OK How is one supposed to dry there wood for this years heating season when we get 2" of rain every other day? Or for that fact get anything outdoors done. Depressing.
drying wood
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Ah, you like those 30' stacks, eh" 
If you look real close, you can see me in front of the John Deere....its tough to make out though, as the JD is a monster truck
just kiddin...12 rows 10 ft long each and about 5 feet high....stack to the left is my Haus chunken pile
If you look real close, you can see me in front of the John Deere....its tough to make out though, as the JD is a monster truck
just kiddin...12 rows 10 ft long each and about 5 feet high....stack to the left is my Haus chunken pile
SolarAndWood said:ilikewood said:
Your stacks must be huge given the size of your wood hauler
They look like 6' tall to me. A little close quarters for air flow, but the "roof" is a good idea.
Lots here in the forum say not to cover - let the surface moisture come off when it's sunny, in favour of better air circulation when its breezy.
I used to have a wood shed (just a roof - open sides) - that worked great. Now I'm back to stacking in an open field for sun and wind.
To your question - we've got to get some drier weather. The wood's got to dry. Do you have a moisture meter? Have you measured a fresh split?
Happy burning.
I've got 6 cord laid up in my woodshed and about twice that out in the rain.
Those canvas roundtops do a good job to keep the rain off and if you raise the skirt and keep the ends open there is plenty of air movement. One year when I got 12 cord of Birch, my shed was still half full from the year before and so I couldn't fit it all in and I put some of it in the roundtop. It was the third year when I finally got to that Birch and it was some of the best seasoned wood I had seen.
A lot of people put up those metal carports to shelter their wood. Lets lots of air through and keeps the rain and snow off. It sure beats messing with tarps.
Those canvas roundtops do a good job to keep the rain off and if you raise the skirt and keep the ends open there is plenty of air movement. One year when I got 12 cord of Birch, my shed was still half full from the year before and so I couldn't fit it all in and I put some of it in the roundtop. It was the third year when I finally got to that Birch and it was some of the best seasoned wood I had seen.
A lot of people put up those metal carports to shelter their wood. Lets lots of air through and keeps the rain and snow off. It sure beats messing with tarps.
[/quote]They look like 6' tall to me. A little close quarters for air flow, but the "roof" is a good idea.
Lots here in the forum say not to cover - let the surface moisture come off when it's sunny, in favour of better air circulation when its breezy.
I used to have a wood shed (just a roof - open sides) - that worked great. Now I'm back to stacking in an open field for sun and wind.
To your question - we've got to get some drier weather. The wood's got to dry. Do you have a moisture meter? Have you measured a fresh split?
Happy burning.[/quote]
Yeah, they are about between 5-6'..closer to 6' in the middle.....not the best for air circulation, but I am running out of room in the "AREA's" I am granted for storing wood and sun has been non existant in the NE for the last 2 months.
I know a lot of folks say uncovered is good.....and I was following that route up until the end of may this year, but with all the rain in June/July we have had I think my plastic woodsheed has made a difference.
Been putting off getting a MM as its just a little to geeky for me, and if I by one I would probably check a slpit each day and create another freakin spreadsheet to track my results
Lots here in the forum say not to cover - let the surface moisture come off when it's sunny, in favour of better air circulation when its breezy.
I used to have a wood shed (just a roof - open sides) - that worked great. Now I'm back to stacking in an open field for sun and wind.
To your question - we've got to get some drier weather. The wood's got to dry. Do you have a moisture meter? Have you measured a fresh split?
Happy burning.[/quote]
Yeah, they are about between 5-6'..closer to 6' in the middle.....not the best for air circulation, but I am running out of room in the "AREA's" I am granted for storing wood
and sun has been non existant in the NE for the last 2 months.I know a lot of folks say uncovered is good.....and I was following that route up until the end of may this year, but with all the rain in June/July we have had I think my plastic woodsheed has made a difference.
