Shelf fungus on wood pile

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here

Tsiskwa

New Member
Aug 29, 2019
22
Maryland
Trying to determine what to do. We are just getting into wood burning and learning. We had a tree fall last year that I cut and stacked the logs (I honestly don’t know the species). They have not been covered or split, and I have not tried to burn anything from this pile. However, I would like to know first of all if it’s a good idea, and if not currently a good idea, is there something I should do with this stack to get it usable? When I first cut up the tree, we did not have a covered storage solution, but we now do. I know I could move it into the wood shed, but there is some kind of shelf fungus growing on the logs. Any thoughts here? Thank you. I have attached pictures.
 

Attachments

  • [Hearth.com] Shelf fungus on wood pile
    EFB62834-581F-4856-BD1E-5473919E6AEB.webp
    260.1 KB · Views: 234
  • [Hearth.com] Shelf fungus on wood pile
    3B09E64B-3130-4DC1-A625-31C0C58C534D.webp
    250.2 KB · Views: 240
  • [Hearth.com] Shelf fungus on wood pile
    5C75B7FA-0B18-4AD8-A843-B68478FDA4C9.webp
    280.4 KB · Views: 248
I get this stuff too if the wood stays wet too long. A little won't hurt, a lot will make your wood pithy like a sponge. Just get it dry and the fungus will die.
 
They're living on the minerals and moisture in the wood. Get them split, stacked, maybe even covered and drying out and they will not continue to survive. You've got mold, too. Both are kinda normal/usual in wet, damp un-sunny locations.
Splitting them will drive the moisture content in the rounds down, getting them out of the rain will help a lot too.

Taller stacks sometimes helps keep the rain off the bottom of the stack and the height of the stack often helps get the top of the stack dried out sooner after a rain. Tall stacks also fall over easier. The bottom row off the ground and the top top-covered can make up for less tall stacks that don't topple over quite so easy.