# Who else in the Northeast is getting concerned their wood isn't drying



## stejus (Jun 21, 2009)

I've had enough of this weather.  This June, so far, has averaged 30% sun vs 53% on average in NE.  Beyond that, it's been damp the entire month.  I've had wood seasoning since Dec 07 but I think I lost all that drying this month to wet damp weather  :down: 

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dad's.   I just got back from softball practice with my daughter and I just got out of soaking wet close.   Enjoying a nice Sam Summer Ale  and I'm tempted to fire up the stove, but it's too warm in the house.

Cheers!


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## Wood Duck (Jun 21, 2009)

We've had tons of rain here in PA, but my Holz haufens seem to keep the wood reasonably dry, and I think I am getting some decent drying. The holz haufens are definitely shorter than they were when I built them. I hope this is due to wood drying and shrinking, not settling of pieces slipping into gaps below. I think the wood is drying.


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## burntime (Jun 21, 2009)

I just cover the wood around the end of sept and it does fine.  We are just coming into the hot part of the year...


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## splions (Jun 21, 2009)

I wouldn't worry that much about it,,,methinks we will hit  dry spell next month...;-)


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## gzecc (Jun 22, 2009)

Wood duck, Make sure your Holz isn't sinking into the mud!  
Just wait, it will be hot and dry and the cities and towns will be talking about drought emergencies!


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## BrotherBart (Jun 22, 2009)

My wife and I were talking this afternoon and we cannot remember a day that it didn't rain sometime during the day or night since the first week of April. It has played hell with the wood cutting just like it did when it rained all spring and summer last year. At least I have two years under cover that has been seasoning for a year for one and two years for the other.

Year three is looking flakey if it doesn't quit this stuff. I usually have a season's worth of wood on the stacks by the end of May. This week I finally was able to lay in a quarter cord and that is all that has been done this spring.

Anybody have an ARK for sale?


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## Slow1 (Jun 22, 2009)

I was rather curious how things were doing today so I did a little checking.  My 10/11 supplies were measuring around 30-35%, Since I didn't measure these when fresh split I can't really tell if they have done much in the last few months...  Now the pine I split some today and it measured 35ish, but some that I split a couple months ago is in the low 20's so that was a surprise.

My 'ready to burn' pile for this winter I checked as well.  I pulled a piece off the top as well as one from the middle front that I could pull out without causing a collapse.  Split them both and measured.  One came in at 20% the other at 12% so I don't think the pile is soaking up too much there.  Again - I didn't check before (I just got the meter a month or so ago and haven't yet developed a habit of measuring).

As a whole I'm surprised at just how dry the wood in the middle of the pile has stayed even with these wet days.  I look deep into the pile and see dry surfaces on the splits in there so I just have to assume that somehow the wood on top is channeling the rain down in some way that it doesn't wash over a very high percentage of the wood.  I'll bet there are some soaked pieces in there of course, but not all of it is getting that way when it rains and perhaps since there is good drainage it will all just flow off and thus dry up pretty quick whenever the rain does stop.


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## czorbach (Jun 22, 2009)

I am a bit concerned about drying - it has been a very wet spring in the Mid-Atlantic.  This will be my first winter with the Jotul insert so I just started trying to build up my 2 years of supply this spring.  I am also not sure how much I expect to burn in a season.  Seasoned wood (3+ yrs) I have a face cord of oak and a face cord of apple.  I have a cord of oak I am hoping will be ready by winter but that is my big unknown with this weather.  I have another cord of red oak I split this spring and have it marked for 2010/11.  I am waiting for my moisture meter to arrive from Amazon - hopefully that will alleviate some  of my concerns.


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## Dix (Jun 22, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> My wife and I were talking this afternoon and we cannot remember a day that it didn't rain sometime during the day or night since the first week of April. It has played hell with the wood cutting just like it did when it rained all spring and summer last year. At least I have two years under cover that has been seasoning for a year for one and two years for the other.
> 
> Year three is looking flakey if it doesn't quit this stuff. I usually have a season's worth of wood on the stacks by the end of May. This week I finally was able to lay in a quarter cord and that is all that has been done this spring.
> 
> Anybody have an ARK for sale?



