Newbie to stacking and Storing Wood

[Johnnyguitars]

I just bought two cords of seasoned wood yesterday and had it dumped in my driveway. I used four wood pallets to stack the wood on. I had another 1/4 cord that would't fit so I took several unsplit logs, laid them at the end of my driveway, and put the good wood on top of it. Is this ok? Secondly, It rained real heavey here in Goshen, NY last night. I covered the wood with an old swiming pool cover leaving the sides open for the wood to breathe. Is this correct? I guess I didnt weigh the cover down well enough because it blew up with the heavy winds and most of the wood got soaked. Now, will this wood dry out again? I just purchased a Jotul Oslo and won't be burning till the end of the month. I was thinking of keepng a trash can full of logs in my garage and burn from there, and then take more from my driveway and put in the pail. I don't know. I am just afraid of creosote build up. Also I have been tod that the Oslo does not like damp wood. Any insight or advice would greatly be appreciated.

 

[gzecc]

Rain on the wood is not the problem. The wood should be <25% moisture content to burn well. This drying occurs from the inside out after splitting and stacking. If this wood is oak and has not been drying for 2 yrs your going to have a very long winter! Do you know the kind of wood? Post a picture if not.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

Hey Johnnyguitars! welcome to the forums ! Yes, the Oslo does like well seasoned wood as with most new EPA stoves.
Surface water on wood dries up pretty quick, no problem there. I'd be looking into the moisture content of the wood itself and what kind of species it is.
"Seasoned Wood" is a tricky word around here.......so many posts here about new wood burners getting a late delivery of sub-par stove chow.
Before anyone starts bashing wood vender's or getting you discouraged, post some pictures of your newly delivered wood and tell us about your setup (chimney, stove location etc......)

Welcome aboard !


WoodButcher

 

[efoyt]

Your wood will be fine, a little rain will not hurt it one bit. As long as it is seasoned you will be good to go. Just get the wood that didn't fit with the rest off the ground and that will be fine also.

 

[Wet1]

As others are hinting to, your wood is probably not truly seasoned. Most "seasoned" wood sold by 90% of the wood dealers out there is still green. Post a couple of pics of the wood.

Buy a cheap moisture meter from Harbor Freight or ebay. Re-split a couple of pieces and test the inside with the meter. A dollar says it's not under 20% (ideal), and likely not under 25% (the max you should probably go). Your stove will be fussy about moisture content, so you need dry wood.

Your stacking sounds fine. Don't worry about rain on the wood. The wood wont suck up water (unless it's submerged for a long period of time) and it will dry off quickly. Do whatever you have to to keep it directly off the ground...

 

[efoyt]

Just burn some, outside or in. If water bubbles out while it's burning then it is not dry, no water it is good.

 

[gerry100]

If the wood is dry , some rain won't hurt.

If it's not - covering at this point won't help.

 

[savageactor7]

Hi Johnny and welcome... like was mentioned if the wood is seasoned the surface water will dry up if exposed to wind and sun.

Our strategy is too put the wet wood all on one side of our indoor wood cradle..the wood stove sucks the moisture out of everything so in 24 hours or less it's dry. All the wood you see there was surfaced soaked. Or you can also rotate wet wood around or under the stove. Crude but effective...of course it's best to have the wood covered solidly by now. I can't do that because it's too easy.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I just bought two cords of seasoned wood yesterday and had it dumped in my driveway. I used four wood pallets to stack the wood on. I had another 1/4 cord that would't fit so I took several unsplit logs, laid them at the end of my driveway, and put the good wood on top of it. Is this ok? Secondly, It rained real heavey here in Goshen, NY last night. I covered the wood with an old swiming pool cover leaving the sides open for the wood to breathe. Is this correct? I guess I didnt weigh the cover down well enough because it blew up with the heavy winds and most of the wood got soaked. Now, will this wood dry out again? I just purchased a Jotul Oslo and won't be burning till the end of the month. I was thinking of keepng a trash can full of logs in my garage and burn from there, and then take more from my driveway and put in the pail. I don't know. I am just afraid of creosote build up. Also I have been tod that the Oslo does not like damp wood. Any insight or advice would greatly be appreciated.

Welcome to the forum Johnny.

Here is how we stack out wood. Notice the poles under the stacks.

We leave the wood uncovered after splitting and stacking but do cover it in late fall; before the snow starts piling up. We cover ours with old galvanized roofing and it works very well.

You are afraid of creosote. That is good!

When you were told the Oslo does not like damp wood, they were most likely referring to unseasoned wood. Light a fire in the stove and if the wood sizzles, you have big problems.

Be sure to check your chimney at least once per month your first couple years of burning wood. And do your best to learn the different types of wood and their burning characteristics.

Good luck.

 

[Johnnyguitars]

I want to thank each and every forummember for not only their warm welcomes, but their great advice. It can be a little confusing preparing for my first year as a wood burner. I know alot of people say inspect your chimner for creosote build up, but what am I looking for or at? Do I put my head in the stove and look up? What does creosote look like?

 

[kbrown]

I want to thank each and every forummember for not only their warm welcomes, but their great advice. It can be a little confusing preparing for my first year as a wood burner. I know alot of people say inspect your chimner for creosote build up, but what am I looking for or at? Do I put my head in the stove and look up? What does creosote look like?

