To cover or not to cover?

[Micdrew]

Hello all, as it stands now I have approximately 10 cords of wood spilt and stacked with more on the way, mostly oak so a lot of it will be sitting for 2-3 years if not more depending on how mild our winters are. With that In mind I’m trying to figure out if I should cover the wood, there’s a lot of debate out there, some say don’t cover others say cover and other say only cover the wood that you’ll be burning that season. I store about half a cord in my basement at a time, I typically keep a close eye on the weather and when I see rain or snow in the forecast I bring more in so I’m always dealing with dry wood. My biggest concern is some of this wood won’t be burned for 3 years maybe more should I be worried about rot if I don’t cover it? Maybe this post would be better suited for the wood shed forum but everyone here is burning wood so what’s the harm? I’ll be Interested in the feed back.

 

[peakbagger]

Get it off the ground and set a pallet on top. Cover the top of the pallet preferably with an overhang and keep leaves from piling up against the bottom pallets and that wood will be good for 10 plus years. leave it uncovered and the shady side will be growing mushrooms in 2 to 3 years.

 

[brenndatomu]

Top cover it...with the sides mostly uncovered for air flow...no good reason not to.

 

[stoveliker]

Also, the drying time does not depend on how mild the winters are - drying basically does not happen in winter here regardless of how mild it is. It is exponentially faster when it's warm, and thus the 0.5% drying you see in winter is negligible.

It depends on how hot, sunny, windy, and dry the summers are. A good dry windy summer (like last year, at least here), helps a ton. A wet cloudy stagnant summer, you'll see measurably less drying.

Hence the advice to make the wood see the sun and feel the wind. When the temperature is high enough for drying to be significant, those two things make the difference.

 

[Woody Stover]

I cover everything, but for sure cover the Oak if it's fresh, so the sapwood doesn't rot.
I only get dead Oak, and sometimes the sapwood has already rotted and fallen off the standing dead tree, which is nice.

 

[Split]

I don't cover my wood. I stack on pallets with two rows with a 8-10" space between. My wood also dries in the winter months as well. It is on the edge of a farmers field and gets lots of sun and wind. My wood (maple, Birch, ash, and oak) season within a year 6-9 months (minus the oak which took over twelve months). If you can cover it that's probably better but I don't and it turned out great. If you have airflow between your rows you'll most likely be fine. Best of luck.

 

[Garbanzo62]

Covering you wood. Sounds like a condom commercial.. (Sorry could not help myself)

 

[Woody Stover]

Covering you wood. Sounds like a condom commercial..

Yeah but in that case your covered wood stays wetter. 😏

 

[coaly]

Stack off the ground, top cover only. This prevents wetting from precipitation. Never cover completely to the ground. Here is why;

The issue with long term storage is Fungi growth. Over time, this can make the wood useless for firewood. Knowing how to avoid this growth extends storage time with little BTU loss. Sapwood of all species has little resistance to decay, there are charts of heartwood varieties with relative resistance to decay.

Once wood is as dry as it will get, it is said to be at equilibrium with the atmosphere. There are charts for this as well, giving the equilibrium moisture content of wood at any given relative humidity.

Rotting is caused by growth of fungi that converts the wood into water, carbon dioxide, and heat, as does a fire. Fungi are most productive when these three conditions are met; Temperature between 60 and 90*f. Moisture content above 30%, and ample oxygen is available.

Little to no rotting takes place during winters when temperatures are too low for the fungi. Wood inside a house is too dry for fungi growth, and under water seldom rots due to lack of oxygen and cooler temperatures at depth. (still not a good place to store your wood)

So wetting during summer from rain or ground moisture with temperatures in the above mentioned range promotes fungi growth.

As an example, 30% relative humidity = 5.9-6.3% MC
50% RH = 8.9-9.5
80% RH = 15.4-16.5
98% RH = 26 - 26.9
That shows without absorbing moisture from precipitation or the ground, even at 98% relative humidity, the moisture content is below the percentage needed to grow.

For the first time in 38 years I am at the same point being concerned about storage getting ahead, so I did my homework. Now we have to outlive our woodpiles to make it worth it.

 

[peakbagger]

Go to any organic farming event and there usually will be someone selling inoculated oak logs to grow mushrooms or inoculated plugs to be driven into wet logs. To grow mushrooms the potential farmer is supposed to put them in the shade and keep them damp. That sounds similar to the back side of uncovered wood pile. Get the conditions right and they wil grow a lot of mushrooms but the squirrels will probably been the farmers to them.

 

[gzecc]

I don't cover until 2 months before use. I use metal corrugated panels.
The surface moisture from rain evaporates in a couple of days.

 

[bholler]

I don't cover until 2 months before use. I use metal corrugated panels.
The surface moisture from rain evaporates in a couple of days.

Yes but your wood isn't loosing internal moisture during that time. If you get leaves in your stacks they will stay wetter much longer.

So yes you can dry wood uncovered. But you can do it much faster with much less risk of rot mold fungus etc simply by top covering it.

Basically if you want something to dry as fast as possible keeping rain off of it helps allot.

 

[gzecc]

As with everything else there's a compromise. If your on the 3 yr plan you don't need to cover your wood until a couple of months before use. It probably will be cleaner and drier if you continuously cover it.

 

[bholler]

As with everything else there's a compromise. If your on the 3 yr plan you don't need to cover your wood until a couple of months before use. It probably will be cleaner and drier if you continuously cover it.

Mine would be full of soggy wet leaves if it was uncovered. It still gets leaves blown in but they stay dry I also don't need 3 years to get my wood dry because it's covered 2 years at most 1 for most stuff and I can push even oak to one year if I split small and stack single rows

 

[Micdrew]

This is all good info fellas I appreciate the comments, i have all my wood stacked on pallets I have tarps ready to go on top, my biggest concern was water pooling between the two rows of wood but I think I’ve figured that out, once I get the pile to the desired height I’m stacking a single row between the two rows to make a “peek” this way the water should shed off the pile without pooling.

 

[Garbanzo62]

This is all good info fellas I appreciate the comments, i have all my wood stacked on pallets I have tarps ready to go on top, my biggest concern was water pooling between the two rows of wood but I think I’ve figured that out, once I get the pile to the desired height I’m stacking a single row between the two rows to make a “peek” this way the water should shed off the pile without pooling.

Not a bad idea, but when you start moving that pile into the basement, unless you can move the entire thing, your peak will go away. A couple of pieces of Scrap plywood on top will keep the tarp from filling with water in the Gap. Another option would be Heavy Rocks at the corners. You can pull the tarp taught and the Rocks will keep it in place and help prevent the water from pooling. The water weight would need to exceed the rock weight to pull that tarp into the gap.

 

[stoveliker]

I think the plywood (no chance for sagging) is better; friction between tarp and wood (corners) decrease the efficacy of the rock weight. I think pieces of (old) corrugated roofing, possibly mounted in the way @peakbagger does, are best (of the rest that does not have a shed).

 

[mrc]

Go to wood heat .org . Go to Preparing Your Firewood. Cover if you want but not necessary. I just move mine under cover after a dry spell at the end of the summer. Just what I’m going to use that winter . I always have 2 years supply. Covering is hardly simple. Wind,rain ,ice on a tarp. I’ll guaranty you’ll have leaks somewhere. Just a better home for chipmunks . I used to do it but now I don’t. The only difference is the amount of work.

 

[BigJ273]

I top cover. Corrugated panels. I use uglies and full sandbags to hold ‘em down on top of the panels. Seems to work well

 

[mrc]

This is wood I cut this winter.

 

[mrc]

This is wood I cut last winter.

 

[mrc]

This wood was cut last winter. About fifteen months ago. It will go under cover late August or early September after a dry spell. How’s it look?

 

[mrc]

This is wood in my house right now from three winters ago. I don’t know about three years uncovered but I know two years no problem.

 

[bholler]

This wood was cut last winter. About fifteen months ago. It will go under cover late August or early September after a dry spell. How’s it look?

View attachment 311272

It looks like wood. The question is what moisture content does it test at vs what would it test if top covered the whole time. In my experience wood dries much faster when rain and snow is kept off of it

 

[mrc]

I don’t need a meter. I have a Hearthstone Mansfield and an Equinox. Neither will burn wet wood. Two years uncovered and it starts like gasoline on it. You might need a moisture meter but I don’t. I started out covering my wood and only one season and would have moisture in the wood. Full load and I’d be lucky if the stovetop reached 400 degrees. Now with good wood stove goes from cold to 600 degrees no problem.You may need a moisture meter but I don’t. By the way I bought an aftermarket starter for my Kubota tractor for $79 when the Kubota starter was $279. I went on the Kubota forum and twenty people said to only use Kubota parts. The $79 starter has lasted 8 years. It appears I’m a risk taker. Can anyone else on here survive without a moisture meter?