How many years are you ahead in storing firewood?

[qwee]

I'm not really sure. Up front there are 5 piles of split wood (25 cords?). There is also a big pile of unsplit rounds - that today I have just started splitting (15 cords?). This is going to sound funny, I have a trailer full of Willow rounds (2 cords) stuck on someone's property because I couldn't pull it out due to wet ground. There is at least another 2 cords cut into rounds (so 4 cords). We are waiting for the ground to dry in order to try again to pull the trailer out.

Another funny one, I have 2 more cords up in the mountains cut into rounds waiting to be rolled a little further down a hill to be loaded (I got tired). And there are 5 medium sized dead standing pine, too (so 4 cords of Pine unless someone discovers it). And there is wood in the back of my property - 3 piles (10 cords?). Lastly, there are 3 more piles of wet elm waiting to be split (6 cords?). The total = 25 + 15 + 4 + 4 + 10 + 6 = ~64 cords. That puts me 30 years ahead. Hey, I'll be dead by then! Oh ya I forgot, I sell wood as a hobby. I haven't been doing much selling this year, though.

 

[brenndatomu]

The recent addition of 3 1/2 cords of red oak exposed the fact that i way over estimated how much i have for this and next year. This year should be ok but next year looks very light. Like very very light. The year after next season should be fine as the new oak should be ready to go. (It was dead standing and most of the bark has fallen off when i split it.)

So i think i'm gonna have to do a few things for this year and next.
1. Not heat the wood stove room to 80-85 everyday.
2. Conserve wood this year to save some for next year.
3. Find some maple and other faster drying wood for next season. I do have a deadish standing maple (top broke off about 18'-20' up the trunk this summer). But it's not a huge amount. Maybe 1/2 - 3/4 cord max.
4. Get some more fast seasoning wood to mix in with not totally dry year 3 oak if needed at end of year 2.
5. Think about solar kiln, but i don't have much sun on my property and no good place for one.
6. Keep a sharper eye out for people getting rid of seasoned wood they don't want in their yards anymore. (Rare but does happen)

I have another dead standing oak, but since space is limited here, I think i'll let it stay as is to keep room for next season faster drying wood.

If you can find some beech, it dries quick, and has same firepower as oak.

 

[bigealta]

If you can find some beech, it dries quick, and has same firepower as oak.

Hey thanks for this, I was cutting red oak yesterday in the same place as before and saw a beech tree. Never noticed it before. Then realized there were about 5 or 6 beech trees right in the immediate area.

They are healthy and not gonna get cut down but now i know they are around and will keep my eye out for any downed or fallen branches.

Never knowingly burned beech before, but now am eager to try it if i can find any. They look to be more healthy than any of the other trees around my area.

 

[John Kuhn]

I'm set up to have three years seasoning under cover outside, plus the upcoming season's wood inside my shed. So four year's total at the start of a burn year. It's more work, since I have to stack it twice, but I figure its good exercise, and the wood seasons best outside with the air movement.