First, welcome to the forum! Like a previous member asked, what is your setup? Do you have a full liner or venting it into an open chimney? It's black and very shiney. When I cleaned my chimney this year after the first season of burning, it was BAD. We were very lucky it didn't catch fire. Here's a pic of the chimney cap...you should be able to see right through it as it's lined with wire mesh with 3/4" squares just to keep the critters out. Notice the drips along the base, that's the creosote as it built up from the cooling effect as the gases exited and condensed...too much moisture in the wood and not hot enough fires to properly heat the flue.

The other pic shows a pile of it in the stove as it was brushed off the liner during the cleaning. Don't be afraid of creosote, but rather knowlegable of it. You're not gonna be 100% creosote free. One thing I have learned from Hearth.com is you NEVER stop learning, you just become more educated; burning gives you the experience.

 

[savageactor7]

Johnny at the bottom of your chimney you'll find a clean out, get a mirror in your hand and reach in their use the mirror to look up the chimney. You should see a perfect square, rectangle, circle etc...whatever the flue pipe is. Cause if it's not a perfect rectangle that would be a sign of creosote build up. That usually happens near the top of the chimney.

Also a bird could nest in the chimney over the summer...that will impede the draft and likely fill the house up with smoke.

Seasoned wood burned hot shouldn't leave you any creosote. Sure you might have a light dusting of ash in the flue but that's inert.

 

[firefighterjake]

I just bought two cords of seasoned wood yesterday and had it dumped in my driveway. I used four wood pallets to stack the wood on. I had another 1/4 cord that would't fit so I took several unsplit logs, laid them at the end of my driveway, and put the good wood on top of it. Is this ok? Secondly, It rained real heavey here in Goshen, NY last night. I covered the wood with an old swiming pool cover leaving the sides open for the wood to breathe. Is this correct? I guess I didnt weigh the cover down well enough because it blew up with the heavy winds and most of the wood got soaked. Now, will this wood dry out again? I just purchased a Jotul Oslo and won't be burning till the end of the month. I was thinking of keepng a trash can full of logs in my garage and burn from there, and then take more from my driveway and put in the pail. I don't know. I am just afraid of creosote build up. Also I have been tod that the Oslo does not like damp wood. Any insight or advice would greatly be appreciated.

No worries . . . as others have said there is a difference between wet wood from a rain storm and unseasoned wood that has not had time to dry out. Wood is not like a sponge and you will find that the surface moisture will dry out very quickly when the rain stops, the sun comes out and the winds pick up.

That said, I would cover the stacks during the winter as you were planning . . . it's a lot easier to bring in dry wood that isn't covered in snow and ice.

Be afraid of the creosote . . . be very afraid. Well, not really . . . I mean if you're burning your stove hot (you do have a thermometer for the stove and flue, right?), you have seasoned wood (truly seasoned wood that doesn't sizzle when it's in the fire) and inspect and clean your chimney regularly you don't have to fear the creosote since these new stoves burn very cleanly and efficiently.

Yeah, the Oslo (like most every other EPA stove) likes well-seasoned firewood . . . I wouldn't throw a load of damp wood right into the firebox either . . . but as I said, damp wood is different from unseasoned wood.

 

[firefighterjake]

I want to thank each and every forummember for not only their warm welcomes, but their great advice. It can be a little confusing preparing for my first year as a wood burner. I know alot of people say inspect your chimner for creosote build up, but what am I looking for or at? Do I put my head in the stove and look up? What does creosote look like?

Hey, we've all been where you are and this is why this site exists . . . to help each other . . . well that and to make Craig a website billionaire . . . although I'm not so sure that part is working out so well despite all of the traffic here.

As a newbie I would suggest checking your chimney monthly and if there is a quarter inch or so of creosote sweep it out . . . and in most cases this is wicked easy and cheap to do yourself with a chimney brush and rods you can buy locally or on-line.

As to where to look . . . it depends on your hook-up. In my case I have a T- connection on my metal chimney so I can pop off the cap and look straight up . . . or use a mirror. Masonry chimneys often have clean-out doors on a lower level which you can open and use a mirror to look up your chimney. In some cases you might have to unhook your chimney from your stove to get a look.

Cresote has a few forms . . . if there is any "good" creosote to have it's a dry, crumbly "popcorn" or corn flake looking creosote or a fine, wispy looking black stuff gingerly clinging to the side of your chimney . . . both of these types scrub out easily with a brush. The bad kind of creosote is a shiny, black glazed looking stuff that adheres to the walls of your chimney . . . this is bad stuff since it needs to be removed oftentimes with a chemical treatment.

Of course, as mentioned, burning the stove hot enough and using well seasoned wood is truly the most important thing to do to reduce the likelihood of you having a problem with creosote and a chimney fire.

 

[quads]

. . . I wouldn't throw a load of damp wood right into the firebox either . . . but as I said, damp wood is different from unseasoned wood.

I agree.

As for creosote and what it looks like:
Flaky stuff, almost like black paper. Sweeps out easily and is not very flammable, as far as I know:

The stuff that was bad at one time but has probably already burned and is now "dried out". No longer sticky, but is instead crunchy. Sweeps out easily and comes out in chunks:

The BAD stuff. Ready for a rip-roarin' good 'ol chimney fire. Very hard to get rid of with a steel wire brush and probably impossible to clean with a plastic brush: