Well I guess it's as good as a time as any to get the tarps on top of the holz hausens I have allocated for this winter's burning season. Got the HarborFreight 8' 4" x 11' 6". Some of my stacks are a bit wider and I do have their slightly smaller size on a one stack...The larger one might be a bit extra but better than not enough I suppose. Got these zince plated hooks from HD. 50 pack was $9.99. Drilled a small hole and screwed in the hooks by hand onto short splits of maple. Maybe if I'm super motivated (probably not) I'll take it inside and cut off the corners and then hem it. I've spot checked all the stacks with tarps and they are 19% and under. Should be fine by the time it gets cold....... Everbilt #10 Zinc-Plated Steel Screw Hook (50-Piece per Pack)-803292 - The Home Depot
So I can keep track of roughly how old they are and what they contain. Really just for my own curiousity because you think you can remember....but as the wood ages, they all start to look the same.
I don't have any jugs to hang. But I've got a ton of shorties that get tossed into the middle of the holz hausens that work perfectly for this purpose!
Yeah covering it worked out well last year but it was an insanely mild winter. Never had a problem with wet wood though and don't plan on having any either. I just noticed one of the tarps has a rip in it. I'm going to patch that up. What can I say? I like spreadsheets and with spreadsheets you need IDs.
8' diameter, 6' height. It's more than 2 cords per......except the center is sometimes filled with shorties so that throws it off a little bit........but I have filled some up with regular 16" length splits as well when I was first starting out...... They do slope inwards slightly as you move up but I also space out the pallets underneath with a bit of space in between them to maximize the stack size.......I've got 14 full stacks, 2 half stacks, one 3/4 that I'm filling up at the moment, and one stack that is mostly just the center left from donation purposes. One of the half stacks is black locust that is actually dry enough to burn this year. The other is a dedicated red oak stack that will not be ready.
The traditional German ones are usually around 10' diameter. They hold about 6 cords. Do you stack the center pieces vertically to act as a "chimney" to help it season faster? Also, have you noted quicker drying times than normal stacking methods offer?
No, I don't feel it's worth the extra effort for the vertical center pieces. We get super hot summers here in NY and I spot checked a few of the stacks behind that I'm leaving uncovered so it can season for an extra year.....and those are already under 20% too. Whilst fishing out some shorties from the red oak half stack today I noticed that even uncovered and half finished the center pieces below the surface pieces were dry! On large rounds I try to use the maul and chip away around the circumference of the round to make bark shingle pieces.....and having those on top of the piles helps to keep it dry when uncovered as well. I wouldn't be surprised that each stack holds closer to 3 cords. I don't go too crazy with making each piece perfect nor laying them perfect.....I just try to get the job done efficiently and keep the long pieces on the edges and the weird/short/knotties in the center. I suppose one could experimentate and have a traditional stack of the same wood vs a holz hausen. That would be the true test to see what the MC is after a summer of seasoning....but I'm very happy with how stable the stacks are. During Isaias I didn't have one piece fly off and you could have an NFL lineman run into any of my stacks and it wouldn't budge. Very stable and takes up less room than traditional stacking in rows. Yes, it requires a bit of work and procuring a source of free pallets (not too hard) but it sure is satisfying.
On a side note I will be taking some of my cutoffs and/or shorties and will use them to fill the bottom of my raised (40" off the ground) planter box I made out of pallet wood. Trying not to buy any topsoil or mulch and have 3 giant compost piles going that will be ready for next spring. I can even "season" the compost inside of the garden beds......except I only have one built so far that I was going to use in the driveway.......until Isaias knocked off the top 1/3rd of a giant white oak and opening up quite a bit of sunlight to the backyard. The new boxes I will make I'll use the full length of the board instead of cutting the sides short. I have a 25' x 21' area in the backyard framed in with pressure treated 4x4 (thus the raised planter box garden) and will start off small and work my way up. Here's the new garden space that used to be the kids' playset. Let me tell you that vacuuming tire mulch from that area was so much fun - y'all should try it.... You can see the tree that lost its top just to the right of my house.
Perfect use for that space, looks like plenty of room for a good size garden to grow lots of good stuff. Are you going to enclose it to keep critters out?
Now this is awesome and some serious organization, I am jealous! I have some things jotted down but not this detailed. I still can remember somehow someway when and what each rack holds. Excellent work
Here in NY September is the time to put a lid on the stacks. I have a few done and will do the rest in the next few days. I bought a special Holz Hausen cover last year and already the rubberized lining under the canvas like material is wearing out. I can see daylight in a few places. The cover worked great and I checked a fresh split Maple the other day that was 15%. A fresh split Oak was 27%, so it’s got a ways to go. The cover has straps that come up from under the mesh base with adjustable buckles so you can keep the top on tight as the stack gets smaller. A great idea, but it needs to be better made. This one was supposedly an improved model. Now that it’s getting cooler we’ve still got some more wood to cut and split. The last storm is keeping us busy with fallen limbs and treetops.
Nice, I was gonna comment on another post of yours that your wife must be happy that you built that beautiful patio then used it as wood storage!! LOL
Thanks! I will enclose it. Even though I am only 25 miles from the southern tip of manhattan we get deer all the time. Also, I've spent a large amount of time this summer trapping chipmunks that have been wreaking havoc in the entire neighborhood - digging up gardens, digging tunnels under my parking spot paver area causing sinkholes.....And I've gotten 27 so far! Thank you. I am not as organized as I would like to be. Hahahahaha. There's always someone messier and always someone more anal, n'est-ce pas? I've seen those covers as well......but they are out of my budget. I really try to minimize the spending (good luck with that) so $10 a tarp + a few hooks seems ok. I once spent $200 on a generator tent cover......and now that I look back on that purchase I question what I was thinking......that said it does allow you to operate the generator in inclement weather so the peace of mind factor there might be worth the price. I still have the majority of the white oak that snapped off during Isaias lying in the babbling brook. I'm a bit hesitant to go after it because there are some very large branches snagged in another white oak right next to it....and if those come down....it's not going to be good....There's some beautiful wood there though so I certainly won't be wasting it. Hahaha well that space was actually for a playset that my wife bought even though I told her not to get it. It was cheap - $800 - and you get what you pay for. Lasted 5 years but it was moving quite a bit and creaky and the kids are now too big for it anyways......so it was time to get rid of it. We have a patio out in the front........but that's covered with 5 holz hausens atm. Hahahahaha!
