Son of a.... sea biscuit

[nate379]

I got ~4 cords of wood in last weekend and over this week between work and chores (few hours a day) I cut and split it all and had most of it corded.

The stack that this wood is going in is about 28ft long. Now usually I go to ~24ft) so each row is a cord, but I didn't want to start a new stack just for a cord or so. I would have had to cut down some trees and clear brush, it's a fair amount of work.

So anyhow I get the first 2 rows stacked almost all the way, and then the 3rd. I realize I need to add another pallet, and as I'm placing it.... crack crack crack... CRASH... the WHOLE 3rd row comes crashing down!

Son of a....

I cord it all back up, just get down... and CRASH This time against the wood splitter which tips over and falls on my Stihl 290, breaking the air cleaner cover and choke linkage.

So... I spend a good hour prying and shimming all the pallets so they lean the other way. They were level before, but guess that isn't good enough.

Cord it all again.... and CRASH!

I gave up at that point!

I have been cording wood since I was just a little kid and could barely walk and I've never had a problem like this is giving me! My Dad suggested to put a pallet upright in the middle of the stacks so it acts like 2 separate stacks. I might tear down my stacks a bit and do that.

 

[Todd]

I feel your pain. I don't use pallets anymore I use landscaping timbers or 2x4's for the base then pound steel fence posts into the ground about every 8' or so. Then I tie some 1/2" poly rope between the posts to hold the stack togetether. Haven't had one fall over yet.

 

[nate379]

The ground isn't all that flat or straight so the pallets help to be able to level things as I can shim them. I had given thought to hauling in a truck load of gravel to make a "pad" but it seemed like alot of work just to be able to stack some wood.

The other 2 stacks I have, I had no trouble with... but one is 12ft long and the other is 24ft long.

 

[pen]

I don't use pallets for this reason and because I hate having my feet fall in them and get stuck / twist my ankle (don't ask).

Anyway, for those who aren't familiar not all pallets are created equal. I have a pallet here at the house now waiting to be turned into kindling that is made of soft woods. It looks like it would be perfect for stacking because the space in between the slats is only about an inch or so. Reason it was constructed that way was because the pallet was used for shingles.

What works best is pallets that were used for stacked stone. These are hardwood pallets. When the guys and I buy stone for our summer work we have a 15 dollar return fee attached to each pallet! If you cough up the bux for these they will last longer on the ground (especially if some stone is placed under them) and they will not collapse easily at all for maybe as many as 5 years.

pen

 

[weatherguy]

I go 20' long with two rows, my pallets are 36" x 48" I put some pallets standing up on each end and havent had a fall yet doing it this way. I have 4 racks I built like this, this is the first one before I filled it up 5 feet high.

 

[Thistle]

Here's what works for me.Havent had any stacks fall over in 20 yrs,but deer have rubbed against them & pushed over a few pieces.Occasionally raccoons & opossums may knock off a couple pieces climbing around on top.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Every 2 pallets I put in a cross stack. I am up to about 60 feet without any issues. Nice part is when I need to get some wood I can take it from and section and not have the whole thing go nuts.

 

[certified106]

That suck about all of the extra stacking. Nice camper in the background.

 

[BrotherBart]

I feel your pain. It had to have been ten or more years since I had a stack let go. Stack on pallets, steel fence posts on the ends of one cord rows with poly rope threaded through the stacks and tied to the fence posts. Then last winter happened. The front cord went over backward. Then the next and the next and the next. Said the heck with it since there was a row of empty pallets behind to catch the last row and keep it off the ground and I just pulled the EPDM cover back over it.

And stacked the whole mess into the wood shed after the last fire since it had been top covered for three years.

 

[nate379]

I made the mistake of stacking between trees 2 years ago. First decent wind that blew through here and it was all on the ground. When we get the 60-70 mph (and even 100mph they have recorded) winds the trees move around quite a bit.

I got it all stacked today, I just tore down the other 2 rows in the middle and put a pallet in there upright.

I paid for 4 cords of wood based on my calculations (was in the round) and I ended up only with about 3.6 cords. Whoops. Went from $110 a cord to $125.
After all this work cutting some of the longer stuff and splitting it all I the $220/cord cut, split and delivered doesn't seem too bad.

I have about 10 cords in total, total cost of $900.

Oh got the wood all covered too (all ~10 cords). I got a ton of plywood and OSB for free so I cut them up to fit over the wood and screwed them together to make a long "roof".

