# Drying firewood in a pile?



## triathlete123 (Dec 29, 2015)

Is it effective to dry firewood in a pile?


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## Red Elm (Dec 29, 2015)

triathlete123 said:


> Is it effective to dry firewood in a pile?



Not really, little or no air movement through it.


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## MNGuns (Dec 29, 2015)




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## olympyk_999 (Dec 29, 2015)

if you got a loader to turn the piles often then yes...if not then no


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## cantoo (Dec 29, 2015)

Depends on where it is, how high the piles are, type and size of splits, type of burning appliance, location and length of time. I dry mine in piles off the conveyor but I also use an OWB so not real worried about it. Works for me but might not for the next guy.
What part of the small place called Canada are you from? Piles in a bush will rot before they dry.


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## triathlete123 (Dec 30, 2015)

cantoo said:


> Depends on where it is, how high the piles are, type and size of splits, type of burning appliance, location and length of time. I dry mine in piles off the conveyor but I also use an OWB so not real worried about it. Works for me but might not for the next guy.
> What part of the small place called Canada are you from? Piles in a bush will rot before they dry.




I'm in Northern Ontario. The ground is frozen and there is close to a foot of snow on it, so it's too late to start to build a wood shed. I thought I might get a head start on a pile of logs for burning next winter. Buck and split them now, for I won't have time to do it in the spring or summer when I'm building my house. I thought that if I just threw them in a pile, as I see some people do, that they will dry out to some extent.


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## olyman (Dec 30, 2015)

triathlete123 said:


> I'm in Northern Ontario. The ground is frozen and there is close to a foot of snow on it, so it's too late to start to build a wood shed. I thought I might get a head start on a pile of logs for burning next winter. Buck and split them now, for I won't have time to do it in the spring or summer when I'm building my house. I thought that if I just threw them in a pile, as I see some people do, that they will dry out to some extent.


 nope..only the splits on the outside of the pile...


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## flotek (Dec 30, 2015)

Only if you like burning wet rotting wood covered in fungus . That's what the bottom of a big pile will give you . Wood is like a sponge


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## ChoppyChoppy (Dec 30, 2015)

Yup, been there, done that, got the tee shirt and wore it out.


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## Deleted member 117362 (Dec 30, 2015)

triathlete123 said:


> I'm in Northern Ontario. The ground is frozen and there is close to a foot of snow on it, so it's too late to start to build a wood shed. I thought I might get a head start on a pile of logs for burning next winter. Buck and split them now, for I won't have time to do it in the spring or summer when I'm building my house. I thought that if I just threw them in a pile, as I see some people do, that they will dry out to some extent.


Can you stack it on pallets? Or pile it in 4 pallet squares? Neighbor does that and seems to work.


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## Marshy (Dec 30, 2015)

Getting it off the ground it key. The pieces on the ground get funky and the pieces in the center of the pile won't dry as well but for the most part they will dry some. If your only option is to put them on the ground then try putting some branch/limb wood down first.


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## olyman (Dec 30, 2015)

Marshy said:


> Getting it off the ground it key. The pieces on the ground get funky and the pieces in the center of the pile won't dry as well but for the most part they will dry some. If your only option is to put them on the ground then try putting some branch/limb wood down first.


 anything below the tops row of splits, will rot if left unbothered....seen it once tooo often. no air movement...and in canadia,,it dont get extreme hot like down here...


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## Marshy (Dec 30, 2015)

olyman said:


> anything below the tops row of splits, will rot if left unbothered....seen it once tooo often. no air movement...and in canadia,,it dont get extreme hot like down here...


That may be true. In NY that is not the case and we can make piles and leave it there in a pile for a year if you like (hardwoods). The bottom pieces might be wet but generally wont be punk.


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## olyman (Dec 30, 2015)

Marshy said:


> That may be true. In NY that is not the case and we can make piles and leave it there in a pile for a year if you like (hardwoods). The bottom pieces might be wet but generally wont be punk.


even with hardwoods,, you wont get away with that here...........I split a bunch of white oak I had,,stacked neatly in rows.. and I still had white mold growing on it... and it was NOT punky to start with.............


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## jrider (Dec 30, 2015)

Works great in my climate. Key is full sun and wind exposure.


