Three years long enough?

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

The radiation actually gets in deeper to the split than just the ends...1/3rd to half way probably...being that the spits are not stacked like bricks...

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Doesn't change the fact that top covering doesn't affect whatever solar gain you are getting. But it does keep much of the rain out. And, you are only leaving it open the first year, from a pristine starting point.

My point remains, for others who are considering not top covering their stacks- If you have wet seasons, you will likely have suboptimal wood compared to what you would have if it was top covered.

 

[TedyOH]

Doesn't change the fact that top covering doesn't affect whatever solar gain you are getting..

Actually it would affect the top layer plus about 3 or 4 rows from the top...my wood anyway, as i cut to 16" and use 20 x 4 tarps...get about 2 foot overlap...your way works as does my way....OP needs to finds some radiation...

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[bholler]

My experience is if you are trying to dry something keeping water off of it is a good idea. Wood that gets rained on will not dry at all inside untill the surface moisture is gone. If you don't get much rain that's no big deal. But this year my seasoned wood stacks that are top covered took on moisture because of the ammout of humidity we had. If it hadn't been top covered it would have been worse. And the wood I was expecting to be dry this year is not. I am about out of suitable wood for the first time in many years.

 

[TedyOH]

Exactly what i do after 1.75 years or more of being pounded by mother nature....they should change the terminology from "seasoned" to "weathered"

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[weatherguy]

Most years not top covering til fall is fine, it was an exceptional year in the northeast, probably more like the northwest so what we did in the past may not work. I top covered because I could see in the weather pattern was going to be wet. Exceptionally so.

 

[trguitar]

Here's my experience from this year for what it's worth. I have always been a "no cover" guy. I bring all the wood inside the garage at the beginning of October. This year my wood was really wet from all the rain we had this fall. Most was difficult to burn.

This years wood was C/S/S three years ago. For the past month or two I have been keeping three days worth next to the stove. This has been helping immensely. I am not seeing problems any more. I have become a "top cover" guy now.

Try keeping a few days worth next to the stove. With yours being C/S/S for 3 years it may help dry it out, and make it acceptable for burning.

 

[SeanBB]

It seems obvious but it depends on the weather and it seems last year was especially wet. A long hot summer and uncovered wood will be fine despite a few rainstorms.

 

[Sodbuster]

Tar paper makes an inexpensive top cover, lets the wind blow through, but sheds water off the top.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Tar paper makes an inexpensive top cover, lets the wind blow through, but sheds water off the top.

How many seasons do you get out of tarp paper?

 

[Sodbuster]

How many seasons do you get out of tarp paper?

I've only done it for a short time, but I'm on year 4 with my tar paper. It'll fade, but still sheds water. I've found that tarps tend to shred in the wind, and need replacing after a year or two.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I've only done it for a short time, but I'm on year 4 with my tar paper. It'll fade, but still sheds water. I've found that tarps tend to shred in the wind, and need replacing after a year or two.

4 years is good. Fading wouldn't bother me at all. It would be a big improvement over the blue tarps in the yard now.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

There is no set time. It's ready when it's ready. I do not cover mine. But, it sets in a sunny, breezy driveway with nothing to restrict that breeze. It's aimed toward the west where all of our fronts come from. It's all split, except for small rounds. There are spaces between the splits. I don't stack them so they nest.

Oak splits are usually ready for me in 24 to 30 months. Other stuff usually faster. But I don't go by months. You can tell when you pick up a piece if it has lost enough water weight, if it's fissured, how it looks, etc. If stuff is close to ready, I bring in the ones that are obviously lighter in weight and dryer looking.

(On covering -- the second layer from the top in my stacks rarely gets wet. The first layer is the cover.)

 

[Dix]

Oh, what a LMAO ride this thread has become

Your in RI, I'm on LI.

I left my stacks uncovered this year. Huge mistake

Never again.

Shower curtains from Dollar Tree. The clear ones. Works for me

 

[jpl1nh]

I love bholler's take, "My experience is if you are trying to dry something keeping water off of it is a good idea." I couldn't agree more. I live in NH and don't really have a good sunny spot to season stuff. I scrounge all my wood and it's a mix of everything that grows around here and everything from fresh cut to dead for a couple of years. While sun greatly helps drying, so do those low humidity breezy days and that includes winter too. I stack in single rows 4' high with at least 3' between and I top cover with rubber roofing membrane. You can buy it online in 2' wide x 50' rolls. It's a bit of an investment but it lasts forever. Anything green (except pine, poplar and ash) I season at least 2 years. Really dense wood like red oak and black locust I season three. If I'm not sure, I season more. I don't worry so much about top covering green the first year because it is not going to get any wetter than it already is, just drier. From then on, I top cover trying to keep the ends as dry as possible to continue to promote moisture being pulled from deep within. You can think of wood as basically a series of tightly packed parallel straw like tubes that originally conducted water from the root systems to the leaves and visa versa. While there is some lateral movement of water in a tree trunk, it is very secondary to the up down movement. The majority of wood seasoning comes from the ends of your splits with the secondary lateral drying aiding that process. Unless your wood is beginning to decompose, the fact that it gets wet again on the outside doesn't restore water to the inside since it's really tough to force water back in those tiny little tubes. But any time the wood gets wet, it does slow the evaporation of water from the inside that was originally there from when the tree was alive. Basically anything that speeds the evaporation of water such as heat, wind, low humidity, helps season your wood. Humidity, still air, rain and cold, slow seasoning. And then if it's nicely seasoned but wet on the outside from rain or snow, of course you need to dry the outside again. Here's a picture of my seasoning situation. Would love to have a sunny field but I don't.