Been putting off getting a MM as its just a little to geeky for me, and if I by one I would probably check a slpit each day and create another freakin spreadsheet to track my results
LLigetfa said:
LL, How do those round tops hold up with snowloads? Also, you use concrete blocks to anchor the supports down? (Saw a few on craiglists for like $200 or so - used...was thinking about going that route in the future)
SolarAndWood said:
That was my wifes find....$40 at a yard sale....my buddies were all pissed that I got such a deal.....my wife kicks az
(Or course, these are the buddies that need to keep up with everyone else when someone gets a new lawn tractor....you know the type)
I forget how many years old mine is. I've seen some of them still up after 10 years so if properly erected and stretched taught so the wind can't flap it, they will last a long time. I drove those green steel fenceposts into the ground and clamped to them so it's not going to move.ilikewood said:
I pull some of the snow off of mine carefully to not damage the fabric but I'm sure the guy in Lyndhurst does not pull the snow off his.
I cut it, split and stack it and top cover it that day with EPDM rubber roofing. And then forget it is there for two years. Said it before. I only dry wood once.
Here in the woods the only thing the sun beats down on is me sitting at the splitter anyway.
Here in the woods the only thing the sun beats down on is me sitting at the splitter anyway.
coolidge said:
I feel your pain my friend. It's been pouring here for most of the day. I'm going to cover the top 1/3 of my pile tomorrow. I had it with this rain also.
Geez, here in SE Michigan you can't buy a rainstorm this summer. Once a week or so maybe a little sprinkle will come through, but that's been about it.
How many BTUs does dead lawn have?
How many BTUs does dead lawn have?
heppm01, around here the lawns were turning brown a week ago but folks are back to mowing again. However, if we don't get more rain soon, things will turn brown quickly and I'll be hauling water to the fruit trees.
New England or maybe just CT(don't remember)just missed the record for the wettest July. I just hope this pattern stays when it turns colder. Would be one hell of a year for plowing but with my luck it dry up. I think I may invest in a moisture meter to check my pile. The wood is turning grey so it is starting to dry out but I want to know if I need to go to the cover it when it rains/take off on sunny days.
Here in Ottawa, this past July just made the record for most rain ever in any month (since 1899, when records were kept in a different location of the city). Wish I had covered the pile months ago!
op_man1 said:
I wouldn't sweat it op. We are on the the same storm track this summer. My pile is dry and even the rounds I split this morning that were bucked in January are largely dry. Unless you store your wood in a really closed in wet space, it dries very well when bucked and even better when split and left out in the wind and sun.
I guess I'll find out for sure soon enough! This is my first year burning - some of it has been split and stacked for over one year now but I have been quite nervous, I have to admit. Think I'll get a moisture meter to help me manage what I burn.
They Call Me Pete said:
My mother-in-law in Ellington said it rained just about every day but one in July . . . makes the weather up here that we had a bit better since some of that weather apparently blew out to sea.
My feeling on the wet weather and wood is two-fold . . .
First, the weather is bound to change eventually. We are in New England after all and we have several more months to go (hopefully with a dry Fall) before wood burning begins in earnest . . . plenty of time to get the wood to season.
Second, unless the rain is coming down 24/7 I suspect that the wood will continue to season. I know the wood I split in the Spring (cut up last Fall) is a beautiful shade of gray and has lots of checks in it regardless of the rain. A day or so of sun and/or wind and the rain that falls on the wood's surface is gone . . . the interior of the wood continues to season (albeit a bit more slowly) regardless of the rain.
For me, no covers until the first snow flies or until I get the woodshed built.
BrotherBart said:
One of my neighbors here in Oregon does something similar--he bucks it, splits it, stacks it tightly, and then covers it with black plastic in the shade! I must admit, I've never seen anyone do this before. Here in Oregon where we get very little rain in the Summer most people, (myself included) split our wood and throw it into a pile or "air stack it" in the direct sun all summer long, and only come fall/winter when the rains start do we cover it.
Doesn't covering green (or any) wood with plastic or rubber just trap all the moisture??
NP
firefighterjake said:
I agree with your second thought. Even though we have had alot of rain my pile is greying up very nicely. It gets about 5/6 hours of full sun and most days we have a nice breeze.
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