Three years long enough?

[aqcon]

Good evening, hearthers. Three years ago, I put up about 6 cords of various hardwoods scavenged from the local DOT trimming efforts. I knew it needed to season, so it's been split/stacked uncovered the whole time. Fast forward to this fall- I bought a stove and had a liner installed, thinking my wood was sure to be seasoned by now.

It's not.

I'm getting very inconsistent ease-of-startup, burn times and temperatures, and have to leave the air cranked wide open to get my Isle Royale to perform. Most telling, I frequently have the telltale hissing of steam well into a burn.

I'm at a loss for how my pile isn't dried. I have taken steps to prevent any seasonal moisture from accumulating by tarping about 2/6cords.

I'll note that I have had some great fires with some of the wood being obviously seasoned- ripping hot with little primary air... active secondaries. But it seems like that is happening less frequently the deeper I get into the pile.

Your thoughts and help are appreciated.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Good evening, hearthers. Three years ago, I put up about 6 cords of various hardwoods scavenged from the local DOT trimming efforts. I knew it needed to season, so it's been split/stacked uncovered the whole time. Fast forward to this fall- I bought a stove and had a liner installed, thinking my wood was sure to be seasoned by now.

It's not.

I'm getting very inconsistent ease-of-startup, burn times and temperatures, and have to leave the air cranked wide open to get my Isle Royale to perform. Most telling, I frequently have the telltale hissing of steam well into a burn.

I'm at a loss for how my pile isn't dried. I have taken steps to prevent any seasonal moisture from accumulating by tarping about 2/6cords.

I'll note that I have had some great fires with some of the wood being obviously seasoned- ripping hot with little primary air... ActAct secondaries. But it seems like that is happening less frequently the deeper I get into the pile.

Your thoughts and helh are appreciated.

Very simple, within your nicely detailed post lies the answer: uncovered.

Disregard all the nonsense you've read about wood seasoning well without a top cover, about how it doesn't reabsorb water. And now you have your proof. Get it top covered or in a shed and benefit from your new experience based wisdom.

If you are in an arid climate, perhaps uncovered is fine. In Rhode Island, cover it.

 

[TheAardvark]

Uncovered as stated before. We had a hell of alot of rain this year in the northeast. I use rubber roofing material that I got for free and I have no issues seasoning it 1-2 years.

 

[gzecc]

If they are big oak pieces, I'm not surprised.

 

[TedyOH]

Here's some more nonsense......top covering is unnecessary the 1st year.....2 years for oak....now i will admit i have ideal staging in a 3 acre open field....blasted with sun and wind as much as mother nature will allow with 6 foot between rows....im having absolutely zero issue this winter with wet wood.....ill guess you stacked all 6 cord tightly together with no space for airflow in a shaded area...or...its oak...

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[Bad LP]

You wrote uncovered. Was it also in the shade and not exposed to prevailing winds? Tightly packed didn't help it either as you wrote "deeper into the pile".

 

[aqcon]

So many great and fast responses, thank you so much.

6 cords stacked in three ~30' rows with 12" between rows for flow, 4' high, off the ground on 2x3 runners. Not directly under trees, but shaded from may-october. Locust, white and red oak, cherry. I'm already regretting not making smaller splits, most of mine are 6".

"Deeper in the pile"=further from the end, working left to right through the pile. It does seem the stuff near the end burnt better/more consistent.

Rhode island did get it's share of rain, especially this fall.

I will make a point to post some pics of the pile and splits if I can.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Here's some more nonsense......top covering is unnecessary the 1st year.....2 years for oak....now i will admit i have ideal staging in a 3 acre open field....blasted with sun and wind as much as mother nature will allow with 6 foot between rows....im having absolutely zero issue this winter with wet wood.....ill guess you stacked all 6 cord tightly together with no space for airflow in a shaded area...or...its oak...

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If cut alive or recently dead, first year might not matter, or it might. Absolutely would have slowed it here, all single row stacked, mostly in the open, but wet most of the time from rain or high humidity.

If dead and even a little pithy, the wood that's not heartwood, and bark, will be a sponge, and keep the heartwood wet too.

If covered, what's the harm? All that additional drying you are getting on the top layer from the sun?

 

[aqcon]

Here's some more nonsense......top covering is unnecessary the 1st year.....2 years for oak....now i will admit i have ideal staging in a 3 acre open field....blasted with sun and wind as much as mother nature will allow with 6 foot between rows....im having absolutely zero issue this winter with wet wood.....ill guess you stacked all 6 cord tightly together with no space for airflow in a shaded area...or...its oak...

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TOH, I'm not sure what you are calling out as nonsense in this post.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

TOH, I'm not sure what you are calling out as nonsense in this post.

He was referring to my first reply.

Aqcon, I too listened to the folks about not top covering because I was trying to be nice to my neighbors and my tarps are mostly blue. I have wood that's 10 years old and fully seasoned that's unsuitable to burn because I didn't top cover it this year. Wood that was covered is bone dry.

 

[Sawset]

So far I see:
Penn, RI, ME, NJ, cover recommended
OH and WI, no cover recommended
Wisc, that would be me. No record rainfalls here, no cover till August, then inside. Hickory, oak, 2-4yrs, full sun, 3row wide stacks. No sizzle on any of it this year.
Next year maybe it will be our turn to not cover and regret it.

 

[weatherguy]

Burn the cherry and cover all the wood, if you have enough cherry you can make it through this year.

 

[aqcon]

Burn the cherry and cover all the wood, if you have enough cherry you can make it through this year.

Exactly the sort of tips I'm looking for. For what it's worth, tonight's load has been 50/50 locust and white oak. Guess which has been ripping hot...

I'll have to do some sorting this weekend. I've got enough tarp to cover the rest.

Thanks again, all.

 

[aqcon]

He was referring to my first reply.

Aqcon, I too listened to the folks about not top covering because I was trying to be nice to my neighbors and my tarps are mostly blue. I have wood that's 10 years old and fully seasoned that's unsuitable to burn because I didn't top cover it this year. Wood that was covered is bone dry.

Unsuitable because it was seasoned but is now soaking wet?

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

So far I see:
Penn, RI, ME, cover recommended
OH and WI, no cover recommended
Wisc, that would be me. No record rainfalls here, no cover till August, then inside. Hickory, oak, 2-4yrs, full sun, 3row wide stacks. No sizzle on any of it this year.

You won't know until it's too late. Some years, probably ok, but when are you gonna call it? I called it in September, and it was way too late.

Unsuitable because it was seasoned but is now soaking wet?

Yep. It soaked up enough moisture since last season that its moisture content makes it sucky to burn. Those cracks that appear at the end of seasoned wood swelled shut. Anything that isn't heartwood is like a spongr.

Since I started covering in September, I take the tarps off when we have stretches of at least 3 days in a row of forecasted dry weather and have been sorting all season. It's a miserable and frustrating way to heat, particularly because we have at least 3 seasons worth that should be good to go this year.

I'm also bringing considerable amount inside to dry in the stove room, and we dry the next load out immediately in front of the stove when we are home.

 

[TedyOH]

So many great and fast responses, thank you so much.

6 cords stacked in three ~30' rows with 12" between rows for flow, 4' high, off the ground on 2x3 runners. Not directly under trees, but shaded from may-october. Locust, white and red oak, cherry.

To be honest, no summer sun will kill your seasoning efforts...especially if you had a wet summer....i doubt it was seasoned, especially the oak and Locust....maybe 3 more years you will be good....high intensity summer sun / ultra violet rays blasting the wood (uncovered) is the key...summer sun will burn us pitiful humans and cause our cells to mutate in an hour.....imagine what that radiation does to those uncovered wood cells for 8 sunny months(2 summers)...thats why i do not cover for the 1st year ED 3000, actually I only cover after 2 years, in September and only what i think im going to burn for the season...i dont waste my time processing junk wood so the sponge effect doesn't apply to me....im fortunate enough to be a wood snob due to mature forest behind my field and more blow overs than i can get to.

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[Easy Livin’ 3000]

To be honest, no summer sun will kill your seasoning efforts...especially if you had a wet summer....i doubt it was seasoned, especially the oak and Locust....maybe 3 more years you will be good....high intensity summer sun / ultra violet rays blasting the wood (uncovered) is the key...summer sun will burn us pitiful humans and cause our cells to mutate in an hour.....imagine what that radiation does to those uncovered wood cells for 8 sunny months(2 summers)...thats why i do not cover for the 1st year ED 3000, actually I only cover after 2 years, in September and only what i think im going to burn for the season...i dont waste my time processing junk wood so the sponge effect doesn't apply to me....im fortunate enough to be a wood snob due to mature forest behind my field and more blow overs than i can get to.

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Somehow the sun is making it past the top layer on your stacks. That is something.

Well, now we know!

 

[TedyOH]

Somehow the sun is making it past the top layer on your stacks. That is something.

Well, now we know!

Yeah...2 or 3 or 4 rows down due to the roating of the earth and not to mention the 3 foot of tarp hanging over the sides blocking the radiation.

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[TedyOH]

Somehow the sun is making it past the top layer on your stacks. That is something.

Well, now we know!

Actually since i stack east / west and space 6 foot the sun hits every row with no shadows thrown from the rows in front of the other.

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[Bad LP]

FWIW I dry my split wood in an open sided shed, basically a frame building with a metal roof and everything tightly packed. In two years my fresh splits are 15-18% but I'm not burning oak.

 

[peakbagger]

All my wood gets top covered with a pallet between the top of the pile and the roofing tin but I don't have oak in my area. I do have beech and that really needs 2 years and really would like 3 years.

Note, I count drying time as starting when its cut split and stacked with top cover, It can sit in the woods on the ground bucked and even split for six months but I don't really count this as any reliable drying time.

 

[Jags]

This is one big country. One stated method may not be the best answer considering the vast differences from coast to coast, north to south. Figure out what works for your climate. It would probably be a good bet that if you are a NE person, other folks that have a proven method from your area will also work for you. With so many variables possible (I.e. covered storage, rain, wind, sun, shade, temp, under trees, in the open, et all....) a rubber stamp answer may not be the “best” answer.

And yeah, we had a very wet summer in my area. It didn’t do MY “best” method any favors. Plus I am dealing with a large percentage of “lesser” quality species this year - that ain’t helping. Gotta go...stove is hungry again.

 

[shortys7777]

I live up in smithfield. If its to wet I'll come and take a cord or two off of you.....jk. It has been super wet around here. It's my first year burning but I have some maple and cherry stacked and covered for next year. Getting into a pile of oak before spring that I plan on making a solar kiln in the sunniest spot of my yard for next year. I also don't have a ton of storage space so getting 3 years ahead is going to take some time. Eventually I'll build a wood shed behind my current shed.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Actually since i stack east / west and space 6 foot the sun hits every row with no shadows thrown from the rows in front of the other.

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So a top cover would only shade the split surface of the top layer. The rest of each stack is getting sun only on the cut ends. Got it.

But without the top cover, rain drips through the entire stack, all surfaces, instead of just the cut ends.

I'm not suggesting covering the whole stack be covered, just the top layer with a little overhang as a drip edge. Wouldn't effect your solar gain at all.

 

[TedyOH]

The radiation actually gets in deeper to the split than just the ends...1/3rd to half way probably...being that the spits are not stacked like bricks...

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