After the wood is split, handling, drying, storage

[1948berg]

I would like to get ideas of practical ways to handle, dry, store and burn firewood. Pictures would ge great! Even if I have been doing these things for years, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Show your tricks and smart ways!
Big bags are popular in Norway, but I am sure there are better ways.
http://www.espegard.no/pdf/Espegard%20Vedutstyrkatalog%202005.pdf

 

[JimR]

That is a very interesting system you have there. Mine, I just put in a big pile. I start burning from one end and go the the other end. By the time I get there the opposite end of the pile has been replenished and had plenty of time to dry. Hopefully in a year or two I can build a wood shed for my split wood that is wide open. The wood will be stacked back and forth at 90 degrees to reduce the drying time.

 

[jeffinsgf]

You'll find some interesting reading on cutting, drying, and burning wood at this site:

woodheat.org

The conventional wisdom there is that the wood should be stacked -- not piled -- in a single width stack where wind and sun can get to it. It should only be covered at the beginning of fall.

Personally, I use European sized pallets (32 x 48) that I have bolted a framework to. The framework allows me to stack the pallets square up to about 6 feet high. That makes one of my pallets a perfect half a cord. Even though the stack is double width, it seems to dry just fine. I am cutting now for this winter and plan to have about six pallets cut, split and drying by early June. I have a spot inside for the loaded pallets once fall arrives.

 

[hwp]

We use about 10 face cords of firewood a year. We have enough bush (about four acres) that the deadfall provides enough wood to meet our needs. By the end of the summer I like to have about 20 cords of wood stacked. The wood is then well dried before we use it (about two years). One problem we have had in the last two or three years is huge colonies of lady bugs (more accurately asian ladybird beetles - the more yellowish ones that bite!) nested in the stacked wood. I don't know if this is related to the large number of vineyards. Anyway, if you don't get all of the ladybugs off of the wood and some get into the house, then they come out of hibernation and are flying around the house. Not fun. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[dmccarty]

1948berg,

I have what I guestimate to be 8 cords cut up into rounds. I think we used 4-5 cords this year. The rounds are drying pretty well so far, already checking. Once I get 4 or so cords cut up I'll start splitting.

I have been stacking the wood on pallets. I just stack them. The bags are nice but I don't need them. When I move a pallet, I cover it with a tarp and wrap string around the tarp. I have not had a load move yet. One day I might make some pallets with movable sides but right now the pallets I have work. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Once they rot I might make something out of PT wood.

Later,
Dan

 

[turnkey4099]

I have around 30 cord currently in my 'wood yard' about 10 cord is in locust that I cut back in ?96? - that stuff doesn't rot. The rest is Willow with a mix of various hardwoods (very little of that). I am coming down to the end of being able to continuie 'wooding' so am building a reserve supply.

I got tired long years ago of 'chimney stacking' the ends of the ricks to hold them up so used RR tie uprights with 8 to 12 foot (depending on what I had) cross bars at the top. Prop 2x4 or 2x6 scrap against the cross bars then can just stack the wood against them, no fooling around trying to make the ends of the ricks stay up.

I have three "bins" built this way but cuss myself for not building them open-ended. I have to totally empty one before adding more wood or I wind up with the oldest wood buried.

I also built "book ends" (4) to hold one end of my winter stock in my 3 season porch. They are a 4' 1x6 foot, with a 6' 1x4 upright 1' from the end. Diagona brace down to the foot.

Each fall I fill my small woodshed with about 3 cord plus put 3 plus cord in the porch. Usually don't empty the woodshed at the end of the season.

Very convenient and again no need to fool around 'chimney stacking' the ends of the ricks.

I burn around 5-6 cord Willow and almost no oil to heat the house here in SE WA.

I'll try to attach a picture but being computer illiterate....

Harry K

Harry K

 

[scott_vt]

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for that great site! Its in my favorites now /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

scotty

 

[billbill1]

I store and move my wood on these pallets and move with a KK carryall on the 3ph

 

[billbill1]

I split and then stack on the pallets for curing. This way I only stack it once and can move it all the way to my furnace that is in my garage.

 

[billbill1]

An empty one, it works best to slide the carryall into the pallet before hooking to the tractor. AndyM really saved my back with this idea!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif