Top only, sides wide open. Does it slow drying during the first year? Anyone ever actually MMed it to see. Now that I'm top covering, I top cover from day one. Not necessary, but it will be CSSed for 4-5 years. If it slows the process, it will still be very dry in 4-5 years. The main reason I like to is because most of what I cut is dead standing Red Oak. The sapwood is already punky, it's like a sponge. No need to soak it with every rainfall.
I have never really top coveted any of my wood, there's just to much to cover. I do brind about a month's worth of wood to the covered front porch in September and just keep adding to it. I have a system so the wood I bring up last gets used last. Every system has its pro's and con's. Examine your situation and develop a system that works for that situation.
My MO exactly. You don't need to bring a MM to check basic long-term progress of air-drying. Mk1 eyeball will do nicely. Just look at the ends of the splits to see that checking that results from drying near the ends resulting in shrinkage. Then watch those checks close as the MC drops farther in. I appreciate seeing all the splits, top to bottom in a stack, doing that. Having splits at the top slowed in their progress from rainfall would not be so good, IMO.
fox9988, in your case it is right to top cover immediately. In the first place, you have dead oak and as you said oak does get punky on the outside and there is no need in soaking up the moisture in that punk. In the second place, your area tends to get quite a bit of rainfall and if I lived there, I too would top cover immediately. Where we live, we don't top cover until fall or early winter (stack in spring). On not covering at all, yes it will work but every time we've tried it I can say without a doubt, the wood loses a lot. It just does not last as long in the stove and there is not as much heat. For some, this does not matter but it does to us so we top cover. (We did an experiment with this recently.)
I top cover or put the wood into a shed, but that's because where I live it rains and rains and rains, and just when you think it can't rain any more, it rains even more. I also top cover from day one. So far all of my wood is coming in at under 15% with some being as low as 12% that had been stacked on pallets and covered, so in my opinion, top covering doesn't prevent drying but rather enhances it. If it doesn't get wet from the rain and snow, it doesn't have to dry that along with the moisture already present in the wood.
Star Gazer has it right. In his location, it rains a lot. For that, a shed is difficult to beat even if it takes a little longer to dry.
Top cover for sure. The easy way to think about it is; top covered your drying will be taking half steps forward every day. If you leave it uncovered you'll get a full step forward every sunny day from the sun hitting it. But come a rainy day it'll be several steps back. On cloudy days nothing there are no steps at all. A run of rainy and cloudy days can quickly set you back. The depth of the stack and how far the rain gets into it can leave a wet interior that never dries.
This year I'm burning mostly red oak, c/s/s for 3 years, and I top-covered about a year and a half ago. Wood was stacked on pallets. As I get more toward the bottom of each stack I'm finding more moisture, fungus on the wood, and lots of leaves that had fallen among the wood. From now on I'm going to top-cover from day 1.
i think it is up to the individual to come up with a plan that works for their circumstances. try different things and see how they work , it keeps ya thinkin.
Top cover it. I'm a believer that the wood will dry quickest in a hot and sunny location, but as others said, rain and shade will counteract the drying process. If you have the luxury of being ahead and the wood is already partially seasoned, I would top cover it.
No way, will just stop covering from day one hinder the drying process, maybe it would vary slightly if it never ever rained or snowed
I have oak with punky outside one to one and a half inch, burned some day before yesterday, if you don't cover that up you might as well forget about trying to burn it.
I used to burn it like that, without top covering. After a month on the covered porch. It burned ok. Burns much better top covered (in my area). ETA: That sounds a little contradictory, its not. I agree, punky oak needs top cover.
I stack in IBC tote cages or boxes made from pallets. I top cover with tin or plastic as soon as I get it full (approx 1/3 cord). Otherwise, the damm birds( free ranging chickens) roost on top of the box and leave their s@!# on top of the splits
well yeah after a month covered up they would probably burn. You have to be careful with that stuff though when its bone dry, that punky stuff on the outside will fire up like gas