We're building one. And it's gonna float right down the lane.

Woods is checking, how ever  ;-) 

Murph wants to know what the sun is


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## savageactor7 (Jun 22, 2009)

Well yeah it's been wetter than normally but split wood left uncovered will still season if left 'exposed' to mother nature. We don't cover our until around Thanksgiving.


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## PunKid8888 (Jun 22, 2009)

I have been curious too, this is my first year without covering my wood. so far I don't like it.  I am seeing a lot of white mold/fungus. I think if we ever get a few days of sun to dry out the piles I will just throw a tarp over the top to keep it from soaking all this rain.


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## Hurricane (Jun 22, 2009)

This is my first year leaving my piles uncovered too. I am a little concerned with all of the rain but I know a week of hot sun will dry off any moisture from the rain.  I just need to see the sun, it has rained 21 out of 22 days in June here already.


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## firefighterjake (Jun 22, 2009)

No worries here . . . even with several days of rain all you need is a good day or two of sun and wind and the pile will be dry to the touch . . . and we still have several more months to go before it's time to cover the piles and anything can happen in that time. Plus, I am of the opinion that rain doesn't "unseason" wood . . . although admittedly it might make it a little more difficult to season. My main issue at this point is that I'm trying to clear a lot for the FD by August and build a woodshed which means rain = downtime.


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## Slow1 (Jun 22, 2009)

I hear you on the downtime aspect.  I still have a pile of logs waiting to be bucked that have been there for way too long.  I refuse to touch them when they or the grass (now getting rather long) around them are soggy so I rather need some sun a day before as well the day of cutting... and of course it needs to be on the weekend since skipping work to buck them isn't really in my long term best interest as fun as it might be 

Well, as long as it really isn't something of biblical proportion I'm sure it will eventually stop - then as someone may have pointed out, we'll all be on drought watch and perhaps complaining about being too hot as we look forward to winter again eh?  However I think I do have a better appreciation now for what it is like to try and dry wood out in say Ireland eh?


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## Wet1 (Jun 22, 2009)

I have to agree with you guys, it has been abnormally wet in the northeast for the last several weeks, fairly cool too.  With that said, things have a way of averaging out when it comes to weather.  

I was checking wood yesterday.  It doesn't look like it has dried much over the last month... but since I have about 19+ cords with about half of it split (the other half bucked), I'm not overly concerned about one wet month setting me back.  The problem is almost all of my wood is oak (with some beech mixed in), so I really should get more split so I it can season for a solid 2 or 3 years.

FWIW, it looks like things are going to get warm and sunny towards the end of the week.


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## smokinj (Jun 22, 2009)

midwest has been much wetter than normal and the piles are shrinking as normal


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## BrotherBart (Jun 22, 2009)

One day last week we had bright sunshine while it was pouring down rain. Does the drying process break even in that situation?  :lol: 

If I lived in Arizona I would probably leave my stacks uncovered but in the Mid-Atlantic I stack it the day it is split and top cover it. I only dry wood once. If I had left my stacks uncovered last summer, when we had record amounts and days of rainfall, I would have been SOL come Fall.


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## mayhem (Jun 22, 2009)

Its only mid June, I wouldn't worry about it too much.  On average it'll dry up and be hot and sunny and your wood will dry up just fine.  Cover it in the fall.

3 weeks from now we'll be screaming drought.


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## Tfin (Jun 22, 2009)

savageactor7 said:
			
		

> Well yeah it's been wetter than normally but split wood left uncovered will still season if left 'exposed' to mother nature. We don't cover our until around Thanksgiving.



Same here......it'll be fine.


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## GunSeth (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm more concerned with my veggies which are doing jack with all this rain!


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## Todd (Jun 22, 2009)

I'm beginning to believe that covered is the way to go. I can notice a difference between the wood in my new shed and the one stacked row I have outside exposed. Both had very nice checking going on the ends but when it rains or gets real humid like today those checks close up on the outside row and pretty much stay open under my shed. Me thinks disappearing checks is a sign of the wood sucking in moisture like a sponge.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jun 22, 2009)

Why be worried in June???? Stay cool guys. Let Mother Nature take care of things in her own time. 

It is very natural for new people to worry about the rain hurting their wood pile. Soon you'll get over this (hopefully but some never do) and not worry a bit. Just leave it alone and it will dry. Even a little mold will stop as soon as the hot dry part of summer hits us. Well, we're about to be hit this week!


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## rowerwet (Jun 22, 2009)

what ever happened to global warming?


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## BrotherBart (Jun 23, 2009)

Todd said:
			
		

> I'm beginning to believe that covered is the way to go. I can notice a difference between the wood in my new shed and the one stacked row I have outside exposed. Both had very nice checking going on the ends but when it rains or gets real humid like today those checks close up on the outside row and pretty much stay open under my shed. Me thinks disappearing checks is a sign of the wood sucking in moisture like a sponge.



Methinks you are right. My mind boggles at the notion that wood that never gets wet does not dry better than wood that sits out in the dew and the rain all the time. I just wish I had a moisture barrier on top of the pallets. The whole property drains right through those pallets when it rains. Like a river sometimes.


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## stee6043 (Jun 23, 2009)

I'll tell ya what - we had 5 or 6 inches of rain from Thursday through Saturday here.  Hot and mid 80's yesterday and today.  I went out to pick up one of my fallen stacks tonight and the wood was bone dry.  I don't think it takes much time at all to dry off rain water.  I'll be covering my stacks in September/October....


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## jadm (Jun 23, 2009)

We have the wettest Spring that I can ever remember here.  My wood was pretty dry when it was stacked but it has been getting lots of rain.  Last couple of days have been in the 80* with no rain so I think we are moving into our more usual summer weather.  

I am just trusting that it will be good and dry by Dec.  I  have two stacks with tops covered that has stayed dry so it will be burned first.

Kinda the 'wait and see' mentality.  Always something new to experience.

OOOPS I just read that you were addressing Northeasterners...I am in the West.  In the shadow of the almighty Rocky Mountains..Ususally DRY country.


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## jadm (Jun 23, 2009)

GunSeth said:
			
		

> I'm more concerned with my veggies which are doing jack with all this rain!



Me too.  Things started to take off but then stopped abruptly when the rain and cooler weather hung on.  Even my house plants shut down for awhile...


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## BrotherBart (Jun 23, 2009)

Well we had a forecast of no rain for the next four days. After it has rained every day since the first week of April. Didn't rain all day today. Hooyah.

Now it is pouring down. Damn it.  >:-(

Edit: Just checked the radar. The thing is only one mile square and just popped up right over the house. That happens out here over and over and over. I see it time and again. The radar shows the sky clear except right over us us for 150 miles in all directions!


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## Todd (Jun 23, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Well we had a forecast of no rain for the next four days. After it has rained every day since the first week of April. Didn't rain all day today. Hooyah.
> 
> Now it is pouring down. Damn it.  >:-(
> 
> Edit: Just checked the radar. The thing is only one mile square and just popped up right over the house. That happens out here over and over and over. I see it time and again. The radar shows the sky clear except right over us us for 150 miles in all directions!



You better get off your duff and cut those 5 Oaks down while you have the weather.


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## firefighterjake (Jun 23, 2009)

GunSeth said:
			
		

> I'm more concerned with my veggies which are doing jack with all this rain!



Ditto . . . my garden looks more like I'm getting ready to stage some Monster Truck Mud Run.


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## gpcollen1 (Jun 23, 2009)

Summer - June 21 to Sept 21.  Relax and have a beer...


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## SmokinPiney (Jun 23, 2009)

Could it be? I don't think i felt a raindrop yet today!   

We've had rain for weeks here but, the sun actually came out a little yesterday finally.


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## SolarAndWood (Jun 23, 2009)

Its amazing how a little sunshine makes the garden explode after all that rain.  The woodpile looks good in the sun too.


