do you cover you wood???

[gunnar]

Hello!

I getting a cb 6048 delivered this week and it will be installed two weeks from now. I'm kinda of behind on getting enough wood ready since I just made the final decision to buy on last month. On average how much wood are you guys burning? I know there are a lot of factors that come into play, but just an idea from you guys who own the 6048. Also do you need to cover the wood or doesn't it matter for the owb?

thanks much!

 

[biggenius29]

I talked to a guy this weekend with the smaller Classic and he had his for 5years and burns 4 1/2 cords a year. Next winter I am planning on getting a 6048 (if the house we live in now sells and we move) so I am curious what other people burn through too so I know how much wood to put up for next season.

For covering, I believe you want the wood to breath so it dryes out, the most I would do to cover it would be to put some barn steel over the top of the pile in the winter to keep the snow off.

 

[blackdogon57]

It really depends how heavy the demand is on the system. My 6048 burns almost nothing this tme of year to heat water but in the peak of heating season it is very hungry. How much space are you heating and how well insulated is the building(s) ? I assume you are heating a good sized building with the size of the 6048. I keep my wood in bins and move them with tractor to the OWB. I try and cover what I can to keep the snow off.

You can always burn green wood if you need to or mix dry and green. Green wood will smoke a lot more and not burn as efficiently as dry.

 

[Chuck Diesel]

With my WM 4400 last year i burned 8 - 9 cord. That was from Nov. to Apr.
As far as wanting to cover the wood pile it's a personal choice, I do not.

 

[Zodiac45]

I cover my wood for the following year in winter with old lumber tarps and uncovered the rest of the time.

 

[danrclem]

I leave my wood uncovered until I think that it's fairly dry and then I put it in the barn. I don't have enough room in the barn right now for all of my wood so I guess I'll leave it outside until room is available.

 

[Marc]

I cover enough to burn for most of the winter if I have enough tarp (leave the sides open).

As for -

" or doesn't it matter for the owb?"

You should be striving to burn the same quality wood you'd put in a woodstove, imho. Burning wet wood is inefficient and part of what gives owbs their bad repuation for being smoke nuisances and eventually leads to ordiances against their use. Be a responsible burner. Use only good quality seasoned wood as you'd use for any other wood burning appliance.

 

[CharlieG]

Ugly blue tarp draped on top only.............

 

[wdchuck]

Off the ground with skids/pallets, and covered on top during the wet/snow periods.

If you can block ground moisture, all the better, for a multi-year storage setup.

 

[gunnar]

thanks guys!

I'll be heating approx. 3000 square feet and the house is a brick ranch and is approx. 30 years old. I just bought it last winter and was going through a lot of oil; the house has 3 tanks. lol So i've been doing what i can to better insulate it. I'm having insulation blown in the attic soon and I recently put insulation around the foundation/sill in the basement, as there was none.

Since my purchase i've been learning a lot about chainsaws and cutting.......i had a stihl farmboss prior and recently purchased a husky 575xp, although maybe i should of checked here prior to buying, since it seems not many people like that model. It was on sale for $150 off.....from being on this site and reading that they're coming out with a new model I guess that is the reason for the sale...

thanks again....i'm new to the owb so any info or tips are greatly appreciated. I also forgot to post that I have baseboard heat and will be heating my water with the 6048 as well.

 

[Booshcat]

Definitely cover your wood, especially if you are going to be putting it anywhere that it's never been before.

 

[woodbooga]

This was the first year I did in a long while. I had a few cords of mostly oak I covered in advance of a few days of predicted rain. Well those few days turned into basically the whole month of August.

Stayed uncovered for September and moved indoors to barn just before getting 6" of rain this weekend.

 

[Mike Van]

" or doesn't it matter for the owb?"

You should be striving to burn the same quality wood you'd put in a woodstove, imho. Burning wet wood is inefficient and part of what gives owbs their bad repuation for being smoke nuisances and eventually leads to ordiances against their use. Be a responsible burner. Use only good quality seasoned wood as you'd use for any other wood burning appliance.

:agree2: :agree2: Good point Marc

 

[MJR]

I always cover my wood, you never know where - never mind... Someone had to say it.

 

[RON58]

Saw that coming a mile away. Yep,someone had to say it. hehehehe

 

[Joshlaugh]

I cover this year's wood when snow starts to fall. Next year's wood stays uncovered. Everything is up on pallets.

 

[PA Plumber]

This year's supply in up under the back porch roof. September is "porch" month.

Next year's is all wide open. Ditto for all the years after that.

 

[Thomas Venditto]

There are several other threads "covering" this subject. The last one I read, MOST of the guys were AGAINST covering wood. While I have the utmost respect for my fellow woodsmen, I have to weigh in as FOR covering wood. I do what most in this thread have suggested.
Stack on pallets, in a sunny spot and cover the top only. I even spray some poison under the stack to help keep the termites at bay. Hard woods like oak/hickory/locust/cherry I season two years. Softer stuff like ash/maple/apple get one year.

I just don't see how leaving your wood out in the rain and snow is going to "dry it out". I'll never forget the time I pulled into my buddy's driveway and noted a heap of wood on the ground. It was raining heavily. I said; "What's up with the wood?". He replied; "I'm dr . . . 'er a . . . seasoning it". "Really?", says I.

I think this picture says it all. The stack in the back is a bunch of read oak I just processed. The wood in the forground is some ash rounds I'm mid-way thru processing. Which looks like it's drying out?

(the hooks are for my son's bow. the target shed is off to the left)
TomJV

 

[ppkgmsy]

For years I covered my wood with tarps, which worked good enough. But good enough isn't the way I prefer to live and work. I finally found the time and money to build a shed. The wood is truly dry and having the shed is a huge quality of life thing.

 

[Thomas Venditto]

For years I covered my wood with tarps, which worked good enough. But good enough isn't the way I prefer to live and work. I finally found the time and money to build a shed. The wood is truly dry and having the shed is a huge quality of life thing.

It's COOOOLD in VT.
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