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## Marshy (Dec 30, 2015)

But a little bit of white mold isnt punk, I'd bet the wood was still solid.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Dec 30, 2015)

I had a pile like that a few years ago. The top ~2 feet was pretty dry, deeper in sort of dry and toward the botton was a moldly mess. Was during a summer that we had almost no rain and up to 85* temps too (not normal for here)



jrider said:


> Works great in my climate. Key is full sun and wind exposure. View attachment 474585


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## olympyk_999 (Dec 30, 2015)

ValleyFirewood said:


> The top ~2 feet was pretty dry, deeper in sort of dry





olyman said:


> anything below the tops row of splits, will rot if left unbothered



I don't know who to believe...helpppppp!!!!


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## SS396driver (Dec 30, 2015)

I pile up what don't fit into my barn . Guess I'm to lazy to stack three times. Outside barn to basement. Gray wood is oak cut last fall out all winter than all summer Its on pallets though and they don't last more than a year or two


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## cantoo (Dec 30, 2015)

I drop them off the conveyor onto scrap pallets. Birch will go punky but not the maple or ash. Only sits for a couple years though and gets full sun. I have 100's of windmills around me so maybe they dry the splits better? It's not gonna dry in log form so if you have the time I would git r cut and split now. In the right spot it won't rot by burn time next year.


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## reddogrunner (Dec 31, 2015)

I've often thought if I had a BIG operation I would get a nice limestone bottom laid down and then build highwall tunnels with a black plastic roof and open sides. I would windrow the wood in those. I think that would work pretty darned good. The wood one the bottom may need another run through, but so what.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Dec 31, 2015)

olympyk_999 said:


> I don't know who to believe...helpppppp!!!!


Believe the guys who use the wood to heat their own houses.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Dec 31, 2015)

I say no, it's not possible. The moisture from the ground will always be wicking up unless it's elevated on some sort of pallet or platform. The other problem is that airflow is what drys wood, not time or sun. Airflow. A big pile doesn't allow any airlow. Most guys that burn dry in stacks, long single width rows, and move to a shed if they have one after 1-2 years depending on species.


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## muddstopper (Dec 31, 2015)

Not sure how well the high tunnel would work for piles. I had a friend that thought he could dry his wood in a green house, but that didnt work at all. Did get a lot of mold tho. I have piled some pretty big stacks and left them for a while and the bottom layer will never dry out, but anything off the ground seems to do pretty well. I usually split and pile in spring, and stack under a shed in the fall. I would suspect that if I piled my wood on pallets to get just a little air flow, the piles would dry pretty good, but thats to much work.


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## reddogrunner (Dec 31, 2015)

Problem with a greenhouse is lack of airflow. They are usually buttoned up pretty good. I am thinking of something that would take a lot of heat from above but be open on the sides and ends.


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## zogger (Dec 31, 2015)

reddogrunner said:


> Problem with a greenhouse is lack of airflow. They are usually buttoned up pretty good. I am thinking of something that would take a lot of heat from above but be open on the sides and ends.



You can get good airflow with a 3-4 foot fan on one end set to exhaust and a louvered vent window thingee on the other end. That's how the greenhouse here works in the summer, and the broiler houses are all like that, just tons more fans.


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## ChoppyChoppy (Dec 31, 2015)

BoBDoG2o02 said:


> Believe the guys who use the wood to heat their own houses.



I heat my house and the shop with wood plus sell about 500 cords a year.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Dec 31, 2015)

reddogrunner said:


> Problem with a greenhouse is lack of airflow. They are usually buttoned up pretty good. I am thinking of something that would take a lot of heat from above but be open on the sides and ends.


Look up solar kiln, or solar wood kiln. ...


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Dec 31, 2015)

ValleyFirewood said:


> I heat my house and the shop with wood plus sell about 500 cords a year.



Cool. Burn in a stove? OWB?


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 1, 2016)

Stoves. Blaze King Princess at home, section of oil pipeline at the shop. Around 4ft around by 7ft long.

Belive me if I could figure out an easy way for wood to dry out without much work or cost I'd be doing it.


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## square1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Nothing good can come from having your wood in contact with the ground.


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## reaperman (Jan 1, 2016)

jrider said:


> Works great in my climate. Key is full sun and wind exposure. View attachment 474585



If I had that much wood processed I wouldn't stack it either. I used to stack everything but the older I get I could really care less if some wood is in contact with the ground and rots.


