With so much rain this year, and my living at least half of it in perpetual twilight due to the shadow of the mountain, I've found my wood starting the rotting process. So I decided to completely cover 4 cord which I had been only top covering. Well, not covering completely, but enough to cover the splits down to the pallets. I do regret not putting down some kind of moisture barrier, but I won't make that mistake on any new stacks. With the plastic extending to within a few inches of the ground, I knew it would probably pull ground moisture back up into the piles so I cut some 2" grain pipe into 2' sections and those sections were cut at a 45 degree angle for insertion into the piles, kind of like a doctors needle. I also laid a 10' section of perforated 4" pvc pipe across one end of the piles. That's the kind that has 3 rows of holes on one side which I made sure was to the inside of the stacks. My reasoning for this was to still keep air flow in the stacks while keeping the rain out. To further keep out the rain, I put a tarp over the plastic and have the tarp extending over the tops of the pipes coming from the piles shielding them from the constant rains we've been having. I also strung a rope, a couple of feet up, around the piles to keep the plastic from flipping up during the winds that seems to be a constant. Like 5 to 55mph or more. The final was to dig a trench for drainage around the piles so that most of the water would drain away from the piles rather than saturate the ground and end up under them. To illustrate what I did: When the spring rains quit, I think I'll remove the tarp which might make this into a 4 cord kiln! Maybe. At least I'm hoping. I've had this done for a couple of months already and so far it seems to be working. The mushrooms have dried up and the wood has returned to a somewhat acceptable level of moisture of 17% average at least in the splits I've been able to check. I don't know if this will work, but I felt it was worth a try.
Imo, I would leave 6-8 inches uncovered. I tried this method once and it ended up trapping the water in, even worse than when I started....
Are your stacks in the direct sun or back under the trees or behind a garage? Either way I think elevating the stacks to get airflow under them would be the best
Agreed, need to get some air in there. Also, depending on how much snow/ice you get, the tarps may freeze to the ground making it hard to get in there. I have the same dark and moisture issue. I put a 8 inch cinder block under the pallets, and did not cover anything but the top before the weather took a turn. I also tried to keep a good 6-12 inches between the rows to allow for air movement. Nothing is simple right.
I covered the top & sides on mine once, birch , it got punky real fast, Wood is naturally wet, gotta let it breath to dry the outside surface Covered, the surface stays damp & dark which is prefect conditions for mold Then the mold absorbs more moisture & accelerates the process. Not sure about your area but might try just top covering, it really slowed down my birch from rotting.
You certainly can do what you wish and good luck. However, if the wood is wet, covering it will not dry it out. I have some wood we cut last winter that I have not been able yet to get it stacked. Lots of growth on it now. Worry? Not at all. Once we get it stacked, it will be just fine but I won't in any way completely cover any stack of wood. Top cover is all you need. Air circulation is all you need. You don't even need sunlight. Covering, even with some vents will just trap more moisture. I've made a comment many times that wood is not a sponge. However, in this case, it could very well be a sponge.
The stacks are on the west side of the house, within a couple of feet of the deck. The sun I usually get is during late spring until late summer. Then the trees and mountains tend to put my place in perpetual twilight.
I don't really think the tarps or actually plastic would freeze to the ground since it's cut off just above the pallets. I'm not worried about getting to the stacks since I have already moved this years wood onto the porch and into the house back in September. I'll keep the cinder blocks in mind for my future stacks, and really the same for a moisture barrier between the pallets and ground.
The wood was actually top covered for the last few years. But with all of this rain, constant rains, inches and inches of rain. One time this area received over 2 feet of rain over the course of a few days. Then came the mold, mushrooms, and what have you. I'm not talking just a few days of rain here and there. It's raining 5 out of 7 days over the last few months. Think landslides and mudslides. When the rains come down, usually it comes down sideways with the winds saturating the piles. For what it's worth, the mold and stuff has stopped growing. And yep, more rain through Christmas. Add to it Flash flooding for tonight into tomorrow. Top covering works great, this years wood was down to between 12 and 16% moisture. That's 3 plus years seasoned.
See, this is what I appreciate about this place, the many voices of experience! This year, especially the last few months this area has been deluged with rain. I think once the rain drops back to normal, I'll remove the plastic and keep the piles top covered as I had been. Kind of a raincoat on the piles for now. I kind of got the idea to completely cover from some of the Solar Firewood Kilns I had seen on here though I can't find the one specifically I was looking for. It had drain pipes, but they were sticking straight up. But here is the general idea in post #195 of this thread: Solar Kiln Firewood Drying | Page 10 | Firewood Hoarders Club I've always said I would try anything once and if I liked it, even try it again.
Geographic areas are different, You have to do what works for you , your area & your wood types. Winter here, the precipitation is usually in the form of dry snow, & wet covered birch turns punky fast. Days are getting longer now, Summer is on the way
I have some wood in my pile that looks like that, it was pushed down by the rm and sat for a few years. While I wouldn't take it inside and handle it roughly (creating dusty crud), if/when it dries out, walk it right to the stove and burn it no problem. Can't say what the smell outside would be like though.
So the tarps will not freeze to the ground, what they will do is this..... The snow will fall off on the ground next to the tarps, and melt slightly. Over the course of the winter (depending on the snowfall), the tarp will melt into the ice and freeze in. I get a ton of snow (usually) where I live and have had this happen a few times. My hope is that it will not in your case, but if you get snow like we do, the tarps need a foot or two of gap from the ground.
No snow mostly rain here also some of the stacks are water logged - not covered, those that are top covered ends wet. but even the water logged stuff is mostly ok internally so I have been bringing some up to the house and resplitting -cross stacking with a fan on it in the garage gets down to a reasonable point- bring it inside for a day or two - burns fine.
Lucky guy, I had a drift 5 ft tall on top of my wood last winter. Sounds like you have it all under control.
