MossRoad
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Holz Hausen-Dry Wood In Three Months?
- Thread starter ctpres
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arrow
Super Member
Burning wood for 42 years (I thought it was 35 but time slips and so do I) I've discovered a couple of things. 1. As Pilgrim pointed out, wood does not dry well in 4x4x8 stacks. 2. Even though I use 2 year old wood, Oak needs a good 3 years to dry out with no other drying aid tricks .3. Fastest way I've ever found to dry wood (and it does not seem to matter if its one row or two row stacking) is to cover almost the whole stack with clear plastic. Acts like a mini green house. Bakes out moisture real well and even oak gets cooked pretty well..
We stack uncovered rows two deep, six foot high and up to 24 foot long. Air on both sides helps dry and doesn't strand the center row, but requires more rows. We aim for 24" split length, not 16" and use simple steel supports I weld, that attach to landscape timbers. Keeps stacks organized and safe. The only thing we cover is the wood we are going to burn the next few days, and only if the weather is going to be nasty.
Our wood dries fast, but it's almost surely more about our climate than our method. We're in the more southern Chesapeake Bay where is gets quite a bit warmer for a longer time (I come from upstate NY). I can burn same-year Oak, though it's best after twelve months. Beech takes longer, but pretty much all other species are good after a summer.
We have all of our winter wood already done; now we're building up the next year's supply. It will be nice to get ahead of the curve. We've only had the boiler two years, and last winter was nasty enough to take every stick we had, plus some standing dead I had to cut in Jan/Feb. This time we're racing to get as much down as fast as we can, so we can get ahead for sure. We thought about one of these circular stacks but just kept doing what we've done. We decided to experiment with it in the spring, when we cut more wood and restack the leftovers from this winter.
Our wood dries fast, but it's almost surely more about our climate than our method. We're in the more southern Chesapeake Bay where is gets quite a bit warmer for a longer time (I come from upstate NY). I can burn same-year Oak, though it's best after twelve months. Beech takes longer, but pretty much all other species are good after a summer.
We have all of our winter wood already done; now we're building up the next year's supply. It will be nice to get ahead of the curve. We've only had the boiler two years, and last winter was nasty enough to take every stick we had, plus some standing dead I had to cut in Jan/Feb. This time we're racing to get as much down as fast as we can, so we can get ahead for sure. We thought about one of these circular stacks but just kept doing what we've done. We decided to experiment with it in the spring, when we cut more wood and restack the leftovers from this winter.
arrow
Super Member
I think XMS that a large disservice to boiler owners has been done when manufacturers came out with "no need to split wood" and "can even burn green wood as large as you can lift into the appliance".
It's just common sense that why waste wood heat energy burning off locked moisture instead of simply producing the most heat available a stick of wood can have? People new to wood burning may not be aware of the physics and simply read the brochure. There should be more honest information about these things so the average home owner knows what they are truly getting involved with. It is no wonder some call them "smoke dragons".
Dead Horse
Platinum Member
arrow.......... I suspect the scientific math comes out equal on both sides. IE energy in = energy out. It takes less energy to get and feed rounds into the wood boiler than it does to get, split and feed splits into the boiler...... and you get less net energy out with big rounds.
So the questions might be phrased as how do you want to spend your energy? More rounds or more splits.......
Make sense?
I also had the same issue with snow inundating my outdoor, carefully stacked, round oval house of fire wood last year. I have heated with fire wood since 2007. For my money, split wood stacked in rows in my wood shed gives me the greatest all around satisfaction. And I put up and use 15 - 20 cord a year. It does take more energy to stack the wood in the shed, but I like the results much better....... I set the end of the splitter in the lip of the shed so I am not really handling the wood any more, no matter how I stack it.
So the questions might be phrased as how do you want to spend your energy? More rounds or more splits.......
Make sense?
I also had the same issue with snow inundating my outdoor, carefully stacked, round oval house of fire wood last year. I have heated with fire wood since 2007. For my money, split wood stacked in rows in my wood shed gives me the greatest all around satisfaction. And I put up and use 15 - 20 cord a year. It does take more energy to stack the wood in the shed, but I like the results much better....... I set the end of the splitter in the lip of the shed so I am not really handling the wood any more, no matter how I stack it.
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I never saw those claims form our boiler manufacturer (Central Boiler). They were pretty clear: you need dry wood, and it should be under 8" in thickness. Our system is one of the EPA registered gassification units (E3200). Works great, but does not like green wood.
This summer was cooler than normal, but generally we have hot and humid summers. We're basically a swamp located above sea level. It's not uncommon for 95+ degree days for weeks at a time, and we've even had 100+ degree days for more than 20 days in a row. That tends to dry anything, real fast. I've even had to wet the stacks to keep them from getting case-hard.
The stuff we're splitting now will work next year. In a pinch, a few months is 'good enough'. And during moderate temps - just cold enough for heat, but not a lot of heat - we burn the "ugly wood" scraps that are still wet, along with some dry stuff. It puts out fewer BTUs, but that's fine when the heat demand is low. When it's cold outside, I don't want to load 100+ pieces of 8 inch scrap. So doing it now it a good thing.
dave1949
Super Star Member
Not really. You are mixing the person energy with the wood energy and ignoring some downsides to burning unseasoned wood (of any size).
Less useful heat energy from wet wood means:
burning more wood=owning more land plus reduced timber income or higher purchased wood costs.
more pollution=more controls and regulations.
lower boiler efficiency=you need a bigger boiler to get the required heat.
Dead Horse
Platinum Member
yeah, opinions are like noses.............. 
tcreeley
Elite Member
Around here, people like wood boilers because they don't worry about the creosote build up with the very short stack chimney. So if they burn green, or pine, or poplar it does not concern them the way it would in the house with the standard length chimneys. That is why they say you can burn what you want. Of course dry wood gives more heat, but green wood still can be burnt.
I always prefer round wood to split wood. After two years it is just as dry as split, and lasts longer in the stove - good for overnight burns. Split wood, unless packed in the stove gives more passageways for the flame to travel and burn. Three rounds concentrates the flame - gives heat without having to damp it down excessively to prevent a roaring fire.
I always prefer round wood to split wood. After two years it is just as dry as split, and lasts longer in the stove - good for overnight burns. Split wood, unless packed in the stove gives more passageways for the flame to travel and burn. Three rounds concentrates the flame - gives heat without having to damp it down excessively to prevent a roaring fire.
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Dead Horse
Platinum Member
The Central boiler has an electrically controlled damper........ I would be concerned about an outdoor stove that did not........... Are there such things?