wet wood blues

[vasten]

I started my wood pile this year by cutting down the standing and fallen dead wood on my property. Assuming that it would be considered seasoned enough, I thought I had a good start on it. I quickly realized that standing dead doesn't imply seasoned, as I had sizzling and stove cool down issues.

So I bought wood from my neighbor who had his land logged in January. I figured I was good, trees were cut in January, so there was no sap in it, they were left in a field to dry all spring and summer with the sun and wind hitting them. Supposedely covered in August by tarps to keep the rain off of them, then split and stacked inside a barn which is where I am picking it up from. So that part I can confirm.

The wood apears dry, the ends are split and checked, and splits very easy when hit with a maul. Yet it also hisses and sizzles when I put it in a hot stove.

What I have been doing is drying the logs in front of the stove, placng them over the furnace vents and resplitting them into smaller pieces.

Any suggesetions on what I can do now I have close to 7 cord of this wood. One person told me to blend the pallet wood with this and it will work out, my concern being the amount of water going up my chimney. I dont want continue to buy wood so I have to find a way to make this work. The wood is Cherry, maple, oak, and some ash and a little dark birch.

Also any suggestions on how much wood I can anticipate going through for the season, I have heard everything from 1-2 face all the way up to 20. My neighbor suggested 9 is a safe number as that is what he goes through.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like you are trying to do the right thing. For the outdoor stacks, keep the wood covered on the top, but able to breathe on the sides. If possible stack it where the prevailing winter wind can easily blow through it. By Feb. you should be able to pick through it and find some dry pieces. All the other things you are doing are good.

Damp wood is a bummer, but it sounds like you will have a lot of nice dry wood to look forward to next year. Just be sure that your first fire is a hot one and plan on cleaning the flue once a month or as needed.

You have a pretty small stove to go through more than a few cords of wood in a season. How big a space are you heating?

 

[MrGriz]

It sounds like you have a great supply of wood for the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, that doesn't do you much good for this winter.

The wood that was logged in January will likely not be dry enough to burn well this year unless it was split and stacked back in January. It sounds to me like it was left in limbs or in rounds until recently. As you are finding out, wood left in log length or in rounds takes a very long time to "season".

You may have luck mixing some of the splits with pallet wood. The pallet wood will keep the fire burning hot and dry the splits as it burns. Just be careful not to pack too much pallet wood into the stove, you can overfire pretty easily with just pallets (keep it mixed and you'll be good). Also, split things a bit smaller than you might normally for this season. That will help them dry faster in the pile and in the stove with the pallet wood.

Good luck.

 

[vasten]

I am heating approx 1200 sq ft. two story home. when I have good dry wood like the pallet wood, I can get the upstairs bedrooms up to 72, when it is 40+ outside. I am thinking that when it gets below 0 I will need to run both the stove and the furnace combined. To keep up as well as to lessen the amount of oil used.

I was told to bring the wood inside to dry it as leaving it outside would only cause the water to freeze in it and would not dry with the winter wind. I am assuming to restack it out side now on pallets and lenght wise against the wind to increase surface area to increase drying.

To clarify that was 7 face not 7 full cord.

 

[kjklosek]

If you pick through and know the difference between the cherry maple oak and birch, you may be able to burn some of the non-oak species.

Set the oak aside and try the cherry and maple. It may very well be able to burn now, or with just one or two pieces of pallet wood.

And as said before, try splitting into smaller pieces.

J.P.

 

[begreen]

To clarify that was 7 face not 7 full cord.

Ah, well the place is not big, so I am guessing about 3 full cords of wood this winter, but who knows what weather will blow in.

 

[BrotherBart]

Three full cords in Earlysville ought to get it done this year. You are about sixty miles south of me. Average lows there in Jan. and Feb. are in the twenties so your chances of seeing that zero aren't real great. It happens but not as a regular thing as far as I know.

If this is the first year with the stove you will use more this year than you will in the years to come after you get the hang of the stove.

 

[vasten]

uh brother bart aren't you in VA? I am in Upstate NY, where -25 is a common even up here for weeks at a time in February. Along with 3-4' snowfalls in one storm. To give you an idea for you baseball fans I am north of cooperstown and south of the adirondacks. Negative temps and deep snow is a common event here.

 

[EddyKilowatt]

If there's room around your stove and its safe to do so, bring in as much as you can and keep it near the stove for as long as you can, and rotate through the stuff you've brought in.

I am space limited and only have room for 1 day's supply, but even 24 hours inside and being warmed by the stove (wood gets to 100-120F, no warmer) makes a difference. Also doesn't cost extra $$ or effort (other than the mess from having wood inside).

Admittedly this is for rain-soaked wood which dries much faster than green wood, but the general idea applies.

Eddy

 

[vasten]

I have been stacking wood infront of the stove doors next to the stove with a fan on the opposite side blowing the warm air on to the wood. Also tonight I also put a space heater in to the room with the stacked wood, if I can get the room up to 80 for an hour or two here and there it can only help. Also I want to get some of that damp dry the stuff that pulls moisture out of the air,and place alot of that in the wood room as well. Anything to make it a warm dry room.

Then keep pulling it in and resplitting and stacking around the stove. I am cutting them down to around 2*4 dimensions now and in some cases even cross cutting with a circular saw to get chuncks. Figure putting in 4 small blocks of wood is better than one chunk, and it is all the same mass just greater surface area.

 

[jpl1nh]

The cherry and ash are your best bet for now. Seperate that out. Stack all as loosely as possible in the sunniest breeziest spot you have, I suggest stacking like this #, top cover only and it will slowly get better.