We made some more firewood totes yesterday. We filled one today. A full one is as much as I can lift with the bobcat without tipping. I have one more counterweight I can add, but these guys are heavy when full. Full size pallets and about 4 ft tall. Almost a half cord on one pallet. I can lift it, but with a radial lift on the bobcat, the weight moves out as it gets higher. If we filled one with wet oak I don’t think I could move it. A face cord is comfortable, but a half cord is just plain heavy. We could make em shorter or do just two rows. Two rows allow more air, but the pallets aren’t “full”. If we make them shorter but keep 3 rows, the pallets are “full”. Would you guys make them shorter or go to just two rows?
As long as you have the pallets and lumber Id go the double row this way they are all the same size plus even with wet oak you don't have to worry about tipping over, pushing the machine to its limits. Same size easy to top cover evenly if you decide to.
I put together a 2 row crate tonight and filled it with ash. Good and heavy but not pushing the limit. The difference in wood volume looks to be about 2/3 of a row. The rows are a bit longer on the 2 row crate because of the pallet dimensions, so part of the third row is used to fill in the extra length. This ash weighs about the same as oak, so a pretty good test. I’m happy.
I can not lift a full tote so I just load maybe 3/4, move it to be ready for winter and then finish filling it. It works for me.
With this setup I get two rows (16" lengths) and a partial row in between with splits standing upright to fill the void. The tractor moves this, but you can definitely notice the weight. I like your idea, as it has less weight from the pallets (mine have pallets on the sides and the back), but I set mine up for chunks/uglies and need the 'walls' on the three sides. Plus I can get all the free pallets I want easier than I can get scrap lumber.
