How long have you kept wood
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My oldest is 2 years. Most are about a year old. I can never scrounge enough to have more than a 2 year supply.
- Jun 12, 2006
- 1,053
Hi -
Before heading to scool for several years i built up a big supply. Oldest was 4+ years old. I didn't have any dogs at the time an had a couple packs of rat bait in the piles. Covered only on top. They were fine.
I'm currently cutting like mad due to the Ash Bore. I've got about 5/6 cords stacked in rounds and another 3 that are a year old. I'm planning to split and stack, then cover the stacks in the fall.
If allgoes well we should be 3-4 years ahead by fall. It's nice cutting right now I I can drive in close to the drop zone and it's close to home. I dropped a nice 24" diameter Ash yesterday and hauled out nearly a cord yesterday evening. They sure make a racket when they hit the ground!
I stack on reinforced pallets, up on cinder blocks due to local 'rat control' odrinance.
ATB,
Mike
Before heading to scool for several years i built up a big supply. Oldest was 4+ years old. I didn't have any dogs at the time an had a couple packs of rat bait in the piles. Covered only on top. They were fine.
I'm currently cutting like mad due to the Ash Bore. I've got about 5/6 cords stacked in rounds and another 3 that are a year old. I'm planning to split and stack, then cover the stacks in the fall.
If allgoes well we should be 3-4 years ahead by fall. It's nice cutting right now I I can drive in close to the drop zone and it's close to home. I dropped a nice 24" diameter Ash yesterday and hauled out nearly a cord yesterday evening. They sure make a racket when they hit the ground!
I stack on reinforced pallets, up on cinder blocks due to local 'rat control' odrinance.
ATB,
Mike
10 years. We have some we'll be burning this next fall that will be 7 years in the stack. We do nothing special except cover the top of the stacks after they have been through the first summer and fall. We've never put any poisons or any other thing with the wood. The squirrels and mice sometimes build nests but amazingly few. They cause no problem. We'll also get a few powder post beetles which also is no problem.
I have a nice stash of Pignut & Shagbark Hickory split in May 2007 and another stash of White Oak & Shagbark split in May 2008.
I keep the top covered with open sides, split.... stack and forget it until October.
WoodButcher
I keep the top covered with open sides, split.... stack and forget it until October.
WoodButcher
I've got some from every year since 2004 in MI. I don't expect I'll be burning anywhere near as much as I produce there for the next 15-20 years, so I plan to keep most of it a long time. I should be set when I retire.
Within the last 6 years or so we burned up 3/4's of our indoor woodshed supply that was put up dry 10-13 years earlier...it burned fine. Our out door wood experience is limited to 5-6 years but I suspect it will last a lot longer.
Bugboy said:
I wouldnt see where there would be a problem if it was left for the next day to use .
WOODBUTCHER said:
Butcher, what's your take on hickory. I have a bunch of them on my property, some are around 50 feet tall. I thought they were a walnut until I asked my neighbor. He called them "pignuts." Only recently did another neighbor tell me that "pignuts" were hickories. I took down a storm damaged one last year and burned most of it this winter. It burned really nice. Do you think it needs to season as long as oak?
There are a couple of standing dead ones that I need to take down.
Kenster said:
From what I have been told by a close friend with 40+ years of burning under his belt is that Hickory should be allowed to season for at least 3 years.
Last year I burned up the last of my Y2K Red Oak that I cut split and stacked in Summer 1999......ya know just in case ;-)
It burned hot n long.
Cheers,Hiram
WOODBUTCHER said:
I have normally kept my top covered with a tarp... but this year i am gonna let it be and see if it seasons faster... I stack tight due to space and even some of my 2yr old stuff sizzled a bit.... so i will see this summer!
I cut and split a lot of bitternut hickory last May (2009). It's been stacked in an open meadow with lots of wind and sun exposure (ideal conditions), but didn't cover it for the first 4-5 months (a mistake - rainy summer). It will definitely be ready to burn in fall of 2010 (18 months later). I'm updating on the drying periodically in this thread https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/44360/h
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