storing firewood

[davem3261]

Would I be better off storing wood in my garage or covered and stacked on pallets outside? My issue is I just picked up a biomass 40 used on Craigslist and I don't have properly seasoned wood for it. I bought 6 cords of 1 year seasoned stuff. But it was seasoned log length and recently split. So it's not really seasoned. What's my best bet for having us able wood for next winter?

 

[velvetfoot]

Single rows with space between them, top covered only, in the open exposed to sun and wind. I'm no expert, but it might not be ready. Forget the garage until it comes time to store in for the winter.

 

[davem3261]

Space between them would be ideal but I just don't have enough room for that. I'm out of level ground. I have 15 cords now. 9 of it was cut down and split recently.

 

[velvetfoot]

You're talking only 6 months or so to season. I don't have a gasser, but I'm not optimistic.

 

[Clarkbug]

Agree with velvet foot. Keep it outside. I wouldn't even top cover if you just split it. As long as its not oak, you can probably get by with it this year. Move some inside when its time to burn, top cover the rest.

 

[davem3261]

That's why I was thinking of moving it to the garage. But it wont see much sun or airflow. My other option is to keep my energymate boiler for another year until I have wood ready for the gasser. I just didn't want to have another 10 cord winter.

 

[BoilerMan]

Store wood inside only duringthe heating season. Otherwise it's all outside!

TS

 

[flyingcow]

Split it small and leave outside. Might surprise you and get down to mid 20's MC.

 

[Medman]

I second the above. Small splits and outside. At 20-25% moisture content in the biomass you will get a fair bit of creosote, especially if it idles. At 15-20% it will be much better. This year I ran out of 2 year wood and burned some 9 month cut and split maple with ok results - just more creosote in upper chamber.

 

[maple1]

What kind of wood?

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Single row stacked loosely in the sun and wind, stacked by species, split it as small as you can. Pick out the driest you have by using a moisture meter......

 

[mustash29]

Hey there "neighbor" LOL.

Congrats on the gasser. Hopefully those 10 cord seasons will drop to more like 5, and that means you are essentially 3 years ahead too.

I agree with the others remarks above, small splits, loose stacks, sun & wind. If you are limited in storage space, use the "front" stacks this winter (the ones that were in direct sun) and the rest will be ok for future years.

What kind of wood? If you have some ash & maple in the mix you may be in good shape. Oak no so much so. If necessary, stretch out your supply of good dry wood by mixing a bit of the wetter in here and there.

I have about 13-14 cord on hand now, still jonesing for more, LOL.

 

[rkusek]

Small splits, outside until at least mid Sept, lots of sun and wind has worked for me too. My metal shed has 14' high side 60' long southern exposure that really throws off the heat during the summer months. 3 months here is like a year of having it out in the open IMO. I do start throwing a tarp on it when rain in the forecast beginning in Sept and move it inside the woodshed for good in Oct. The extra handling is not something I enjoy but I can't beat the drying effect.

 

[woodsmaster]

Dry it out side for the summer, then move it to the garage. My boiler shed is about like a kiln dryer when the boiler is running so If your garage gets nice and toasty that will also help to finish the drying.

 

[maple1]

That's why I was thinking of moving it to the garage. But it wont see much sun or airflow. My other option is to keep my energymate boiler for another year until I have wood ready for the gasser. I just didn't want to have another 10 cord winter.

So what kind of wood?

If you split extra small, and stack in out in the open where air movement can get to it, you should be good to go next year. If you do it NOW. I would jump thru a lot of wood-handling hoops before I resigned myself to running an oil boiler for an extra winter - even if it meant splitting everything an extra time or two. Just how 'unlevel' is your ground? It is possible to stack on somewhat of a slope.

 

[velvetfoot]

Yes, I stack on slopes as well.

 

[Chris Hoskin]

You might consider getting a couple of pallets of bio-brick type fuel to mix in with your cord wood if it doesn't get down to 20%.

 

[macattack_ga]

Cribbing (stacking criss cross) seems to work very well for accelerating the drying process.

 

[davem3261]

I mostly have hard and soft maple. Some oak mixed in. I'm most likely going to have to set the oak aside for this year. I just picked up a moisture meter on ebay to see where I'm at now. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Mike Fromme]

If you can get some pine split now it will be pretty dry by October... Mix it with the hardwood on cold nights.

 

[Gasifier]

May want to see if you can find some Ash and get it split and stacked outside to use in the beginning of the year (first half). Ash dries quick, and after 6 months outside will be good for burning in your gasser.