I bought 6 ibc totes last fall to make processing easier. We all know the fewer times you touch the wood the easier it is. So the splitter and tote go next to a pile of rounds, rounds go onto splitter, splits get thrown in tote and tote gets covered and set aside with the tractor. Pretty easy, can't complain! I could probably stack them in there nicely to pack more in, but then easy flies right out the window. The totes live/season at my property less than a mile from my house. I just brought the first tote over for the year with my tractor. I wasn't so sure the tractor would be stable enough with the light ballast (my box blade) but it felt good so I drove it over. I knew when I got the totes I would have to figure out a roof system for it. Tarps are fine when they are sitting full, but as you start removing wood it is less effective. Here is my solution. I had some steel roofing laying around and a 1x10 pine board from my buddies sawmill and whipped this up. I like it!!! Free, lightweight, will allow me to stack wood higher in the middle for more capacity, etc. Once the wood goes down in this new tote I will cut a door in the from of the tote for easier access. I will plan on making the door hinge at the bottom so I can replace it to fill it full with wood again once it is empty. Decided to add the tarp around the sides to keep the wood drier. Any comments, advice, tips about using totes out there. So far I feel this is a good start and it feels good to get the system dialed in a bit more. Stay Toasty!!!
The only comment I have is to not cover much of the sides else you will slow down the drying. We have nothing on the sides and all is well.
Thanks for that tip! Yes, I agree I just throw a tarp over the top during the seasoning phase. And that is how I am likely to keep it. I burn less than a a cord a year. So I will probably only have 1 or 2 totes at the house at a time. Because of that I will only need 2 of these roof structures. I love the idea of using the plastic bladder as a cover for the totes. The only problem is I bought the totes without the bladders and I do not consider the bladder roof to be very esthetically pleasing (very functional, just not pretty to look at). I live in a little neighborhood and am now surrounded by houses, used to not be that way but what they call "progress" started to happen and now I have 5 new neighbors. At least my house is worth more!
I agree with Backwoods Savage about not covering the sides. I never have and the wood is bone dry in mere months. I move my totes and even deliver wood in them. I always cut most of one side out and never lost a split so I'm not sure trying to hinge a "door" in the tote is necessary but I'd be interested in seeing the finished product. Good job on your success so far!
