I made a video showing how dry the firewood is in my pile. The pile was about 8 cords, and now is down to about 2 cords.
That is surprising, but it would have been more meaningful if he had some stacked wood in the same location to compare.
That is REALLY interesting! Yes, it would be cool to have someone do both methods and compare after some time.
I cut oak and eucalyptus this year in April. I split the wood and tested the oak. It was just over 34% when I split it. I stacked about 4 cords in a single rows 16" by 16' long. Stacked East to West as the prevailing winds blow North/South mostly here. Running out of room, I piled up the rest in a pile, which was about 5 cords. I check both stacked wood and wood out of the pile like this guy did in September. Both were at the same moisture content. 9%-10% So I would say this guy is telling the truth. Now I will say that we had lots of 90-100 degrees days during that time, and the wind blows here lots of days. But the fact that both dried the same goes against everything that I have read and been told.
I do the same with a big pile of oak leaves. Dry inside the pile. The wood on the bottom in the middle doesn't dry so well in a pile like that. Key words being ' so well '. Picking from the outer perimeter is pretty much testing the driest splits.
94BULLITT is a straight shooter. If he says that's what he got, believe him.. I would not see that here, hot dry year in VA?? IDK.. My wood that was split and piled last fall and stacked this spring is still not dry enough!! I never saw 100 only few days over 90.. Oh pile was not finished stacked because had 3 feet of snow by thanksgiving
Nice vid 94BULLITT Some interesting results. Will you continue checking towards the middle of the pile as well? Stacking is the only part of firewood that I find boring & tedious. But I'm a bit of a slacker.. So there's that.
Depends on the day, and the chore. A bit more "overall" than is recommended though. I enjoy life more than work, but there are jobs that I enjoy much more than others. ...
Interesting results , thanks for sharing . The best that I could tell tho is the splits look smallish imo which would certainly dry sooner . Here in mid Michigan green oak is gonna take 2 years , 3 is better no matter how it’s stacked .
Gotta' think that climate must be a factor. We aren't that fortunate up here. I've had piles of different types of wood get moldy, slimy, and just generally nasty when left in that state. Once stacked, problemo goes away.
I split about a cord of oak last winter, and left it in a pile until about late August. Granted, my pile was far smaller than his pile in the video, and many of my splits were bigger, but most of the splits were still obviously not ready. However, a surprising number of the smaller splits felt like they were plenty dry. I didnt take readings, just went off feel and put them in the stacks for another 2-3 years. Splitting smaller and maybe putting some pallets under the splits would probably help even more.
So, next year if I have a pile then stack some next to the pile, how much should I stack? Would a 1/4 or 1/2 cord be enough? Then how should I stack it?
That is some really dry wood! That is interesting the stacked and the pile were the same MC. This Pile had 8+ cords in it. The pile came out to about where the camera is sitting. See all of the chips on the ground. The part of firewood I dislike the most if splitting. My favorite part is the cutting, that is part of the reason I mess with firewood. Supposedly wood drys from the ends, but I think it small splits help it dry better. I also forgot to mention in the video, that I think the time of year when the trees are cut makes a difference too. Thanks! Thanks! We have a mild summer. Maybe a day two over 100, and very few high 90 days. Thanks!
Great findings and theres that science getting involved in this. I had my splits much larger than yours. Mostly because if they are larger, lasting longer? I don’t know the exact science to that but less airspace around will slow the burn but let me get back on track, this was merely showing you can get to burnable %’s from APRIL to September with oak. That’s pretty good. Have to think of how hot it could potentially get inside the pile. Lots of factors but looks like you put some optimistic options in for others needing to dry their wood out quickly for the winter. Is everything going to be optimal, short answer no but you had some great results. Most of my splits are probably about 2-4 times bigger than yours, so something worked for you. Great and thanks for posting. If you decided to why not stack like we do maybe an 1/8th of a cord in different places in your yard. Cribbing, or no. Others could be the just a pile of them like yours maybe smaller? Wondering if size had anything to do with potential splits inside being more dry but that’s the whole point? At least you have more baselines to work towards .
Wondering if a large pile generates heat like a compost pile does. In the middle, a compost pile can reach 170 degrees. You need water for a compost pile, but the wood has water inside it. It would be interesting to have a thermometer inside the large pile of splits. Hmmm...
The trees that create the shade also shield from rain. Could be a factor. I had some piles of tulip splits in a field. Tulip is known for getting moldy Ended up throwing half of it away. Black slimy mess. I also had some rounds of fresh live red oak that I left in the forest for a season. Stacked on the ground. Was worried they’d be mushrooms. I was surprised at how light they were. Felt about half the weight of when I stacked them. Strange things happen.
