Hello in a couple of weeks I’m getting a wood burning insert installed. I’m already looking for firewood, I think this season I’m going to need to buy 2 cords of wood and at the same time start scrounging around for firewood that needs to be split for the following season. I have several questions: The first is what the best wood to buy and how should I store the seasoned split wood that I will using this season? The second question is: The wood that I will be gathering up for the following season how should I store it? Do I need to cover both the seasoned split wood for this season and the unsplit wood I gather up for next season? Also do I have to store the wood in a sunny area or could it be in the shade? Thank you for all your help. I’m a true rookie from North West New Jersey about 35 min form NYC.
Wood storage questions
- Thread starter nickn
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nickn said:
Being so late what type of seasoned wood can you get? You can use tarps to cover just the tops in late fall. Store in a sunny area that gets wind is the best.
Firewood BTU Chart
http://mb-soft.com/juca/print/firewood.html
zap
Keep an eye on Craigslist and maybe you'll find someone looking to get rid of their woodpile? Be quick if/when you see it. For next year, leave it out in the sunniest and windiest spot you have. Time, wind and sun are your friends.
If you're looking for wood that will have a chance to burn good this year stick with white ash and black locust. I suggest this since they both start with low moisture contents. Most wood dealer aren't going to store/stack wood so it's hard to find truly seasoned wood for sale. Once you get your wood delivered stack it in single rows where the wood can get good wind/sun. Cover the tops in the fall before the snow flies.
nickn said:
Sorry to say the time to "already be looking for wood" was actually several months ago . . . however saying this doesn't help answer your question so let me see if I can be a bit more of a help.
Definitely start scrounging or buy more wood this year . . . for next year. Burning seasoned wood is critically important in new stoves . . . without dry wood there is a greater chance of building up excessive amounts of creosote which means you will need to check and clean your chimney more often . . . and without seasoned wood you will find starting the fire more of a challenge . . . not to mention sustaining a good secondary burn can be an excerise in futility.
The best wood to buy is seasoned . . . sure white ash and locust are nice . . . I personally love white ash . . . it splits nicely and has a lower moisture content . . . but there is no substitute for truly seasoned wood . . . and the only way to get truly seasoned wood is time. Ask around and see when the wood dealers processed their wood . . . many, make that most, do not cut, split and stack the wood a year in advance, but some do split their wood in the Spring or Winter.
If you have a choice of wood I would go with ash or locust . . . but again . . . time is the most important aspect. One wood I would stay away from this year is oak . . . unless you plan to buy some to burn next year.
Storage: Right now I would store both the wood you plan to burn this winter and the wood you plan to burn next year in the same way . . . ideally stacked loosely in a single row with as much sun and wind exposure as possible. I wouldn't bother covering the tops of the piles (my own choice) until the snow flies . . . and even then you can leave the cover off the wood you plan to burn next year. What I would do though is split the wood you plan to burn next year sooner rather than later . . . the faster you split the wood, the earlier it will start to dry out. As for shade vs. the sun . . . ideally stacking with exposure to the sun is good, but that said I have some stacks that I season in the shade . . . I am a big believer in the wind . . . and as mentioned earlier . . . time . . . and these stacks do not get burned for a year or two.
nickn said:
Congratulations on becoming a wood burner and welcome to the forum Nick.
If you've done any searching on this forum and by the comments you will be receiving, you will know that the best time to get the wood you will need to burn this winter was last year or the year before. All wood needs time to dry and there are various ways of drying that wood. Also, one of the first lessons you will receive is that no matter where you buy wood, the wood seller will say the wood is ready to burn; it is "seasoned." The second lesson you will learn is that what the wood seller told you is pure baloney (in over 99% of the cases).
All wood is different and in time you will know how to tell one type of wood from the other. Some wood will season fast (soft maple, white ash and a few others) while on the opposite end of the scale might come red oak or something in the red oak family. We give a minimum of 3 years to season red oak but we can cut soft maple or white ash in the fall or winter, get it split and stacked and will burn it the following winter.
In your case, all you can do it to try to get as dry of wood as possible but I would definitely stay away from oak for your first 2 years, simply because it won't burn worth a hoot and you could have some serious creosote problems and last but not least, you will wonder why people say it is so good because you will still be cold in your house.
As rdust stated, you might get some white ash that could get you through your first winter, especially because so many ash trees are dead or dying.
This brings up another point. Some folks seem to think that if a tree is dead, the wood will be dry. That is not necessarily so! Most of the top of the tree might be okay but the bottom half will usually still be full of sap.
