Rite of passage? Holtz Hausen

[John-Eddie]

Hi All,

I won't dredge up what is obviously a well-worn old thread, but I just wanted to say that I stacked two cords in two small holtz hausen (7' diameter x 4' high), just because it looked fun.

As a curiosity, I thought I'd take some moisture measurements since there had, at one point, been some ridiculous claims made on another site about how fast it seasons wood. I've seen many people do similar tests that demonstrate that the HH is either equivalent, or worse, than standard stacking.

My findings so far:

I sampled about 25% of the total pieces in the two cords of green wood. It averaged around 25% MC, 20-35% being the range. This was expected. I then made the two HH.

So far, one month in, re-sampling about 25% of the pile, the average MC is 10%. Range: 8-18%. It seems some pieces dried dramatically, some not much at all, although the "not much"s were the outliers. Weather has been very windy and over 90 degrees much of the time. For reference, on my meter, really dry, two-summer old wood is typically 5%-ish, green 25-30%.

Not drawing any conclusions from this - it was just for fun. I just thought someone might get a chuckle out of the idea that someone is still trying this.

-JE

 

[Jon1270]

How are you measuring the moisture contents? I realize you've got a meter, but what's your method?

For reference, on my meter, really dry, two-summer old wood is typically 5%-ish, green 25-30%.

These numbers are probably very far off. I'm not aware of any species that would grow in your area that are even close to 25% when green. Maybe mesquite, if you were in Texas or Arizona, but not in New Hampshire. And wood that's air-dried outdoors in your area is never going to get much below 15% except on the surface, and then only if its in direct sun. Could be a different story in a solar kiln, but not out in the open.

 

[John-Eddie]

Oh, I've suspected that the meter itself reads very low, that's why I only use it in terms of what other "known" quantities are, i.e. that when it says 5%, it's usually very dry. As far as species go, it's mixed, but it's mostly ash, birch, maple, and red oak.

-JE

 

[Jon1270]

Yeah, just to give you an idea, A living (or very recently living) red oak is probably closer to 80%.

Even setting aside possible problems with your particular meter and methods, electronic meters aren't much good over 30%.

 

[paul bunion]

Accuracy of the meter aside, did you resplit what you checked to see the moisture is on the inside?

You might want to try tracking a few pieces over time by weighing them. Seeing a split lose a pound or two is an eye opener.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Oh, I've suspected that the meter itself reads very low, that's why I only use it in terms of what other "known" quantities are, i.e. that when it says 5%, it's usually very dry. As far as species go, it's mixed, but it's mostly ash, birch, maple, and red oak.

-JE

No wonder you have a big variance in the wood. That ash and birch will dry pretty quick for everybody. The oak....well, it is oak and will dry super slow.

Most of the claims for the HH have been debunked and proven wrong. I would not take the time to stack that way as it has to take a considerably longer time to stack. When we stack, we start stacking right at the edge of the split pile. This means no carrying of the wood. Pick it up, turn and lay on stack.

 

[red oak]

I'm going to build one at some point just because it looks cool and would be a different way to stack, but I'm just going to be playing around and am waiting until I'm over 4 years ahead to do it. I don't think they burn wood any faster than conventional stacking, slower is more like it, but I like the way they look.

 

[CTFIRE]

John
They are fun to stack and I think they look better than standard rows. I have 3 10"ft diam 5 ft high and 1 that is 8 ft in diam and 4 ft high. They are sturdy and when you go to use them in the winter, they disassemble just as easily. I don't think it takes any longer to stack, once you determine your starting circle. Again to each his own.

 

[oldspark]

I've got a couple of the Harbor Freight MMs and found them to be spot on every time I have used them, green wood, dry wood, wood that was dead but just cut, pretty much any type of wood and is some cases burnt wood I thought it would be too wet but the MM did not lie to me and the wood burnt well. Just not sure how people are getting the funky readings they do.