EODMSgt about same price for totes here. Why I don’t have them. I have plenty of room. I just hate Un stacking in processing area to re stack on wood deck. Seems like extra handling that could be eliminated.
If I had an indoor site to store the totes once they were full, then they might hold more appeal for me. This is the cheapest I have seen in a while (if you buy five, they're $60 apiece). Still too far away and too expensive for me. IBC Totes - general for sale - by owner (craigslist.org)
EODMSgt why inside? My lot is narrow and deep, my processing area is about 350 feet from house and at least 1.5 acres, my new method is logs in middle, pallets between saplings on outer edge, while leaving trails open for kids. once stacked my wood is stays there until fall of year burnt.
Good question. For the IBC totes to be worth spending $$ on for me, I would want to have a place to store them under cover (i.e., a pole barn). Then I would split, load the totes, and move them under cover (and be done with them until it was time to burn). Otherwise, I don't see a use for them with my setup. I process out back and stack in 1 to 1.25 cord rows near the perimeter of the property. I restock my firewood shed (holds ~7 cords) every fall just before the snow flies and then start the process all over again. For my setup, I just don't see a benefit to the totes, and I only built the pallet bins to hold uglies (although I am now also using them to keep my hemlock separate). If I had a large pole barn, I could see using the totes instead of stacking outdoors (especially if I could stack the totes such as in the pic below). I don't store any firewood in the house and I have a raised deck, so there is no place to store a tote out of the weather near the house to make it worthwhile. My firewood shed is not far from the house, and during burning season I bring in a small amount every time I take the dog out. Just my $.02 that the totes are clean and sexy, but do not fit into how I process and store firewood. I guess if I scored a large number of free totes I could load those, store them along the perimeter (instead of stacks) and then bring them to the firewood shed when it was time to restock (as opposed to bringing wood from the stacks to the shed in a wheelbarrow or ATV trailer). However, I don't see that windfall of totes coming my way anytime soon and I'm content with how I process/stack/and store for now.
Loose filled will dry fastest. I may have a handful of oak or honey locust logs or thicker cut non-oak logs that are not fully seasoned after a year, but I stack the wood in there so tight that it doesnt get the best air circulation. My space is narrow so I have to go vertical, 3 high. My 85 Case 1845 (non-D model) skid steer could put a green stacked face cord in a tote on top of two totes but that was pushing it. A New Holland LS160 could only do it by a hair. No counterweights in both machines. L
This may be true when stacked in rows separated with spacing between, but not in the totes. Mind you, the way I stack 16 inch logs in the totes, there are two rows with a perpendicular row in the middle, blocking what little air can get through the tightly. Ive had wood on the ground loose that is waiting to stack into totes and it dries quicker. I started loose-storing softwood for outdoor burning this year, hopefully ready for this fall. Since April, I've been topping of my half-filled stacked hardwood totes with smaller splits, ash and standing dead wood to season quickly to increase my yield for fall sales.
My skid steer is down and I stack totes 3 high by tossing wood in. I wish I had four 20 ft shipping containers, two on each side of my narrow yard, cut out the side wall on all four, add some venting on the other 3 walls and put cord partitions in them to stack wood. Even with a skid steer, totes have to be unloaded by hand at delivery address. Containers mean quick filling and loading into the truck manually. Then down the road, I would put a quonset roof over all for containers to keep out of the sun, rain and snow. Had I known (and should have known) the price inxrease, I wouldve sold my tall 40 footer earlier and bought four 20 foot 8'6"ers
I've been on a number of fishing missions in my friend's dad's 4WD Tercel. Had to dig it out of the snow on the lake once as it was left overnight and didnt get to fish for whitefish that day
With all due respect I will disagree on this point. I can not see where it would be different in a tote vs stacking in rows. Here is a sampling of how we stack and have stacked for years. Contrary to what many seem to think, we have found the wood in the center rows dry just as well as if it were stacked in single rows. Most times I stick with 3 rows together but have had as many as 21 rows stacked together. I am a firm believer in making certain people burn dry wood and would never promote something that would cause otherwise. The only time this will not work is if woos is stacked where the ground is wet. I also have no problem with folks stacking in single or double rows because it works. In addition, I do have some totes and yes, I still stack in rows and yes, the wood dries very well but I also stack where there is good air movement and the air movement is the key to drying wood. However, I have no problem with how you stack your wood. Continue with what you feel is best for your conditions.