 

[velvetfoot]

Nate,

About your covering...

I'm trying to puzzle out what to do this winter re: the solid covering.
Do you figure on unscrewing the panels as you remove the wood? That'd be a drag in the winter, I think, but not sure.
Are you going to put a cover over the panels? Will the OSB last?

Thanks.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Here's what works for me.Havent had any stacks fall over in 20 yrs,but deer have rubbed against them & pushed over a few pieces.Occasionally raccoons & opossums may knock off a couple pieces climbing around on top.

Thistle...are those splits in direct contact with the ground??? I can't believe what I'm seeing! hh:

 

[firefighterjake]

Pallet stacker myself . . . I think I had one stack once tip over . . . a few have leaned precariously though as they dried . . . I think the secret is all about getting a good firm base with the pallets by shimming them . . . and then establishing a good solid base to build on . . . good end stacks . . . not going too high . . . and making sure your stack is not tipped out or in as you go up in height . . . OK, lots of secrets . . . well heck, they're not even all that secret are they?

 

[Thistle]

Here's what works for me.Havent had any stacks fall over in 20 yrs,but deer have rubbed against them & pushed over a few pieces.Occasionally raccoons & opossums may knock off a couple pieces climbing around on top.

Thistle...are those splits in direct contact with the ground??? I can't believe what I'm seeing! hh:

What's the big deal? :lol: There's some gravel under there,kinda hard to see though.These are a couple of the temp stacks I have in the woods,few closer ones up near the house is main supply.Sometimes I'll put some salvaged treated 2 x 4's or 3 x 4 treated landscape timbers down as a base.The wood is gone within 2-3 yrs anyway so I dont worry about it.Shed is full,the 10 cords outside it in various stacks is extra.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I hate pallets, so I had Zap teach me how to stack but now he cheats and uses t-posts while I don't. So now I have to reteach him.

 

[Flatbedford]

I stack on pallets. 3 rows 48" deep, about 4 1/2 feet tall. The ends are pallets on edge with posts through them.

No collapses the 4 years I have been storing large amounts of wood here.

 

[nate379]

It was weird for it to fall, I'm not sure what the deal was to be honest. I have been cording wood since I was barely able to walk so I have had a bit of practice. Funny how after all us kids left my Dad decided wood heat was too much work (after almost 30 years of heating with wood) and switched to coal this summer.

As far as the cover, I cut the sheets to 5 feet and threw them over the top. Then the 3ft length I had left, I used 2 pieces to make another 5 foot piece.

When the stack gets to the point that I don't need the wood over it, I'll just unscrew it and pull it down. I just used a screw on each corner, so it's not much work to pull it down.

I tried tarps last year and even with nailing it down in the all grommets and putting junk wood over the top the wind would blow the tarps off. I am hoping that the OSB will stay on the stacks. I threw a bunch of junk wood on top as well.

I want to keep it covered because some of the wood I won't burn until probably 2015. I'm going to be out of country most of this winter and I have enough wood to last at least 3 winters. With as much rain as we get, I'm hoping it will keep the wood from rotting too much.

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks.

 

[quads]

Yup, sometimes it tips over:

The three rows in the foreground, lower left, tipped over (I was standing on the already toppled wood when I took this picture). Mrs. Quads and I were quietly sitting in the house one evening when we heard a roaring sound and the house shook! It's going to stay tipped over. More rows will probably follow suit eventually because I stacked it too tall. I normally don't stack it that high but I wanted to get as much wood in this space as I can this year.

 

[velvetfoot]

Nate,
How about screwing the pieces into some pieces of firewood, including each other?

 

[Loco Gringo]

Mr. Quads, how did your corn come out this year? My tripple sweet honey is to die for. I could live on sweet corn.

 

[nate379]

Huh? Where the heck did you get corn from my firewood stack thread?

 

[SolarAndWood]

I had 5 cord leanin over the winter and drop a few splits and crack one of my favorite Adirondack chairs. Reminded me of why I don't stack other than the burn shed. Was yours on ground you haven't stacked on before? Maybe found a soft spot?

 

[Loco Gringo]

Huh? Where the heck did you get corn from my firewood stack thread?

I can see it standin in the bck of quads pick. He has something else growing too. Squash or cucumbers maybe.

 

[quads]

Huh? Where the heck did you get corn from my firewood stack thread?

I can see it standin in the bck of quads pick. He has something else growing too. Squash or cucumbers maybe.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/77638/