Not sure if anyone posted this link yet!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/w...-tv-program-on-firewood-elicits-passions.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/w...-tv-program-on-firewood-elicits-passions.html
Norwegians argue about splitting wood
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My father's family is from around Bergen, Norway, but I never heard of this firewood stacking bark orientation debate. I never thought about it myself, and stack my wood randomly with bark orientation. When the wood is wet, I stack it as loose as possible, exposing as much surface area to air. If its dry, I stack it as tight as possible to save space.
Norwegians are more divided by location in the country, and by very heavy dialect regional differences that splits the language. Most of them speak English, and most Norwegians have a very high regard for the US. To the point that many chide that it the 51st US state.
Norwegians are more divided by location in the country, and by very heavy dialect regional differences that splits the language. Most of them speak English, and most Norwegians have a very high regard for the US. To the point that many chide that it the 51st US state.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/wood-burning-culture-of-norway.105958/#post-1379528
There's a link to the show in there.
There's a link to the show in there.
privatejoker75
Member
I thought I read something a few months ago about a PBS type miniseries that aired in Norway about wood that was the highest rated program for that year. It was something like 8 hours long lol. I'll post the link if i can find it again.
We can also get into some good conversations here on hearth.com about bark up or bark down.
Trilifter7
Feeling the Heat
MrWhoopee
Minister of Fire
![[Hearth.com] Norwegians argue about splitting wood](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/104/104873-de78ab0680f5550b85d5210f6f9c1cca.jpg?hash=5o6P1NBF_Y "[Hearth.com] Norwegians argue about splitting wood")
every red blooded american woodburner knows that it don't make a hill of beans difference whether the bark is up or down as long as you cover the top of the stacks 
every red blooded american woodburner knows that it don't make a hill of beans difference whether the bark is up or down as long as you cover the top of the stacks
But what about those who have blue blood?
Trilifter7
Feeling the Heat
Mr A
Minister of Fire
Why stack bark down? What's the reasoning? I'm thinking about it and my opinion would be bark up. Reason being, rain fall would be pulled through the stack by gravity, settling on the bark side up splits, continueing to the ground, leaving the wood dry and rot free. I guess bark down folks believe it helps the wood dry faster? Probably both valid opinions that dont make much of a difference.
Mr A
Minister of Fire
They seem to love shows like that:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324904004578539110228634592.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324904004578539110228634592.html
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
I say it's like this...the glass is half full people, the bark will be down so the sun can shine on the open wood to dry it out...
The glass is half empty, put the bark down and hope the rain doesn't ruin it...
Just poking fun, some splits do need to have bark down so that they fit better in the rack, but I try to stack the bark down as a rule of thumb....
The glass is half empty, put the bark down and hope the rain doesn't ruin it...
Just poking fun, some splits do need to have bark down so that they fit better in the rack, but I try to stack the bark down as a rule of thumb....
After thinking about this some, I have found over the years that it is better to put the bark down on my bottom rows of my firewood stacks here in the PNW, as the bottom tends to stay the dampest from ground moisture (even with tar paper under my pallets). That goes against my natural tendency to put the splits flat side down on the bottom for stability, but the bottom wood tends to rot more with the bark up. The bark seems to be better at keeping out ground moisture and preventing rot. The rest of my stacks are willy-nilly.
Wikihow says to stack wood bark side down so that it will dry faster. Supposedly a bark-up 'roof' will prevent it from drying as fast. Maybe from now on its bark down for me! I am an 11th generation blue blood on my mother's side. Her ancestors were early settlers of New England. My earliest ancestor in North America arrived on the ship Fortune at Plymouth, MA in 1621.
Wikihow says to stack wood bark side down so that it will dry faster. Supposedly a bark-up 'roof' will prevent it from drying as fast. Maybe from now on its bark down for me! I am an 11th generation blue blood on my mother's side. Her ancestors were early settlers of New England. My earliest ancestor in North America arrived on the ship Fortune at Plymouth, MA in 1621.
My ancestors came down out of the trees. Maybe that's why I'm drawn to lumber, timber, tinder and kindling. 
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