Wood Score - Unbelievable!

[Fechmup]

I've not posted here much, but I check in frequently and have learned a lot. I thought I'd share some good fortune I've come across; A friend of mine is taking down trees and selling split fire wood to me for $25/truckload. They need the stuff gone as they do not have room to store a mountain of it. Another incentive is buy 4 loads and get the 5th free. It's white oak, red oak, a little maple, and a little holly so far. I've picked up 5 loads so far in my F350 (8' bed) - I've put a nice little squat in the truck after loading them all. I plan on getting firewood for next year and the following - totaling 10 to 11 cords.

My question is, what's the best way for me to stack it so that I don't lose any of it (rot) - say I wanted year 3 or even year 4 wood? I have access to a zillion pallets at work - do I have to stack in spread out piles, or can I run a couple/three/four rows tight together. My wife and I live on a 3/4 acre lot and I like to not fill it with wood piles everywhere.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Kevin

 

[wood-fan-atic]

WELCOME to Hearth.com! Wow. Nice score. Is that price for anyone, or is that the 'friend' price? Since its mostly oak, youre going to want to season it for at least 2 years (if possible) b/f using it. Pallets work great, just leave 12"18" between rows so air can get to both sides of the stacks. Cover the top ONLY with whatever you have handy( tarps, tin roofing, FRP,etc...) just to keep the majority of rainwater out(sides open), and leave it alone in the sun and wind. As BackSav says - sun is nice ,but wind is more important. In a few short years ,you'll have some of the best firewood known to man (i LOVE oak, 80% of this years stock). You'll get many ideas from us 'burnin folk' on here, but the main idea is the same - Keep it up off the ground, top covered, in the sun and wind, and you'll be fine. Welcome,and good luck! ;-)

 

[midwestcoast]

It won't take much to prevent rot. Up of the ground, uncovered & a bit of air is all you need. The BEST way would still be single rows as they'll season the best, but the stuff that won't burn for 3 or 4 years I wouldn't be worried about stacking double rows right together. Any more than that & I'd leave a space btwn rows. Even a double-row, walking space, then another double row. This assumes a good open area.
The exception here being the red oak. I'd single-row all that if possible as it takes forever to dry. Wouldn't be surprised if the red oak was better burning in year 3 than year 2.
Holz Hausens are also good for storing a lot of wood in a small space. 4 pallettes piled around 7 feet high gets you somewhere around 2-2.5 cords in a HH. Keep the inside loose & nothing will rot.

 

[Kenster]

I was going to add to be sure and split it before you stack it, then reread the original post and found that it is already split. What a deal!!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum Fechmup.

Here is one example of stacked wood:

This is wood that was cut during the winter of 2009-2010. It was split and stacked in April and left uncovered in the sun and it also gets great wind there. It is now top covered and will sit there for another couple of years (hopefully). Notice that I stacked in rows of 3. For that oak though, I'd stack it in single rows. Remember to cover only the top of the stack and we like to use something solid for the covering rather than tarps. I also would not try to stack it tightly but a bit loosely which will allow for better drying. Also notice that I stacked this wood on some poles that I cut from the woods in the background of the picture. Also notice I had not yet cleaned up from the splitting and stacking. No problem though as this is nowhere near the house or road so can't be viewed by others.

btw, I stacked this wood 4 1/2' high and 10' long (the length of our old galvanized roofing we use for covering). With the stack at 4 1/2' we will end up with 4' stacks as it dries. Also, stacking higher just invites stack tipover. I don't like restacking...

 

[Wood Duck]

I think the key thing is to keep it up off the ground. Pallets are good for this, but use nice, solid pallets if you expect them to last four years or more. I have mine stacked on rock. With three or four years to season, it should be fine as long as it gets some air through it. I wouldn't want to stack it in deep shade, and if I had the choice I wouldn't want it under trees that will drop a lot of leaves on it. After a couple of years the leaves will fill in the voids and hold moisture.