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## daveswoodhauler (Jun 23, 2009)

SmokinPiney said:
			
		

> Could it be? I don't think i felt a raindrop yet today!
> 
> We've had rain for weeks here but, the sun actually came out a little yesterday finally.



Sun? Whats that thing?  I don't think we have seen it for a week, whatever it might be.
Firefighter....same thing with my garden this year....I got some plants that have not grown 1 inch since planting....going to be a bad years for gardens


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## Got Wood (Jun 23, 2009)

Over the weekend I commented to the wife about how wet the wood stacks are from the rain - they were soaked! After two days of no rain and windy weather they look bone dry.
I agree with CT, relax and have a beer


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## iceman (Jun 23, 2009)

i learned last ... i left my wood covered as it rained alot but this past winter once i got into the wood much of it was still so-so   ...    the wood is still covered as but it is bone dry... but the part that get wet dries as son as it stops raining........    wood isnt going to soak up water that much after it has been cut unless you leave it on the ground....  i would bet that wood covered on the top will take in just as much water as uncovered during a long lengthy  rain...  if wood does take in water than believe me on days it rains rains and rains it is soaking in the humidity ..... but wood only takes in so much  so either way covered or uncovered ...  should be the same
i say this because the 3 cds or so that was dumped in my yard last nov is looking real good and its not covered at all just stacked  same thing it gets wet and dries  within hrs of it not raining...i am sure if i had to i could burn it this dec ... but its for next year


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## kork (Jun 23, 2009)

SmokinPiney said:
			
		

> Could it be? I don't think i felt a raindrop yet today!
> 
> We've had rain for weeks here but, the sun actually came out a little yesterday finally.



Smokin
Where are u located?  I'm just inside of Little Egg Harbor


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## Mass. Wine Guy (Jun 23, 2009)

I just got two cords of green mostly hardwood that I'm stacking up. Is it best not to cover it at all until later September or so?

Thanks.


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## Todd (Jun 23, 2009)

If it were me, I'd cover the top somehow but leave a small air space by elevating whatever you use to cover it with a few inches. It's kind a late in the year trying to get green wood to dry enough for this up coming burn season unless it's a fast drying species.


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## skinnykid (Jun 24, 2009)

I am worried that my fore wood will never dry, I know we have a long summer ahead of us but I want every minute of seasoning time that I can get! I have also noticed as someone stated, Some of my stack are cracking and stuff but when it rains, it looks like it was just cut!


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## iceman (Jun 24, 2009)

Mass. Wine Guy said:
			
		

> I just got two cords of green mostly hardwood that I'm stacking up. Is it best not to cover it at all until later September or so?
> 
> Thanks.



if you plan on burning it this year you have very little hope if its greeen now.... but if you have sun and wind  stack it in a single row and try to cover the top with something... like plywood something that wont drop down over the sides


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## iceman (Jun 24, 2009)

skinnykid said:
			
		

> I am worried that my fore wood will never dry, I know we have a long summer ahead of us but I want every minute of seasoning time that I can get! I have also noticed as someone stated, Some of my stack are cracking and stuff but when it rains, it looks like it was just cut!



Skinny when did you split it??   and when do you plan on burning it?
it it was split by march  you should be ok... hopefully   but it won't burn as good as if it was march 08!     however what i learned  was if you plan on usinf it this winter and have recently split it .... it might be worth your time to resplit the larger pieces ... just burn small splits as the decent size wont be ready by oct-nov
if you have wood that is ready but not enough  then resplit what you need in oct and it should be ready by jan


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## woodmeister (Jun 24, 2009)

It's New England, just remember what Mark Twain said about that.


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## stejus (Jun 24, 2009)

I'm not terribly worried because I have 5 cords drying since Nov/Dec 2008.  Prior to this June, it’s been relatively dry as we were below average for rainfall in NE.  I believe aging wood in the winter months is as effective as any other time of the year.

Maybe someone can answer this simple question that many have on there minds.   How come wet wood from rain only takes a few days to evaporate all that absorbed water whereas fresh cut wood takes 12 to 18 months?  I understand wood has fibers with moisture in them.    Is is that rain soaked wood absorbs moisture outside of the fibers and it's evaporates rapidly?


