulldownclaw]

They're actually not much extra work at all for me. I know some people complain about them falling over, but mine are rock solid, you couldn't push the one over I'll be burning this year if you tried. Since I handsplit, I tend to have lots of funky sized pieces, if I had a splitter it might be a different story. I still like the way the HH looks, and how much wood you can store in a small footprint.

 

[kenny chaos]

They're actually not much extra work at all for me. you couldn't push the one over I'll be burning this year if you tried. .

You won't push my heap over either but it's cool. It really is.

 

[i3bpvh]

may be a stupid question, and I know it depends on how big of a HH you build, but how much wood does it take to build one? 1/2 cord? I have somewhat limited space in my suburban postage stamp, and you can only stack so high in a traditional row.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

You can build them almost any size but I have read that a 10 footer can hold as much as 6 cords. A 1/2 cord is barely going to get you started. I have heard you should make them atleast 7 feet in diameter, which if you use pallets is 4 typical pallets put together. You can maket it any heigth. Always keep the wood sloping inward, that adds strength(you can add a log if it starts sloping the wrong way, see my picture). If you do not have alot of space you can store a ton, and the best part is, it is a great conversation piece. People can't get over the one I built. Even the guys that sell stoves, they never even heard of it after selling stoves for 30 years. The guy that sold me my stove has the picture posted in his shop, he couldn't stop talking about it.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Pulldownclaw is yours 4 pallets and 7 foot diameter?

 

[kbrown]

Both of those HH look great! I really like the idea of using the center to store the misfits. I just may try making one next year but on the smaller scale.

 

[adrpga498]

I have found each HH takes on a slightly different look. Have had 9 over the last 3 years. Only the 1st one had a partial side collaps, my error.

 

[pulldownclaw]

Yeah, I think it is about 7 feet in diameter. I think I worked it out that the one I built last year came to about 2 cords, even with the giant pinecone shape! I'm going to try to keep the sides even all the way up this time.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Hey, any wood pile is a NICE woodpile in my book!

I had a couple of these holz before, my stepmother is BAVARIAN and never heard of the word before, haha, look, she's says the Americans invented German Chocolate cake too, no such thing in her neck of the woods

I built a holz one time and when I was done with it, I ran another "course" right around it and it worked out just fine, uhhuh, that's what I did, it was probably 7 or 8 foot in diameter, then I ran another row, she was a "double holzer" I presume....