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

Marshy said:


> But a little bit of white mold isnt punk, I'd bet the wood was still solid.


true dat,,and when it was in logs,,no mold.. but then,,is was rainy here all year??? its got mold on it now.........


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

I tell ya, I made a big mistake 2 years ago. I decided to cut my rounds without moving the logs off the pile. It worked well but all the sawdust fell on the logs lower in the pile and I didn't get to cutting the rest of the pile until this past spring/summer. All the saw dust held the moisture and even started decomposing on top of the logs low in the pile. It just made a friggin mess of the lower logs. I'll never do that again, I'll always roll them off for now on...


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## MNGuns (Jan 1, 2016)

I've made that same mistake. I had a few ten cord loads to process. Cut some logs into rounds, tossed some more logs on top, cut them into rounds. Big old pile of rounds and sawdust. Turned into quite a mess by the time I got around to moving the bottom rounds. 

Stacking is perhaps a necessary evil. I hate to do it and despise putting time into the chore, but the end result in the dry wood, less storage space, and aesthetics is a good thing.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 1, 2016)

MNGuns said:


> I've made that same mistake. I had a few ten cord loads to process. Cut some logs into rounds, tossed some more logs on top, cut them into rounds. Big old pile of rounds and sawdust. Turned into quite a mess by the time I got around to moving the bottom rounds.
> 
> Stacking is perhaps a necessary evil. I hate to do it and despise putting time into the chore, but the end result in the dry wood, less storage space, and aesthetics is a good thing.


Amen brother. It sucks but if you want truly dry wood its gotta be off the ground and stacked. The old adage, stacked tight enough for a mouse to go through but not the cat to chase it. AIRFLOW.


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

Letting the saw dust stay covering the logs or rounds is a recipe for disaster ad it collects a lot of moisture. I even had a big collony of carpenter ants start building a home in the chips.


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## bonner1040 (Jan 1, 2016)

Lol we dry hundreds of cords a year in piles as big as a house. Good to know that it doesn't work


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

bonner1040 said:


> Lol we dry hundreds of cords a year in piles as big as a house. Good to know that it doesn't work
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 soooo, do tell some of us,,the moisture content,,of the logs in the bottom of the pile,,if you rip one apart QUICKLY... do tell.......


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

bonner1040 said:


> Lol we dry hundreds of cords a year in piles as big as a house. Good to know that it doesn't work
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I don't think "it won't work" is not a good reply or the general consensus of the discussion. I think the take away is it doesn't work as well. Also, depending on things like your climate and soil type it could result in mold, fungi, soggy wood, or it could be completely acceptable and dry...


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

Marshy said:


> I don't think "it won't work" is a good reply or the general consensus of the discussion. I think the take away is it doesn't work as well. Also, depending on things like your climate and soil type it could result in mold, fungi, soggy wood, or it could be completely acceptable and dry...


 yeah,,sandy soil of the desert,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,MAYBE....


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## bonner1040 (Jan 1, 2016)

Revenue vs expense. Satisfied customers. Workers paid. Year over year gains. Those are the things I would bother measuring. Not moisture content.


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

My soil is loomy and wet. Pieces that lay flat on the soil are not very good... Wet, muddy, slimy, black mold nasty stuff. If I was purchasing wood I would be PO to get wood in that condition.


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## bonner1040 (Jan 1, 2016)

Right you don't sell wood like that. From a commercial standpoint splitting then stacking wood, then Unstacking it to deliver makes no sense. Any 'bad' or wasted wood gets burnt by the splitting crew during the day to stay warm


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

bonner1040 said:


> Right you don't sell wood like that. From a commercial standpoint splitting then stacking wood, then Unstacking it to deliver makes no sense. Any 'bad' or wasted wood gets burnt by the splitting crew during the day to stay warm
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I agree however, all the guys I use to work for season their wood in log length and process it the day/week it's going to be delivered. Yes it takes a lot of inventory and space to save that much wood for that long...


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## ChoppyChoppy (Jan 1, 2016)

bonner1040 said:


> Revenue vs expense. Satisfied customers. Workers paid. Year over year gains. Those are the things I would bother measuring. Not moisture content.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Moisture content is very important if you're selling the wood as being seasoned, though I'm sure you know that.