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## gzecc (Jun 24, 2009)

Stejus, Think of wood being made up of millions of 12" straws (running length wise). Depending on the species they are either very large diameter staws filled up with water or very small diameter straws with very little water to begin with. 
If you don't cut into the straws (leave the wood in log form) the straws can't empty. If you cut the logs too long (>18"), a lot of the straws will remain intact.
Rain water doesn't penetrate the straws. It quickly evaporates.


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## mainemac (Jun 24, 2009)

How come wet wood from rain only takes a few days to evaporate all that absorbed water whereas fresh cut wood takes 12 to 18 months?  I understand wood has fibers with moisture in them.  Is is that rain soaked wood absorbs moisture outside of the fibers and it’s evaporates rapidly? 
All living things need to have clear boundaries: This is me and that is the outside. Just like our skins are very good at keeping us dry ( NOT IN THIS WEATHER!!) on the inside, plants have a similar system. Once we spend energy getting nutrients, water etc inside we want to make sure it does not leak out easily.

Trees/Plants have an ingenious way of using small diameter tubes to suck water to the trees. Capillary action is the force whereby things can move against gravity if in a tiny diameter tube. 
Think of how amazing that a 300 foot giant sequoia  can transport water to the leaves on the top  from deep underneath the ground.I suspect water which has hydrogen bonds  can attract one another up the tube as well.


2 types of tubes

Xylem transports water up 

Phloem transports sugars sap etc up in the spring and down in the fall to store all that energy for next springs regrowth.

Tom


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## maplewood (Jun 24, 2009)

I'm in the North East, too:  New Brunswick, Canada, just about 1 hours East of Maine.
We're getting lots of rain this summer, too.  My wood has stopped drying...for now.
Get a wood moisture meter.  They are about $23 on E-bay.  Free shipping to North America.  Get stats!  
My just-cut maple and birch (2 weeks) has only gone from 38% to 31-36%, but it will take a leap in our hot July weather.
By fall it should be in the mid 20's.
Most of my wood is split - 18" long and nothing wider than 5".  Stacked and spaced well in an open field.  Dries better that way.
It helps that I stack my wood in a heated basement for the winter.  I get the last moisture out/off there.
Happy burning!


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## skinnykid (Jun 24, 2009)

iceman said:
			
		

> skinnykid said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



April/ Mayish.

and I hope to burn it in the fall.


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## SmokinPiney (Jun 24, 2009)

Just got in from stackin what was left of the split stuff. And man were the splits on the bottom wet! Im talkin drippin wet after all the rain we've had. Some even seem like they started to rot in only a few weeks.


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## JoeyD (Jun 24, 2009)

I covered my tops for next years wood today. They still get plenty of air flow and sun all day but I wanted keep at least some of the moisture from getting to the middle of my stacks. This is only my second year burning and this wood was split last June/July. I really want drier wood then the "seasoned"  stuff I bought last year. BTW its mostly red oak with some black cherry all free from craigs list stacked on pallets. If we hit a dry spell the tarps are coming off.


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## PunKid8888 (Jun 30, 2009)

Now I am wishing I put some tarps over my my stacks too.  that one half day of sun over the weekend would have been a perfect.

I will say though that I was very surprised what a few hours of bright sunshine will do to dry the wood, but I still plan on covering the tops of my stacks as soon as the next dry spell.................  when ever that is. 

It just starting down pouring again.


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## Dix (Jun 30, 2009)

Open & uncovered, with plenty of draft. 

Atleast 1 cord ready to go here, with 3 cord sitting at the tree dudes (split in January, hardwoods) ready to roll when he can get here. He also takes down trees, makes tree canopies, tec.

