Nothing against you guys with perfect stacks (Dennis, Dave, I'm looking at you), but us guys with ugly stacks need a place we can all feel safe I'll start. Mostly hedge, some BL, a little hickory....a tiny bit of white oak. 5 rows, 2 wide, about 5' high, about 30' long. This is my '15/'16 and hopefully '16/'17 wood. This wood will average 3 years old by the time I get through it all. Most was standing dead so it should be pretty dry when it goes in the stove. Next we have a stack of 100% black and white oak c/s/s in Nov '11. I'll burn this first. Not sure how much is here...half the stack is two rows deep...maybe 40' long. There's a tiny bit of apple in there for cooking/smoking. This is 75% black oak, 25% white oak. I'll get into these stacks this year...hopefully not ALL the way into them. 3 rows, 2 deep, 4-5' high, 24' long. This was c/s/s in the fall of '12. Not ideal, but it's what I gots. None of my stacks are works of art, precision craftsmanship, or eye candy....but they don't fall down unless I hit them with the mower, and they keep the house warm. I love to look at other people's good looking stacks, but I don't have the patience to cut everything to length, crib the ends, and all that.
I hear you my stacks look bad but I think that is the worst job. I quit trying to get the wife to do it
I don't top cover. I can fit a couple weeks worth in the basement...and will load the trailer up and park it in the shop when the stack is halfway dry...which gets me another week's worth. My cart next to the stove holds a couple day's worth and whatever surface moisture is on the wood will be gone by the time it hits the stove. I'm going to build a woodshed...someday...but can't decide where to put it.
Yeah, the other one would be as well, but it's Hedge, BL and Hickory; That makes it a thing of beauty.
What do you mean about no ugly stacks? Here is one of mine. Both pictures same pile though; just a different angle. This was from the experiment we did leaving wood uncovered. No, we will not be doing this again. Top covering is the way to go if you want the best wood to burn. Those piles were bad so we brought in something to prop it up with. I think this load did the trick nicely.
Luke, those stacks are so ugly, I'll come over and remove them from your property immediately.... In all seriousness, anytime I see wood that dark that's a good sign of well seasoned wood. The fresh stuff all looks purtty.
Not really a "stack" yet; 20 y.o. Walnut, some Dogwood and Mulberry. Hope it don't fall over before I move it to MIL's this weekend... Some BL, Dogwood and some light-colored Hickory rounds. Ugliness enhances by the junk strewn about.
Yep. We were just discussing it...probably closer to 25. Found an old top in the woods, propped up off the ground by its branches. Sapwood gone, heart in perfect shape. Walnut is very rot-resistant. Actually, so is Black Cherry. Found one lying behind SIL's house, same deal, sapwood gone, heart in great shape. You can't see the Walnut in the first pic, but one round. It was under the mat. I just went out and popped one open, here's a pic. I don't have a lot, but it's cool to have it. Smells like old furniture. I kinda don't want to burn it...
This is the latest and greatest new technique for stacking firewood. I call it the pile/stack hybrid. A lot of laziness went into this and I'm not done yet!
Oooohhh, now THIS is my kind of thread. I'm an accomplished ugly stacker. Some young friends "helped" us stack the section on the left that recently partially succumbed to Sir Isaac Newton: