Wood pile documentation or who is crazier than me?

So as you may know, last year I started with my pallet system of wood hoarding. I built 20 48x 48 x 42 pallets which gives me about 56 cubic feet per pallet. Last year I just stacked all my wood I used to keep near the barn (needed that room to build my sugar shack which will happen this summer) and moved it to a central location to grab one pallet at a time to feed the OWB. It worked great!

This year I am building more and refilling the empty ones. I bring the pallets right to the location in the woods where I process them and load them up right there. At some point I need to move them to that central location again. But in order to do so, I need to know which ones were filled first vs. last so I use them in the appropriate order.

That has prompted me to number all my pallets, which in turn has prompted me to keep track of them somehow. So far, I have a little map drawn that shows the location of what number pallet I have located. In turn, I have an excel spreadsheet that shows the pallet number and what date it was filled with the thought that when I sort them by date I can stack them so the oldest ones get used first. Genius right?

The problem now is I started adding a column that shows what species of wood is in the pallet. I'm questioning now if I can tie in any burn data as well. Pallet number, date range it was burned, moisture content(?), average temperature range during the time it was used, etc.

Does anyone else do this or am I just crazier than I always thought? Should I seek professional help?

 

Haha...I use kind of a weird system but it's not too complicated. All wood that is old or punky goes in the "use first" stack...I throw box elder and cottonwood in this stack too with the intent to only use it as fire starters. Hackberry, cherry, ash, red maple, dead black and honey locust and elm go in my "good wood for next winter" stack. My "wait another year" stack is sugar maple, fresh black locust, persimmon, beech. I also collect between November-early April...but mostly dead of winter.

 

Yep, you're crazy. Fortunately, you've come to the right place. Heck, guys here even run "experiments" & stuff.
But what a fun kind of crazy!

 

I keep track of my stacks because I've got a lot of oak and 3 years is a long time

 

One person's crazy, is another one's genius!

When I top off a new stack, I simply take a magic marker and date a few splits with month and year. The oldest gets used first. FIFO.

 

I like your palletizing system, you are saving work by stacking the wood 1 time. And it looks great.

 

Looks like you're still in the right place Deer Meadow Farm! I will likely label my wood and the date I got it in the woodshed i have plans to build soon. Just hope I have enough pallets and space to grow as well!

 

Heck, I'd like to see the "populated" one. That would be interesting.
Being at least 2 years ahead, it doesn't really matter much......I just need to know which stacks have been out there longest, and that's easy in my setup.
I think bogydave was labeling his stacks in the shed by year at one point.

You're already here, and we're mostly free.........as long as you don't mind dealing with some of our goofiness (I won't mention any names, but I might be included).

 

Yep, or the alternative..."FIDO", which is "first in, dry out".

 

I do the same by truckload C/S/S, I use a wood crayon month and yr, sometimes put MM readings on a few others at time placed in shed or on pallet/rail rack---I like the reference when I think its ready and count the months it took...No, you are not crazy Deer Meadow Farm, just rolling with like company and we're growing by leaps and bounds

 

Dennis, may I ask why you don't just leave it in there for next Winter?

 

For me, I just keep stacking the wood and use the oldest first.

That's my method to madness too.

 

I use Excel for firewood as well, though in a slightly different application.

Knowing I heat my house for about 160 days per year, gives me a rough idea on how much wood/coal or propane it takes to get the job done (and yes I use all 3 types). Depending on which ever one is best is what I use. Now best is a relative term; it may not be the cheapest because as we all know, the tougher the winter, the more value firewood has to those without another way to heat their homes. That is where Excel comes in.

By tracking the days of the heating season, and what I currently have on hand against what is expected for heating needs, I hedge my bets. I always have enough firewood left over for me...but that excess, that can be sold off, and come late-winter when people run out, it is still cold, and the price of firewood is highest, that is where taking the time to track my domestic heating needs comes into play. EVERYONE wants seasoned wood, sitting in a shed from a guy that no longer needs it (and was going to burn it himself).

(I also do this with my winter feed for my sheep). I see little need to "hoard" firewood or hay when it can be sold off at opportune times to people that really need it. All it takes is a way to track everything so that my domestic heating (and winter feed for the sheep) needs are met.

 

This. Unfortunately I ran out of the wood piles I had planned for the winter, so I had to dig through next year's piles to find pockets of dry wood. Which equals a bit of restacking too.

 

Taking a look at this method, I would probably need it if I had this much space and that much wood in various areas. It would get hard to even figure out what it was after years under some deep sun and exposure. A good way to keep track is this. I guess when you're able to put in the time and equipment in it, theres always room for dropping the other shoe. In this case detailing it to the letter will have further benefits later. No more guesswork. I guess the only thing at this point is to keep on the inventory! I know I commented earlier. But the scale that you have done it at is shy of a wherehouse doing its thing every day. I wonder if you'll ever think about purchasing a giant haybale tent.
These can get really large but with a bit of scaffolding you could look like a wholesaler storing wood. Like a costco or Sam's club depending on what you have near you.

 

Look what I have on the drawing board now.... Just trying to see if I can utilize a 20' hoop vs. a 24'. I was thinking of buying one of these bending jigs: The Original DY-Series High Tunnel Hoop Bender and making a greenhouse big enough to hold 28 of my pallets...