Firewood: So is everyone set for winter?

[NapalmDeath]

Got my little 2 cords ready to go. One on the front porch, and one in the shed.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

BlueRidge:

Interesting. I frequently hear that wind helps to dry. Obviously wind isn't the only way, and what you're doing is another method...are you able to tell yet if its a worth while trade-off?

I get very little wind where I am, so there's not much to trade off! As for how well it works.... Too soon to say for sure, but I have burned a few chunks in the last day or so, and they were nicely dry. When I say chunks, I mean chunks! My first 10 or so loads of wood were cut just a bit too long for my stove - about 24-26" or so. I can go about 20" max, and 16-18 is ideal. So I bucked the rounds down to 16", then split it. That gave me a lot of chunks that are from 4 or 5 inches up to maybe 10 inches long. I didn't split them down very far, so they are chunks. Obviously, these are going to dry faster than the longer pieces.


If I had a good big sunny area and plenty of time, I would just use the tarp on top, but I have very little sunny area and I'm way behind, so this is an experiment to see if I can paddle my way out of this creek!

 

[curdy]

Cool. Keep us updated with your findings!

 

[JUDGE1162]

I wouldn't surprise me if black works better, but it's not a given by any means. I'd like to do a side by side test on that. It would be interesting to see which works better. (I might do that next summer.) There's someone else on this forum doing just that, and says it works great. Since somebody else has already proven that black works well, I thought I'd try another approach. So far, so good.

For now, I'm operating under the assumption that people who build greenhouses and solar hot water heaters know what they are doing. The light energy passes through the clear plastic and gets trapped inside. Going through the plastic (or glass) lowers the light frequency, and the lower wavelength energy doesn't escape as well.

It's a common misperception that black "attracts" heat. Not true. There's nothing any color can do to "attract" light. The light either falls on it or it doesn't - it's not going to change course to hit something that's darker. What darker colors do is to ABSORB light better than lighter colors. That's why they're dark.

In contrast, the clear doesn't absorb any, so it all goes through to the wood. How much comes back out again is the big question.

I understand your point and if you were growing plants I would agree, but since you are trying to dry wood you want it to get as hot as possible to heat up the wood, the black plastic absorbs the light and turns it into heat (you can not make nor destory energy so the light that hits the plastic does not go through like in the clear stuff but is aborbed by the plastic and turns into heat, very basic test touch your window on a sunny day how hot is it, now touch a black object which is hotter the easiest test is if you have a car with tinted windows the tinted windows will be hotter.


Give it a try next year you will be happy, I use a dark brown tarp works like a dream and keeps my seasoning season goig a few months into the winter and starts a few weeks earlier in the spring.

 

[ciscoguy01]

Solar

I understand your point and if you were growing plants I would agree, but since you are trying to dry wood you want it to get as hot as possible to heat up the wood, the black plastic absorbs the light and turns it into heat (you can not make nor destory energy so the light that hits the plastic does not go through like in the clear stuff but is aborbed by the plastic and turns into heat, very basic test touch your window on a sunny day how hot is it, now touch a black object which is hotter the easiest test is if you have a car with tinted windows the tinted windows will be hotter.


Give it a try next year you will be happy, I use a dark brown tarp works like a dream and keeps my seasoning season goig a few months into the winter and starts a few weeks earlier in the spring.

That's why the outdoor pool heater tubes are black as well as solar panels are a darker color...

 

[hautions11]

Wood

I am not doing too bad, for my normal pace. I have 3 cords split and stacked near the house. 22' X 5' tall by 18" lenghts. Maybe 3+ but pretty good for me. It is 70 degrees today and I have not even fired up the wood furnace yet. Here is the main stack. A lot of oak, ash and Hickory.

I also have 1/2 a cord of a standing dead elm that will be good befor it gets really cold.

A nice site for me is a full wood box near the furnace in the basement. the box is 4 X 8 X 4' tall in the back. It holds a good 1/3-1/2 cord. On the far end I have all the little shorts and oddball pieces to burn up early in the year.

I never really get ahead, but most of this wood is well seasoned and ready to go.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Hautions 11, looks like you're in pretty good shape. Those two-by-fours on the end of your racks are really bowing out! :greenchainsaw:

 

[hautions11]

wood

The 2 X 4's ride in some cheap sheet metal brackets that slide over the bottom 2 x's. not real strong, but they keep the ends from falling

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I use wire to tie the end posts together at the top. Keeps them from bowing out.

Wire's cheap. Especially when you find a 1000 foot roll of 14 gauge copper beside the road!

 

[woodfarmer]

my woodshed

a few cord of two year old beech

 

[logbutcher]

Whoa There: What CordS ?

a few cord of two year old beech

Our truth committee finds that based on the pic, butts cut at +/- 18". there is a bare single cord (4'x4'x8' U.S.) shown. umpkin2:
And, it needs splitting an stacking to be acceptable . Get going WF.
Got snow ?

 

[woodfarmer]

ha ha, your looking at the side of the woodshed which is ten feet wide, 20 feet long. top left of the picture you can see the top of my tractor snow blower, i'm 5'8" and the middle of the pile is over my head, due to the skids breaking at the front of the picture( i had two 2x4 on there face through the skids and the weight snapped them in half) i'd say there is a few cord there. ps no
snow it was sunny and 50 degs. today first day in six it hasn't rained, i feel like i'm living on the west coast

 

[jrclen]

done

5 and a half cords of oak cut split and stacked. 10 30" rounds not split for reserve or when I get bored.

 

[tbaker]

Need more

I would like to have more but I cannot find any good seasoned wood in this area. I am looking and am willing to travel to get some within reason.

 

[sawinredneck]

Keep checking you're PM's!!!
Andy