Seasoning wood

[The.Devo]

i have 2 years of wood in an open shed I built and have a truck load of logs getting delivered this week. I plan on CSS this over the next several weeks and put in single row racks to season. Should I top cover this or leave it exposed? My plan is to fill the empty space in the spring/summer next year. BTW I’m writing this while smoking a cigar and drinking a frosty beer on a tree stump chair I made today after I dropped a tree.

 

[Alpine1]

Top cover, no doubt. Stack, if possible, in single row in a windy and sunny spot and keep off of the ground. That way softwood is ready to burn in six months.

 

[saewoody]

I would say top covering certainly wouldn’t hurt it, but not absolutely necessary. By the timeline you gave, it sounds like it would be under the shed roof for at least a full year and a half before being burned. For peace of mind top cover it, but if it’s a hardship in any way I wouldn’t worry about it. I hope that’s wishy-washy enough for you! Good luck.


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[Woodsplitter67]

I always say top cover. It definitely cant hurt the dryer the wood stays the faster it Seasons The Less rot, the less insects, happier wood. I like the tree stump chair. I like the enthusiasm

 

[weatherguy]

I usually dont top cover until right about now and only the wood I'm burning this year but I had some oak that got a little punky using that method so I switched to top covering after stacking. One year probably wont matter but it wont hurt.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

View attachment 230473 View attachment 230474 i have 2 years of wood in an open shed I built and have a truck load of logs getting delivered this week. I plan on CSS this over the next several weeks and put in single row racks to season. Should I top cover this or leave it exposed? My plan is to fill the empty space in the spring/summer next year. BTW I’m writing this while smoking a cigar and drinking a frosty beer on a tree stump chair I made today after I dropped a tree.

It looks like we like the same beer.

 

[aaronk25]

I’m stubborn and refuse to restack wood so I haul logs to my spare lot, cut split and straight from the splitter stack on a pallet.

Then stretch film them set In sun for 2 months if pine or 3-4 months if oak. Important not to have any holes in the stretch film except the bottom as trying to get the highest temp possible. If it’s 80f out the center of the stack gets to 140+. Bakes the moisture out. It runs down the inside of the plastic out the bottom. At night the cool air condenses the moisture on the inside of the plastic.

My uncle said “you dummy that ain’t gonna dry, look how wet the inside of that plastic is the moisture can’t get out”. I said that moisture your looking all ready left the wood. It doesn’t re-absorb well. He said yes it does and I told him to throw a dry piece of firewood in a lake and how long will it float? He started scratching his head and walked away....

I got lots of sun I don’t think this would work well in the shade.

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[Jan Pijpelink]

I do something similar, but not stretched, just covered with 6 mil transparent plastic. Was a first try. Stacked in March, covered in early June at 38% MC, measured last Saturday (fresh splits) at 17% for stack catching most sun and 24% for stack with least sun. Plan to take the plastic off in November and top cover with tarp.

 

[fbelec]

aaronk25 have you tried that with black plastic or spray it black

 

[The.Devo]

It looks like we like the same beer.

That’s a good beer, my favorite flavor is cold

 

[shortys7777]

Those that wrap or cover wood. Do you think areas that it would benefit in a not so sunny spot in my yard? I am limited as to where I can stack my wood and want to have all my wood ready for next year. This year I will have to buy some as its my first season.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Those that wrap or cover wood. Do you think areas that it would benefit in a not so sunny spot in my yard? I am limited as to where I can stack my wood and want to have all my wood ready for next year. This year I will have to buy some as its my first season.

The sunnier the better. However, at 85F outside temp, it will get a lot hotter under the plastic, so the wood is sweating the moisture out. As long as the plastic does not touch the wood or the ground, it goes pretty fast.

 

[aaronk25]

aaronk25 have you tried that with black plastic or spray it black

Nope I haven’t but my thoughts are it won’t work as well because the black would get hot and sure warm the wood some, but what we want to have happen is have the center of the stack get hot and the plastic wrap cool so it condenses the humidity to water. If we don’t get as much water out as possible we risk mold.


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[fbelec]

aaron great thinking

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

definitely cover. I have a stack i left uncovered for the past year and its all water logged and kind of getting moldy. Finally threw a plastic tarp over it hoping it dried out before its ruined. 2 cords so i hope i saved it in time.

 

[maple1]

More important to get it up well off the ground.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I'm with maple1. Most important to get it off the ground. I put down two pressure treated 4x4s. Usually only the top wood gets wet. Everything under it stays pretty dry without a cover. I cover my kindling.

 

[maple1]

I pile on pallets. Double rows. A couple different kinds - some standard (wood and plastic), some wider homemade ones made out of 4x4s. All go on top of concrete blocks. Keeps the pallets from rotting and the wood dry. If one wanted to take a further step, plastic could go down under the blocks. The ground is constantly putting out moisture.