Here is how we approach our wood:
1. We do all the cutting in the winter months; December through February. In March and/or April we do all the splitting. Immediately after the splitting has finished, the wood gets stacked. Before stacking the wood though, we'll cut some small saplings from the woods and lay these down to stack the wood on. You could also use 4 x 4's, landscape timbers, or pallets. The main point is to stack the wood so it does not touch the ground. You want some air circulation under your stacked wood.
2. Stack the wood where wind and sun will do its thing. If a choice is necessary, choose the wind over the sun as the wind will do most of the drying. Stack the wood so that the wind hits the sides of the piles and not the ends as it will do a better job of drying.
3. Don't stack the wood too high. Many do and then have problems with the piles falling over, especially after frost heave or high winds.
We stack our wood 4' high (actually we start at 4 1/2' but by fall the stacks will be down to 4' because of the drying and shrinking of the wood).
Notice the poles under the wood stacks. Also notice we have stacked 3 rows of wood before leaving a space. If we needed that wood the following winter then we would stack only one row then a space and another row and another space, etc. This wood that is pictured was cut a couple years ago and is still sitting there with the top of the wood covered. NOTE: only the top is covered and not the sides of the piles.
A few folks won't even cover the top of the wood pile (we have some that way right now). Some cover the wood as soon as it has been stacked but we never do. Leaving the wood uncovered the first summer and fall allows for a bit better evaporation but we do like to cover it before it gets covered with snow. We never cover the sides of the stack as that would not allow for any drying; it would actually hold the moisture in.
I also recommend everyone should have a 2-3 year wood supply on hand at all times.
Good luck to you on your first year's burning.
One other recommendation I will make to you is to check your chimney every other month as a minimum. Do this for the first 2 years burning. Hopefully after that you will not have to check so often as your fuel supply will be much better. How much better? We've burned our present stove now for 3 full winters and have cleaned only once. We got around a cup of soot is all. That is because of good fuel and an excellent stove along with good burning practices which was learned over a period of a few years.
I also live in northern nj. The prevailing winds are from the southwest in summer. If you can stack with the ends facing southwest and in the sun, that may help things along quicker. Only cover the top. Congratulations and welcome to wood heating!
nickn said:
You picked the right site for your question.
The answers you got are awesome.
I learned what I know & thought I knew (but didn't) here & have improved my wood storage, seasoning & general knowledge.
I took what I learned here & applied it best I could to my conditions & had fun doing it.
Lots of work but "fun work" & rewarding.
Dry wood is sooooooooo important, it can't be stress enough.
Good luck.
tutu_sue said:
Correction here Sue. You want the wind to hit the SIDE of your wood pile and not the ends.
Yup. Wind hits the sides of the piles, which is the end of the logs. Just have to be careful with the working because some have taken it wrongly when someone stated to have the wind hit the ends. They then think the end of the pile rather than the side of the pile. Sorry about that Sue, just wanted to make it all clear.
You guys would be proud of the rookie. I just got back from picking up some well seasoned firewood from some lady on the other side of my town. It has been season for about 18yrs. It has been kept in a concrete hut, almost looks like a concrete wood shed. I filled most of my trunk up and it cost me $10 I’m working on getting my brothers truck for tomorrow and going to pick up whatever is left, there is still about a half a cord. The wood is in good shape and is split and cut into about 14 – 18 inch pieces
Talk about beginner's luck! That's going to make for a perfect start for your rookie season. That's really exceptional as most of us only had so-so wood the first stove. Keep on it, you have to get enough for this season and the next.
Just another pitch for having 2 years of wood split, stacked and ready.
I learned the hard way - thinking if I ordered in July I was ahead of the game. In fact, the people I ordered from were surprised that I was ordering so 'soon'. For them the wood selling season isn't until the fall! (I now order in March and they have gotten over thinking I am crazy.)
I know differently now that I discovered this forum. My yard is small and space to stack is limited but I have finally gotten to where I have 2 years worth of wood on hand. What a huge difference. One benefit is that I actually use less wood.
Anyway, others have filled you in with great advice and sounds like you are ready to go with the wood you scrounged. You will be glad you found that wood in a few months. ;-)
I learned the hard way - thinking if I ordered in July I was ahead of the game. In fact, the people I ordered from were surprised that I was ordering so 'soon'. For them the wood selling season isn't until the fall! (I now order in March and they have gotten over thinking I am crazy.)
I know differently now that I discovered this forum. My yard is small and space to stack is limited but I have finally gotten to where I have 2 years worth of wood on hand. What a huge difference. One benefit is that I actually use less wood.
Anyway, others have filled you in with great advice and sounds like you are ready to go with the wood you scrounged. You will be glad you found that wood in a few months. ;-)
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