I'm always open to new ideas. A way to turn over the piles as well as scoop it up without mixing in a bunch of dirt is something I'm trying to figure out... aside from spending 10k+ on a concrete pad I haven't come up with anything.

Last summer I had a pile of poplar sitting in a truck by the highway as an advertisement. The top 2ft or so was popcorn dry this fall, the stuff toward the bottom wasn't too nice.


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

ANOTHER USELESS post..by non other than.............


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

bonner1040 said:


> Right you don't sell wood like that. From a commercial standpoint splitting then stacking wood, then Unstacking it to deliver makes no sense. Any 'bad' or wasted wood gets burnt by the splitting crew during the day to stay warm
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 how good,,does that USELESS wood burn????


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## bonner1040 (Jan 1, 2016)

You guys are right.


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## bonner1040 (Jan 1, 2016)

Although I think you meant to ask 'how well'.


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## mn woodcutter (Jan 1, 2016)

I've successfully dried firewood in a pile that I was too lazy to stack. Granted most of it was ash but it worked well. It made me question all the time I take for stacking.


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

speaking of piles......you sound just like slowp.....care to comment on that??? guess whos older,,child??? taint uuuuuu.. your another keyboard self appointed tuff boy...sarah could kick your a#$


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## hanniedog (Jan 1, 2016)

Oly were you dropped as a child or just born a richard?


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 1, 2016)

@ValleyFirewood take this for what it's worth. For me, I'd only buy your product if the price was right and I could season it myself for another 2 years. I'm not trying to be rude or insulting. I am really interested in the average MC of the wood that goes out on your truck. I'd wager its at 25-30%. 

That being said many people give no ****s about MC and are happy to burn fresh cut wood.


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

The other problem is that airflow is what drys wood, not time or sun. Airflow.


> had to go and find this,,to requote......ALLLL three,,come into play..dont believe??? go cut some frozen tree down,, split it while its freezing,,then store it in a freezer,,and tell me sun or heat,,has no place..........and AIRFLOW alone,,WONT dry a tree in a day............


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 1, 2016)

olyman said:


> The other problem is that airflow is what drys wood, not time or sun. Airflow.



AIRFLOW, aka wind. Wind can't get through a giant heap like that.


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

BoBDoG2o02 said:


> AIRFLOW, aka wind. Wind can't get through a giant heap like that.


 we be in agreement on that.. i was speaking of firewood stacking in general..............ANNNDDDDDD, wind COULD get thru that stack,,if you wanted to stand a jet airplane on end,,on top of the pile,,and fire it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## stihl sawing (Jan 1, 2016)

hanniedog said:


> Oly were you dropped as a child or just born a *richard*?


Well guess I was.


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## stihl sawing (Jan 1, 2016)

Here is one I cut up a few years ago, the trunk is more than three times big as the limb were standing on. Can't find the pic where we are standing by the trunk. It starts right behind that huge knot.


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

stihl sawing said:


> Here is one I cut up a few years ago, the trunk is more than three times big as the limb were standing on. Can't find the pic where we are standing by the trunk. It starts right behind that huge knot.View attachment 475215


That would be a hell of a scrounge!


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## stihl sawing (Jan 1, 2016)

Marshy said:


> That would be a hell of a scrounge!


Tornado blew it over, Can't see most of it. The huge top went through a house.


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## stihl sawing (Jan 1, 2016)

Damn, I also posted this in the wrong thread.


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

Marshy said:


> That would be a hell of a scrounge!


 you saying,,that might take more than a day,,with you and johnny???


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## olyman (Jan 1, 2016)

stihl sawing said:


> Tornado blew it over, Can't see most of it. The huge top went through a house.


 they demolish the house??


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## stihl sawing (Jan 1, 2016)

olyman said:


> they demolish the house??


The tree did, Ain't been back since the tree cutting. It probably got cleaned up. it was near the road.


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## Marshy (Jan 1, 2016)

olyman said:


> you saying,,that might take more than a day,,with you and johnny???


I know splitting it would, probably not blocking it unless you were usin a Stihl.


