It just won't season
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rdust said:
I'm still a relative novice at this but I would have thought that you'd want your stacks in line with the prevailing winds, not perpendicular to it. Wouldn't it be better for the winds to flow down the lengths of the splits so that all the wood is hit by the wind? If you you stack north/south but have west winds only the west wall of the stack is getting most of the wind and the remainder is blocked off from the wind.
Or so it seems to me.
I have had red oak ready 16" EDIT: splits up to 6" across stacked N/S in May, single row in the sun, covered top down 6 inches on sides. If you can get the bark off it helps.
It is true that the west stack will get the most benefit and that is why you start taking from that stack first.
Even though that west stack takes the biggest hit, the air will still want to flow west to east, therefore still getting to the other stacks. If the wood is stacked EW and the wind is from the west it is easy to predict what will happen. Just picture a river or creek. Water (like wind) will take the path of least resistance. In this case, the wind will tend to flow between the rows and increase in speed, but the stacked wood will get little benefit. On the other hand, with the wood stacked NS and a west wind, some air will still flow around the ends but most will still try to go through the stack. On the other side of the stack it will create a slight bit of vacuum to draw that wind through the stacks. End result is the flowing air can move the moisture out much easier.
I hope that made sense.
On the bark, I highly doubt that removing bark will speed the drying process as the moisture will still come out the ends. It is the result of the way trees grow. I know we've seen that before where some folks will remove the bark. It just seems like needless work and no benefit except perhaps a bit cleaner in the house.
Even though that west stack takes the biggest hit, the air will still want to flow west to east, therefore still getting to the other stacks. If the wood is stacked EW and the wind is from the west it is easy to predict what will happen. Just picture a river or creek. Water (like wind) will take the path of least resistance. In this case, the wind will tend to flow between the rows and increase in speed, but the stacked wood will get little benefit. On the other hand, with the wood stacked NS and a west wind, some air will still flow around the ends but most will still try to go through the stack. On the other side of the stack it will create a slight bit of vacuum to draw that wind through the stacks. End result is the flowing air can move the moisture out much easier.
I hope that made sense.
On the bark, I highly doubt that removing bark will speed the drying process as the moisture will still come out the ends. It is the result of the way trees grow. I know we've seen that before where some folks will remove the bark. It just seems like needless work and no benefit except perhaps a bit cleaner in the house.
I have all my stuff stacked N/S
All the Red Oak I split last year (Summer) won't be needed for at least another 3 years. :cheese:
I have noticed that all my 2+ year seasoned split's bark is naturally starting to fall off or easily peels off.
My Buddy who has been burning for 40 plus years says it take 3-5 years for large splits of Oak to season properly?
All the Red Oak I split last year (Summer) won't be needed for at least another 3 years. :cheese:
I have noticed that all my 2+ year seasoned split's bark is naturally starting to fall off or easily peels off.
My Buddy who has been burning for 40 plus years says it take 3-5 years for large splits of Oak to season properly?
Should be covered on the top of the stack only...all year long..not just the winter months...that will do it for you.
Backwoods Savage said:
Just like splitting - removing some/all of the bark will expose a lot more surface area. Even though it moves more quickly lengthwise through the wood, it's still a lot shorter distance going perpendicular to the grain.
It's especially noticeable in the smaller rounds which you might not bother to split if it was some other wood.
I often run the chainsaw lengthwise down the smaller stuff that I don't plan to split, just before I cut to length - just deep enough to go through the bark. Gives that little extra help, and will often help the wood to crack there, letting it dry better. Sometimes the bark will start to peel back at that point, exposing the wood even better.
Don
What do y'all think of this drying method?
(broken link removed to http://www.thechimneysweep.ca/6seasoningwood.html)
(broken link removed to http://www.thechimneysweep.ca/6seasoningwood.html)
People who have stacked it this way claim it does not dry the wood any quicker.chris-mcpherson said:
chris-mcpherson said:
As Old Spark mentioned folks who have tried this say the wood seems to season as fast as the regular stacking method . . . but it does seem to offer a few advantages:
1) You can stack a lot of wood in a small footprint which could be handy for small lots
2) The middle provides a great area for those chunks and uglies which may not stack nice and neat
3) Well, it just plain looks cool and you'll get a bunch of double takes when folks drive by and see this in your front yard
Incidentally, while normally called Holtz Hausen by folks here . . . or some derivative of spelling, apparently the correct name for this stacking style is Holz Miete as can be seen at this website.
http://www.holzmiete.de/anleitung.php
I'm getting a ways ahead on my wood supply so I may try it as it is neat as all get out.firefighterjake said:
Die Bauanleitung !
Here is a translated paragraph from Babelfish to get some of the flavor of it:
Aw, maybe I'll just build a Heap Hausen instead, and skip whacking it all the time with my Spalt Axe.
Heap Hausen® is a registered trademark of Jags, Incorporated, Illinois, USA
Here is a translated paragraph from Babelfish to get some of the flavor of it:
"Where do I get one of those Cuttermessers?" said Clutter distractedly... :lol:
Aw, maybe I'll just build a Heap Hausen instead, and skip whacking it all the time with my Spalt Axe.
Heap Hausen® is a registered trademark of Jags, Incorporated, Illinois, USA
split all the small rounds you can and throw the ones that are to small in a seperate pile, the unsplit rounds will take at least 4 years to season. Even white ash rounds not split seem to take years to dry.
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