before it will burn well.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

I love bholler's take, "My experience is if you are trying to dry something keeping water off of it is a good idea." I couldn't agree more. I live in NH and don't really have a good sunny spot to season stuff. I scrounge all my wood and it's a mix of everything that grows around here and everything from fresh cut to dead for a couple of years. While sun greatly helps drying, so do those low humidity breezy days and that includes winter too. I stack in single rows 4' high with at least 3' between and I top cover with rubber roofing membrane. You can buy it online in 2' wide x 50' rolls. It's a bit of an investment but it lasts forever. Anything green (except pine, poplar and ash) I season at least 2 years. Really dense wood like red oak and black locust I season three. If I'm not sure, I season more. I don't worry so much about top covering green the first year because it is not going to get any wetter than it already is, just drier. From then on, I top cover trying to keep the ends as dry as possible to continue to promote moisture being pulled from deep within. You can think of wood as basically a series of tightly packed parallel straw like tubes that originally conducted water from the root systems to the leaves and visa versa. While there is some lateral movement of water in a tree trunk, it is very secondary to the up down movement. The majority of wood seasoning comes from the ends of your splits with the secondary lateral drying aiding that process. Unless your wood is beginning to decompose, the fact that it gets wet again on the outside doesn't restore water to the inside since it's really tough to force water back in those tiny little tubes. But any time the wood gets wet, it does slow the evaporation of water from the inside that was originally there from when the tree was alive. Basically anything that speeds the evaporation of water such as heat, wind, low humidity, helps season your wood. Humidity, still air, rain and cold, slow seasoning. And then if it's nicely seasoned but wet on the outside from rain or snow, of course you need to dry the outside again. Here's a picture of my seasoning situation. Would love to have a sunny field but I don't. View attachment 239496 before it will burn well.

I like all your reasoning, but will say that it's entirely possible to fill up those tiny little tubes up again even after they are dry. Just apply constant rain, high heat, and humidity- summer 2019 conditions, here. Even the telltale checking on the ends swelled completely shut and disappeared. I think the fact that wood will sink is informative. Now take the saturated wood, and freeze it solid. Pretty suboptimal conditions for burning to keep warm.

 

[aqcon]

Oh, what a LMAO ride this thread has become

Your in RI, I'm on LI.

I left my stacks uncovered this year. Huge mistake

View attachment 239490


Never again.

Shower curtains from Dollar Tree. The clear ones. Works for me

Yup. I've started tarping as a temporary shelter from any precipitation. And, more to the point of my original topic, I've found that the cherry and maple are "good enough" to burn now- easy lighting and clean burning.

We're gearing up to build a detached garage soon, and a woodshed is going to be part of the planning.

 

[mcdougy]

Why the tarps? What about going to your local lumber yard and buying a few sheets of roofing metal at your desired length? Drill a few holes and some screws and your good to go? Tarps work, but always seemed to get wrecked.....Just a consideration. I personally season. All my wood inside a barn... seems to be working fine for me.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Why the tarps? What about going to your local lumber yard and buying a few sheets of roofing metal at your desired length? Drill a few holes and some screws and your good to go? Tarps work, but always seemed to get wrecked.....Just a consideration. I personally season. All my wood inside a barn... seems to be working fine for me.

That's a great idea.

But tarps are free (or close to it) and roofing metal isn't really that cheap, particularly if you have almost 300 feet of stacks to cover!

 

[billb3]

I have some 4 year seasoned red oak that for the first time I experimented with not top covering and I'm regretting it now. It doesn't hiss or boil water out the ends, I'm just not getting the heat I'm used to and sometimes I have to squeeze some nice dry pine in in between splits to get it going.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I’m a stones throw from you in SE CT. My uncovered stuff has been a wet as well. The 2 consecutive yrs prior to this last one were dry, so if you top covered now, I think you’ll be good for next season with good wood.

 

[Sodbuster]

That's a great idea.

But tarps are free (or close to it) and roofing metal isn't really that cheap, particularly if you have almost 300 feet of stacks to cover!

50 ft x 36" of tar paper is about $15, cut it in half and that roll will top cover 100'. So you could cover your stacks for $45. Metal roofing would cost you in the $100's.