Okay, this is just something I threw together FWIW because I was getting worried that my first year's wood is not drying fast enough and we're not getting much breeze. It's a bit early to know for sure but I've had it going now for a couple of weeks and first indications are promising. It's quick and easy so I thought I'd toss it out there since it's getting late in the season and I know there are a lot of others like me who are getting ready to burn for the first time with less than ideal wood at hand.
Sorry, I didn't take any pics of the work, but you can use your imagination for all kinds of variations. All I did,though, was build a 4' x 4' baffle of OSB with two 20" box fans mounted side by side in the center of it (centered up and down also), then stacked my wood (split down a bit smaller) on both sides of it, 4' wide and 4' high, to end up with an 8' long stack with the baffled fans in the middle. The baffle is the key to this to prevent air from just going around. I covered the whole stack with a tarp as tightly as possible around the stack down to the ground and especially tight around the baffle so that air can only be drawn in from one end and must exit the other. Of course, the ends are open. Mine just looks like a small blue hut with open ends now. No point in taking a pic of that...
The fans probably don't have to be in the center, but you have to make sure that air can't go around the baffle and this helps do that. Make sure the air is pushed the same direction as your prevailing breezes. If you do something like this, make sure no wood can fall or push into the fans.
I opened up a couple of splits today and some that were well over 30% a few weeks ago are less than 25 now when split open again. My only control group is the stack I took this stack from and it varied in MC, but still, I'm sure this is working to some degree. Before I did this, it didn't seem like the stuff was doing anything measurable, so this seems pretty good so far. If I can get this stack to 20% in a few more weeks, I'll do it again on another cord or two. That should be good for this season.
The fans are the $15 variety and pull 177 watts (both on high) on my KillAWatt meter, which is 4.2 KWH per day, or about $.25 a day for me to operate, although our rates are very low at $.053. However, it seems well worth it if you only have to do it for a few months and you're getting desperate. At this rate, I think I can do two or three cords in two or three months, and I probably could have made the stacks larger, too. Those fans can push a lot of air, but you do have to make sure it goes straight through. I can feel the air blowing out the end, so that's got to be doing something good...
You could put the fans on a humidistat inside the stack which may make it more efficient. You can get ones made for bathroom fan controls for around $20 I think. I didn't bother as I figured full bore all the time was fine.
Sorry, I didn't take any pics of the work, but you can use your imagination for all kinds of variations. All I did,though, was build a 4' x 4' baffle of OSB with two 20" box fans mounted side by side in the center of it (centered up and down also), then stacked my wood (split down a bit smaller) on both sides of it, 4' wide and 4' high, to end up with an 8' long stack with the baffled fans in the middle. The baffle is the key to this to prevent air from just going around. I covered the whole stack with a tarp as tightly as possible around the stack down to the ground and especially tight around the baffle so that air can only be drawn in from one end and must exit the other. Of course, the ends are open. Mine just looks like a small blue hut with open ends now. No point in taking a pic of that...
The fans probably don't have to be in the center, but you have to make sure that air can't go around the baffle and this helps do that. Make sure the air is pushed the same direction as your prevailing breezes. If you do something like this, make sure no wood can fall or push into the fans. I opened up a couple of splits today and some that were well over 30% a few weeks ago are less than 25 now when split open again. My only control group is the stack I took this stack from and it varied in MC, but still, I'm sure this is working to some degree. Before I did this, it didn't seem like the stuff was doing anything measurable, so this seems pretty good so far. If I can get this stack to 20% in a few more weeks, I'll do it again on another cord or two. That should be good for this season.
The fans are the $15 variety and pull 177 watts (both on high) on my KillAWatt meter, which is 4.2 KWH per day, or about $.25 a day for me to operate, although our rates are very low at $.053. However, it seems well worth it if you only have to do it for a few months and you're getting desperate. At this rate, I think I can do two or three cords in two or three months, and I probably could have made the stacks larger, too. Those fans can push a lot of air, but you do have to make sure it goes straight through. I can feel the air blowing out the end, so that's got to be doing something good...
You could put the fans on a humidistat inside the stack which may make it more efficient. You can get ones made for bathroom fan controls for around $20 I think. I didn't bother as I figured full bore all the time was fine.
Almost see my little Homelite splitter on the right rear and that's a Christmas tree farm in the background.
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It may not be purty, but it's working and it took all of an hour to make. I like simple. Simple is good. Agreed, you should get the stack off the ground. I need to find a source of pallets somewhere around here. Home Depot ships theirs off.
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