And about 3 cord cut in rounds and ready for the splitter in the fall. And wayyyyy more trees to cut down


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## iceman (Jun 30, 2009)

skinnykid said:
			
		

> iceman said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



well, if you have small splits there is hope as next week looks mostly sunny..  but if it was fresh cut dunno i would say make sure its loosely stacked


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## burntime (Jun 30, 2009)

If your not reeady you need to get a softer wood cut and stacked.  By me that is silver maple.  That stuff dires in 3 months.  By others I dunno...  Maybe...GASP...pine!


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## stejus (Jul 1, 2009)

I think we're about to turn the corner here in NE!  I covered the top of each of my 2009/2010 season piles at the start of June.  It's just a tarp on the top, not the sides.  I am glad I did this because the top layer would be water logged by now where I am.  The past week we've had three heavy downpours lasting 30 minutes or more.   Two or more inches!   The most recent weather says we are going to break this pattern starting Saturday.   Bring on the heat so we can dry out!


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## CrawfordCenturyGuy (Jul 1, 2009)

Half of our 2009-10 supply is already in the barn attached to the house. The other half is stacked out in the dooryard getting doused by daily downpours and drizzles.

I'm not worried. Lots was cut dead standing. A goodly part of my green supply was cut, split and tossed in a pile over the winter before spring stacking. Unless daily rain continues non-stop through Oct. it'll all be fine.


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## iskiatomic (Jul 3, 2009)

Weellllllllllllllllllllllllll, I truly was trying to look at this spring/summer rain as the glass half full. I have been living in MY house for nine years. ( well actually the bank owns some for six years) I have NEVER seen water RUNNING through my back yard. Uncovered my stacks mid April, and then holy crap, I need to  build an Ark. 

Maybe put my wood in the Ark.

I am working on posting pics of my soon to be "rice field". But, at these moments I am also whetting my insides........To be continued......................



                                                                KC


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## PunKid8888 (Jul 3, 2009)

I heard me might see a peak of sun tomorrow. I don't even remember what that thing looks like.


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## Brian VT (Sep 2, 2009)

NEWB last year. Had to buy CSD.
For this year I cut and bucked standing dead ash and cherry last fall/winter and had 2 cord split and stacked by February and 
the rest (2 more cord) split and stacked by April. I heard standing dead wood dries well, especially ash. I threw out any punky stuff.
The rain all summer had me nervous but I didn't cover my stacks because of what I read here. I have one small rack that has a roof.
I opened a few splits about a month ago and they tested almost 30%. I was sad and thought about adding top covers but didn't do it.
I tested today and I'm still about 27-28%.  :down: The one rack, maybe a face cord of ash, that has a roof tested 15%.
All my stacks are 2 rows on pallets with about a foot between them. I figured they'd have plenty of air through them, 
but it guess it wasn't enough to dry all the rain that they had to endure.
I think I'm gonna cover the tops of my stacks next year with plywood or something.


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## branchburner (Sep 2, 2009)

Nice drying week we have now - time to make hay. I'm pulling in some dead stuff from the woods that's a little damp, splitting it up in small piles on the hot driveway. It's drying out pronto. Open up those covers and let the sun shine in... that water wants to get back up to the sky!


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## LLigetfa (Sep 2, 2009)

I'm still moving my outdoor pile of wood into my shed.  It was getting rained on every other day for a while but for the last week has been drying out.  most of it is for 2010/2011 so it will have lots of time to dry out in the shed.  I'm separating the dryer stuff from the top for 2010 burning.

I also have a 2 cords stacked sitting out that I recently threw some rubber roofing over which kept off the last two rains.  I have another 3 cords stacked uncovered.


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## Vic99 (Sep 2, 2009)

Early last week, I resplit some of my stuff for this year.  Seemed like the right thing to do given the rain that we had.  Should still dry for another 2 months before I move it to the covered porch.


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## Skier76 (Sep 2, 2009)

The rain this year has been something else. We received about 2.25" last week in southern VT; between Friday night and Saturday afternoon. 

I have the stacks covered with tarps on the tops only. The weather looks good for the rest of this week, so when we go back up, I'll pull the tarps off and let things "air out". 

I'm thinking I may start to move some of the wood under the deck; closer to the stove. It's really cooled off here quite a bit.


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## stejus (Sep 2, 2009)

We've been waiting for this High pressure sytem to set up in New England and it finally arrived.  Like Skier76 said, let's air it out boys!   We loose 1.5 hours of daylight in Sep so time is not on our side anymore.  One advantage is the sun is lower on the skyline and hitting the wood at a better angle.


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## Skier76 (Sep 2, 2009)

Another advantage: More sun when the leaves fall off the trees. Our backyard in VT is really shady with the leaves on the trees.


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## CTburning (Sep 2, 2009)

I always cover my wood.  I have a 6 cord woodshed and it gets lots of morning and early afternoon sun.  After that it is blocked by trees.  On a hot day I can feel the difference in temp inside versus outside.  It acts kind of like a kiln I guess.  By the afternoon it cools down pretty quickly as it has good wind blowing through it.  It is covered all the way around with a tarp that goes 2/3 of the way to the ground and two sides are half way open, if that makes sense.  I wanted to leave it open all the way but my retired/bored father talked to a guy that used to live in Maine and that was an argument I wasn't going to win.  So he was helping, we stapled up the tarps.  My maple has been split 6 months and 12 months.  The 12 month stuff is now below 20% with some testing at 16%.  the six month stuff is hovering just over 20% and should be ready to go by the time I need it.  The oak has been stacked for 12 months and is around 26% in the two big splits (5-6 inches) square that I resplit and tested.  I cut my red oak to 2-3" square so it would be ready to go late winter if needed.  This year especially I would argue that those that left their wood upcovered in the northeast this year lost the drying race.  A dry fall might even things up.


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## iceman (Sep 3, 2009)

the wood that the op said was 27-28 will be fine by early to mid dec.....   as long as we have decent weather .. the cold will suck that right out no problem


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## branchburner (Sep 3, 2009)

CTburning said:
			
		

> I would argue that those that left their wood upcovered in the northeast this year lost the drying race.



Agreed. Who woulda thunk? 
I stacked a few cords uncovered in an easy-access place, but fully shaded, which I swore I wasn't gonna do anymore. Looks like 2010-11 for that. So now I'm swearing at myself and doing what I did last year, scrounging for standing/leaning dead that will dry up in the fall.


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## flyingcow (Sep 3, 2009)

I was a little concerned earlier this summer, but there wasn't a darn thing i could do about the weather. I finished splitting my wood about the first of may. I stacked up about 2 1/2 cord in one long row a little earlier. (This was all rock maple and beech delivered treelength the first of march, 12 cord by weight) the rest I threw in a big pile. This is all in an open field piled on gravel(well drained). No shade. Kept the grass near the pile mowed short, if the wind blew, the wood got it.
 Just checked my stacked pile, 21/22%. I'm very happy. I will put all this in the garage in mid to late sept.


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## PunKid8888 (Sep 3, 2009)

I just checked some of my stuff I split and stacked in April, looking like average 24%.  This was all uncovered up until the beginning of August, now it just has a tarp on top.  I also have some hemlock that I cut split and stacked a month back, it was around 34%,  Yikes


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## daveswoodhauler (Sep 3, 2009)

Made a tent cover with a tarp over my woodpiles to prevent rain, but allow airflow....basically, the tarp doesn't touch the woodpile.
Just checked some larger pieces and split and got a reading in the middle , and most were 19-20%...so I think I am good to go


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## savageactor7 (Sep 3, 2009)

Our spring cut uncovered piled wood is seasoning OK. I'm a few years ahead of the game but still think it's a good idea to leave splits uncovered till almost winter. The wind and elevation of a pile sucks any moisture away pronto. Just like attempting to land a golf ball on an elevated green...they get as hard as sidewalks exposed to the elements.


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## Hurricane (Sep 3, 2009)

My stacks were started between Dec and Feb and are not dry or even close. I have lots of shade and left uncovered. I am concerned but it is what it is. I have about 1 1/2 cords ready to go and hope the rest will dry quicker in the oct/nov/dec timeframe. I am not sure what I could have done differently. This is the first time I am 2 years ahead so next winter will be good for me.


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