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## jrider (Jan 1, 2016)

Marshy said:


> I tell ya, I made a big mistake 2 years ago. I decided to cut my rounds without moving the logs off the pile. It worked well but all the sawdust fell on the logs lower in the pile and I didn't get to cutting the rest of the pile until this past spring/summer. All the saw dust held the moisture and even started decomposing on top of the logs low in the pile. It just made a friggin mess of the lower logs. I'll never do that again, I'll always roll them off for now on...


I made a very similar mistake once myself. We have a JD 1070 with forks I use to pick up logs. I got the brainiac idea I would lift the logs over the rounds already on the ground and cut them over the pile to just let the rounds pile up and lay till I got around to splitting. Only a few months but a total soaking mess.


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## jrider (Jan 1, 2016)

BoBDoG2o02 said:


> I say no, it's not possible. The moisture from the ground will always be wicking up unless it's elevated on some sort of pallet or platform. The other problem is that airflow is what drys wood, not time or sun. Airflow. A big pile doesn't allow any airlow. Most guys that burn dry in stacks, long single width rows, and move to a shed if they have one after 1-2 years depending on species.


Please tell how the sun does nothing to dry wood.


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## zogger (Jan 1, 2016)

jrider said:


> Please tell how the sun does nothing to dry wood.



I would imagine there are all sorts of details to this, but just generally speaking, direct sun hitting the wood would raise the temperature, which would increase evaporation.


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## jrider (Jan 1, 2016)

zogger said:


> I would imagine there are all sorts of details to this, but just generally speaking, direct sun hitting the wood would raise the temperature, which would increase evaporation.


Those are my thoughts exactly.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 1, 2016)

jrider said:


> Please tell how the sun does nothing to dry wood.



The sun does help, but without airflow to move the dampness away the wood will sit in a humid cloud of its own sweat.


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## jrider (Jan 1, 2016)

BoBDoG2o02 said:


> The sun does help, but without airflow to move the dampness away the wood will sit in a humid cloud of its own sweat.


Right, airflow AND sun. In your one post you said airflow is what dries wood, not sun or time.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 1, 2016)

jrider said:


> Right, airflow AND sun. In your one post you said airflow is what dries wood, not sun or time.



With only sun it won't do anything, air is the most important


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 1, 2016)

Think of it this way. 

Your in Florida, 98 degrees in the sun, 99% humidity an no wind. You are DYING cus the sweat won't evaporate off your body. 

Other side of the coin, arizona, 98 degrees and 30% humidity with 5Mph wind. Hot but bearable.

The Florida situation is what it's like at the bottom of the heap. Might be warm, but it's probably damp and still. Humid and sweaty.


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## stihl sawing (Jan 1, 2016)

Both of you are right, Stacks need room to air out and release the moisture, The sun greatly helps in that process. Without it the stack stays moist longer cause no radiant energy from the sun and thus molds faster. Covering stacks with tarps is ok if you do not cover the whole stack. Best to only cover the top. Better to build a lean too or any covered building that air can get to but no rain. Wood will keep a very long time if kept dry.


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## jrider (Jan 1, 2016)

BoBDoG2o02 said:


> Think of it this way.
> 
> Your in Florida, 98 degrees in the sun, 99% humidity an no wind. You are DYING cus the sweat won't evaporate off your body.
> 
> ...


You are changing 2 variables in your scenario- both humidity and wind. If the humidity is 99%, wind won't do much because the air is basically saturated. 

How about this, why do moss and lichens grow on the north side of trees? Lack of sun on that side of the tree in the northern hemisphere.


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## Saddle Mander (Jan 6, 2016)

Just because I don't have much room on my property, I had to neatly stack a bunch of oak on two pallets, so I have a 4x4x8 stack. I actually have two of them with a 2-foot gap between them. To make matters worse, they are up against a garden shed and completely in the shade. Once I burn up the wood that is stacked along my fence, I plan on moving the oak there so at least it will be stacked in single rows.

Life in the NJ suburbs...


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## zogger (Jan 6, 2016)

Saddle Mander said:


> Just because I don't have much room on my property, I had to neatly stack a bunch of oak on two pallets, so I have a 4x4x8 stack. I actually have two of them with a 2-foot gap between them. To make matters worse, they are up against a garden shed and completely in the shade. Once I burn up the wood that is stacked along my fence, I plan on moving the oak there so at least it will be stacked in single rows.
> 
> Life in the NJ suburbs...



