The more water you keep off your wood, the dryer it will be. If you keep 100% of the rain off, great. If you keep 25% of the rain off, better than nothing.
With my single rows I seem to have quicker drying times then many that post on here so not sure what your point is. I always end up with wood that has sat in my garage for about a year and it burns the same as what I bring in after a string of sunny days. I have been at this a while you know. John on woodheat.org (Canada) says he never needs to cover his. Like I said what works for you in your area.
That is true. If left uncovered, for sure they turn dark and quite fast. On the piles though, they usually turn darker on the side that gets rain hitting.
With all due respect, there are very few times rain will come straight down. But even if rain comes at an angle, if the top is not covered, it gets wet. Wood getting wet on top is much different than rain hitting the sides of the piles. That wood won't soak up a whole lot of moisture from rain hitting the cut ends but it surely can on the top. Somehow I suspect our friend gravity has something to do with it too by taking water down. Going down on the edge is different than going down from the top of the stack. Still, that is not my main point on top covering wood. We've experimented and have found that yes, uncovered wood will dry and burn fine, but covered wood will burn much, much better and you will get more heat from it. Of course we have not tried all types of wood but can say for certain that ash and oak will burn much better if you keep the rain off the top of the stacks. So we are not talking here about moisture content. Sorry old sport, I just couldn't let this one go without comment.
+1 Same for my stacks of birch sometimes, in some locations, keeping wood dry is common sense Maybe if the rain is always 90° sideways , it don't ever hit the tops of the stacks However if the wind is strong, not many ways to top cover & keep the covers in place . I know that scenario , wood port was my solution. Amazing the the wind blown rain & snow don't hit the front row much at all, some invisible pressure bubble occurs when the shed is full to the top & keeps the wind facing side pretty dry. No doubt single rows dry faster, but not all stacks dry faster if out in the open & windy areas.
And my results are different and I have told you that so not sure what your point is, many people report they do not need to top cover besides me, if you stack in cubes or multiple rows you have to top cover period because of the lack of air flow. I have been reading your posts for a long time now and it seems like my wood drys faster then yours so exactly what is your point? Sorry I just had to comment on this.
From another guy who is full of crap I guess, you guys are really really funny. "The theory behind covering the wood is that it will dry faster because rain will not soak the pieces as they dry. My experience is that the wood is dry enough by the time I want to bring it to my wood shed. Of course I may have to delay my wood shed filling if my dry wood gets rained on. I may have to wait for a few days of sun after a rain to continue stocking my shed, but it’s a great excuse to put off a chore! If it makes you feel better to cover your wood, do it. If not, just make sure you pile it in the shed after a few days of sun."
Just so we are on the same page, you guys are talking about during the seasoning period correct, I cover mine after seasoning if used that winter. Wet wood dont burn weather green or wet from snow or rain. Keep poking fun, just trying to tell people what works for me (and many others) but you seem to want to make it something else.
os Just having fun. I agree. We've each done it long enough to know what works best for us. & now & then MN throws something new to deal with to spice things up a little . Keep it fun & interesting . My plan is CSS'd 10 months seasoning in the open, then to the shed for 2 years is working best for my situation. Took a while to get there. Work 90% of the time. Watch the weather & work between hunting trips, sometimes 12 months sometimes 9 , Some is in the shed 3 years before burned. After all , it's just firewood (OMG. Did I say that out loud )
I like the way you put it , but it's true as old spark said, only the top few splits will be protected from the rain, pretty sure there's no denying that . I also think there's no denying wood could be made to faster under a shelter. Those seem to me to be facts that couldn't be argued against. But then I know I'll be proven wrong.
In the process. If you feel that I was making fun of you, sorry, that was not my intention at all. Likewise, I don't see a need to insinuate that someone is lacking common sense if they want to keep the rain off the top of their stacks. I've never said that top covering is necessary and don't remember reading it here, other than for large cubes. I've gotten by fine with no top covering. My wood was in the upper teens MC last year and was probably in the mid teens this year, with no covering. Top covering oak isn't a necessity for single row stacked for 3+ years in my area. But I don't like punky sapwood getting saturated, it turns to mush. Mine is obviously wet for weeks afterward. My solid sapwood doesn't get saturated, and the heartwood seems almost impermeable. I'm going to try top covering, may build a woodport in the future. If a person finds no need or reason to top cover, more power to them.
That is not my comment, it's from John G. on woodheat.org I never insinuated any one is lacking in common sense I just made the statement that drying wood is a lot of common sense which is is. People claim all the time the wood needs top covered like its the holy grail of wood drying. The comment about not caring if the ends gets wet is interesting since wood drys mostly from the ends, the ratio changes when the wood is split but most of the drying is from the ends.
Yea I've heard that too. Again , I think that applies to different wood types differently . http://firewoodhoardersclub.com/forums/threads/2014-to-2015-wood-moisture-test.7355/page-3 The round that's outside only has end grain exposed is not dry near as fast as the the splits. At 6 months it lost 2 lbs, where a split 1/3 the size lost 2 lbs. & a split 1/2 the size lost 4 lbs.
Dang. This is the first time I've heard the theory that wood dries faster when covered. Hum.... Makes me wonder why I always wait until early winter to top cover our wood. In addition, just because of the way we stack has nothing to do with top covering. In other words, I do not top cover because I stack with more than one row of wood at a time (usually). So, whoever made this theory of wood drying faster by top covering missed me...
Now you are on to something. We too top cover our wood before winter. Only difference is you do only that you will be using. We simply top cover the wood in the late fall or early winter and leave it until we're ready for it. Okay, we'll let this rest now.
Did you read the post BWS , he said it is not needed and it was just a theory. That is from John G. at woodheat.org. Not sure what you are saying here.
