Is there anybody out there that believes using a tarp while seasoning wood is a good thing ?

[PapaDave]

Common sense says wood will dry much, much faster after being split because there is more wood exposed to air.

As for tarp covering, tarp is the last resort as there are much better things. However, I have used tarps but don't like them.

When to cover? If you live in a really wet area like Seattle, it is probably best to cover the top as soon as you get the wood stacked. However, for our area we find it best to leave the wood uncovered through the first summer and then cover the top of the stack in late fall or early winter. Then there are others like quads who never covers his wood and he gets along just fine.

And once again I find myself agreeing with Dennis . . . in fact it seems we pretty much agree on everything except for his love of vertical splitting and my love of horizontal splitting . . .

Split wood: More surface area exposed = faster seasoning. However, it doesn't take a biologist to tell me the how and why of this . . . all one needs to do is take a round of whatever species they want and leave it for X amount of time and then a) split it and check the moisture with a moisture meter or b) split it down and try to burn it in a woodstove . . . and then compare this same wood's moisture content and burning "ability" against a split from the same tree/species that was split at the same time the other piece was bucked up. If you're comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges (or in our case apple wood to apple wood or osage orange to osage orange) I think you will find that almost always the split piece will be drier than the wood left in the round.

Tarp: Ah, one of the great debates. Cover vs. no cover. My take on it . . . do what works for you in your area. Me, I don't cover. All my wood for 2010-2011 (or at this point it appears as though it will actually be wood for 2011-2012 based on my consumption this year) is naked . . . in the buff . . . no covers . . . no tarps. Yeah, it may have some snow on it and it may get rained on in the spring and summer . . . but in general this moisture doesn't tend to soak into the wood as if it were a sea sponge. I did cover my wood come Fall (pre-woodshed burning year), but it was more of a convenience thing since I didn't want to knock off snow and ice before burning.

Well Jake, until you came along I never dreamed anyone would split their wood wrong! Vertical is the only way to go when splitting wood. Horizontal is the only way to go for some other things. No pill required either. lol

braggart. ;-)

 

[bogydave]

I have a pile started that is now almost 7 rows. After I got 5 rows I covered it with a tarp.
Today I checked under the tarp. I had no moisture on the top of the tarp but the under side was iced up.
You can see ice on the wood that fell off the tarp as I was removing it.
What is happening?
I think the wood is releasing moisture & condensing to the under side of the tarp. Which makes me thing the wood would dry faster with no tarp.
I think it is restricting air flow also. Maybe cover it if snow or rain is predicted but leave it uncovered otherwise.
7 rows deep is not good either but space for wood, & future wood shed plans left few options.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I like having a tarp on the ground for wood that is waiting to be split and put away. Keeps it clean and keeps it from sucking moisture out of the ground.

 

[wood spliter]

I don't know about the answer to the question but it snowed last night and I forgot to cover the pile.

 

[velvetfoot]

You can spend a fair amount of money on the heavy sheet plastic.

 

[firefighterjake]

Common sense says wood will dry much, much faster after being split because there is more wood exposed to air.

As for tarp covering, tarp is the last resort as there are much better things. However, I have used tarps but don't like them.

When to cover? If you live in a really wet area like Seattle, it is probably best to cover the top as soon as you get the wood stacked. However, for our area we find it best to leave the wood uncovered through the first summer and then cover the top of the stack in late fall or early winter. Then there are others like quads who never covers his wood and he gets along just fine.

And once again I find myself agreeing with Dennis . . . in fact it seems we pretty much agree on everything except for his love of vertical splitting and my love of horizontal splitting . . .

Split wood: More surface area exposed = faster seasoning. However, it doesn't take a biologist to tell me the how and why of this . . . all one needs to do is take a round of whatever species they want and leave it for X amount of time and then a) split it and check the moisture with a moisture meter or b) split it down and try to burn it in a woodstove . . . and then compare this same wood's moisture content and burning "ability" against a split from the same tree/species that was split at the same time the other piece was bucked up. If you're comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges (or in our case apple wood to apple wood or osage orange to osage orange) I think you will find that almost always the split piece will be drier than the wood left in the round.

Tarp: Ah, one of the great debates. Cover vs. no cover. My take on it . . . do what works for you in your area. Me, I don't cover. All my wood for 2010-2011 (or at this point it appears as though it will actually be wood for 2011-2012 based on my consumption this year) is naked . . . in the buff . . . no covers . . . no tarps. Yeah, it may have some snow on it and it may get rained on in the spring and summer . . . but in general this moisture doesn't tend to soak into the wood as if it were a sea sponge. I did cover my wood come Fall (pre-woodshed burning year), but it was more of a convenience thing since I didn't want to knock off snow and ice before burning.

Well Jake, until you came along I never dreamed anyone would split their wood wrong! Vertical is the only way to go when splitting wood. Horizontal is the only way to go for some other things. No pill required either. lol

We have got to meet up some day Dennis!

 

[scotsman]

Yes and no! (How's that for ambivalence?)

Yes, because it keeps off the snow and rain, the few times per year when that happens. It would have been nice to have it over my stack for these recent precip events. BTW, I would only cover the top and maybe a few inches down the sides, but that's it.

No, because as much wind as we get, covering anything with a tarp is a good way to discover new country as you go trying to find it. Sustained winds in excess of 70 mph are not uncommon. In fact, the highest winds I've recorded at my weather station were 83.4 mph. We don't consider it windy unless we have whitecaps on the toilets, but your tarp will be gone (or shredded) way before that. Our typical low humidity levels make it unnecessary to consistently cover the woodpile.

 

[billb3]

Plastic has a tendency to trap moisture, it also has a tendency to show condensate when thier is a temperauture difference in the air on either side of the sheet.


I've borrowed a splitter and split horizontal off the pick-up and also with a helper when the rounds were stacked.

It's also nice to sit and work vertical from piles.