Well, could be worse man, at least you have a house and yard. I rented a room once, second floor, had a fireplace in it. Zero room to store wood, plus, no ride then and no saw, I scrounged daily by going down alleys and kicking apart pallets and anything wood I could find, busted chairs and tables, you name it.


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## farmer steve (Jan 6, 2016)

BoBDoG2o02 said:


> @ValleyFirewood take this for what it's worth. For me, I'd only buy your product if the price was right and I could season it myself for another 2 years. I'm not trying to be rude or insulting. I am really interested in the average MC of the wood that goes out on your truck. I'd wager its at 25-30%.
> 
> That being said many people give no ****s about MC and are happy to burn fresh cut wood.


hi Bob in langcasster. had a couple stop the other day for wood. i directed them to the nice dry oak. nooo!! they wanted "that"stack" i told them it wasn't ready to burn for about a year. the lady said that's what she wanted 'cause it was stacked so nice.


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## AmateurSawer (Jan 6, 2016)

Years ago, ariend in the logging buisness got us a load of limbs/small wood which they sawed up as it was unloaded in a pile.I got the bright idea to cover it with a tarp so the sawdust in the pile did not get wet and stick to the blocks.Wet ,moldy mess.


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## BoBDoG2o02 (Jan 7, 2016)

farmer steve said:


> hi Bob in langcasster



Its actually more like, Lang-kisst-errrr


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## lefturnfreek (Jan 8, 2016)

Uh oh .... I'm in trouble then...


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## MountainHigh (Jan 8, 2016)

triathlete123 said:


> Is it effective to dry firewood in a pile?


Yes, if the pile is laying on *pallets* and is in dry climate. It will freeze dry in winter and surface bake in summer, and get some air movement all year. The centre wood will still take longer to dry than the outer wood exposed to sun.

No, if it is in wet climate with plenty of rain and not covered, even with the underneath air movement from pallets it's not enough - you need a cover overhead to keep the moisture off.

Exceptions to the need for pallets might be on gravel in a very dry climate, but getting wood off direct contact with the ground and out of the rain is best if you need 15 to 20% max moisture in your wood to run in an EPA stove.


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## muddstopper (Jan 8, 2016)

Everyone seems to have opinions so heres mine. In post #15, Jrider shows his wood piled in windrows, narrow and tall piles. I would think wood piled in the manner would dry about as well and fast as the same wood stacked in neat rows. Yea, the wood touching the ground might be wet, but unless it monsooned for a month, I bet the rest of the wood would dry very well. Also, if after drying, one decided they wanted to stack that wood inside a shed, the bottom wood would probably be the top wood onced stacked, so it would dry pretty quickly. Now I can see where a mountain of wood might not get the airflow to dry in the middle of the pile, but there is no way that wood is piled so tightly that no air flow occurs. Even big piles of wood heat up in the sun and that heat is what pulls air thru the pile. I feel a big pile of wood might take longer to dry than a nice even stack, but thats only because there is more wood there to dry. (in a given area). The long narrow stacks of Jrider's will probably dry just as well, and about as fast, as those neat stacks. 

Personally, I split and then take the tractor and push the splits in a pile until I'm ready to stack in the shed. If I split and then stack right away, My shed ends up with a lot of wood stacked close together. When I start burning and I get to the wood in the middle of the shed, it isnt as dry as I like it to be. I simply refuse to stack and restack wood because i am worried about moisture content. If I split the wood and leave it in a pile all summer,, stack it in the shed late fall , its usually dry enough to burn by winter, and I only stacked it once.


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## mijdirtyjeep (Jan 8, 2016)

Every situation and location could be different. We left a pile like the one above on a cement pad from October though April. When I got to the pile to put it away, it was full of mold, and frogs. I have never seen so many frogs in my life as that pile had in it. That and the inside of the pile was so frozen with ice I had to ram it with the tractor bucket to break it up. This was after all the snow had been melted off the ground for at least 30days. 

This year I am trying it again though, but it is all covered but the bottom 3-4ft. Don't know or care if it will dry much over the winter, as I will tackle that pile come spring.


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## muddstopper (Jan 8, 2016)

I never split enough wood to make a pile that big!! I usually just pull up beside my log pile and keep advancing the splitter as the wood piles up behind it. That wood might lay there for weeks before I get around to pushing into one big pile so I suspect my wood is drying a lot faster because of the little piles. Since I dont sell wood, I dont feel the rush to get the wood dry or in pretty stacks either. Different situation, different methods, and different desires for the results I guess. I also suspect that once I get my processor finished, I might have to rethink my piling and stacking methods, Naw, I plan on processing under my big shed and just leaving it in piles, only difference is the piles wont be getting rained on. wonder how much wood I can pile under that shed???? 30-40 cords maybe, that should do me until I croake.


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## reddogrunner (Jan 8, 2016)

Interestingly enough I do store firewood in the Dino Bags and it is all dumped in with no real rhyme or reason and it dries great. Granted the "pile" is roughly 4' x 4' and about 5' high. I spot checked splits throughout the bag and they were all acceptable moisture content. I believe it's possible to dry it in a pile in the "right" conditions. Mileage will vary of course, assuming all of the variables are considered. My bags are stored on a very solid pallet and stored in a barn with high airflow, but no direct sunlight. The bags are a mesh, which allows them to breath. The splits stay there for about a year and then are delivered and stacked in the client's wood storage areas. No complaints after 2 years of the trial run. I use about 12 bags, for a total of 4 cords. I am going to add to that whenever I finish my roofed storage area. Just adding to the discussion. I liken this to the dog food discussion dog people have - and there is no right answer. WHAT DOG FOOD IS BEST? Well, got a comfy chair and some popcorn and beer???? LOL


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## lefturnfreek (Jan 8, 2016)

The bottom of that box is all pallets and the ground is dry sandy soil so the wood is not in direct contact with the ground. I'm not too bad off. The pile is a bit big and was to be broken up in thirds with vertical pallets to let more air circulate but we had more wood than available space. I only burn split in coolish weather so that pile will be there for quite a few years as I have OWB and burn 4fts for the most part.


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## Mr Black (Feb 5, 2016)

For visual refferences.... Here's Red Elm waxed faces after 1 & 1/2 hours in my living room.... It's only a 1.3" x14" x10" slab.... 6 per log.... How many gallons of water that needs to escape will depend on the pile... Even a small amount of water, however, will rot a pile quickly...


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## jrider (Feb 5, 2016)

Mr Black said:


> For visual refferences.... Here's Red Elm waxed faces after 1 & 1/2 hours in my living room.... It's only a 1.3" x14" x10" slab.... 6 per log.... How many gallons of water that needs to escape will depend on the pile... Even a small amount of water, however, will rot a pile quickly...


Was this slab outside in the cold before you had it in your living room?


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## Mr Black (Feb 5, 2016)

It isn't condensation, if that was your thinking... The one far left is .25" thicker than the other two... I've wicked off the moisture several times now... It was beading water as soon it was milled...


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## Guswhit (Feb 5, 2016)

I've had a lot of black locust do that when I'm cutting in the timber, still seems to dry out in 8-9 months after splitting just fine.


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## mohick (Feb 5, 2016)

Most of the piles I see with those match sticks, would dry in a rain storm, where's the real wood ???


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## lknchoppers (Mar 9, 2016)

From what I have seen if a big operation dumps it in a 20 foot high pile, the splits in the center and at the bottom do not dry well after a year or even 18 month. Mixing the pile around can help but it can also get dirt in your wood if you are not really careful. I think wind rows like jrider makes is the way to go. When you are talking about over 100 cords of wood in reality there is not enough time or manpower to stack it. I live in the South and it gets 100* here for days on end with low humidity too, from July through August. The wood that was in mid pile or lower was 45% and unsalable for that year. I make tons of MC readings and get feedback from many customers, mostly good. My wood is always guaranteed and I will swap out 1 piece or the whole load if the customer is unsatisfied. I prefer to sell sub 20% MC wood and usually can do that all year long. My goal is to have wind rows on pavement or concrete in the future.


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## Mr Black (Mar 9, 2016)

The one Species you CAN NOT leave on the ground.... Beech.... It molds and rots fast


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## sam-tip (Mar 9, 2016)

I was amazed with the drying of my wood pile. Cut and splitt in one day in may 2015. 50 cord. A base of rock and wood chips. The bottom was very seasoned. Expected mold but only on pieces deep in mud. But we have LOTS of wind and sun.

Last year was a wet year. Had it all picked up by November.


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