Chvymn, if you let a stack go all summer, it SHOULD get down to the lowest m.c. it can, no? THAT'LL be interesting. Please report when you open it what the m.c. is, and maybe a starting m.c. for the scientific types around here.
The theory is evaporating ground moisture is trapped under the plastic, ever adding to what is coming off the wood. My stack was on timber skids - same method, walk in circles around pile with shrink wrap...stop drink beer, then continue in circles
Yup, I did the same thing to some fresh wet Silver Maple and it sweat out in two months this fall. The condensation smelled and I think the sugar content attracted bees, yellow jackets. It Burned Fast. I plan to build an extension on my wood shed that will be a 2-cord solar kiln just for some Black Locust I'll be bucking this spring. Promise pictures.
that stack was gone around Mid December IIRC. November was much colder than normal The tree was beetle killed pine that I hung up in a gumtree and left for nature to fall - life and death over a pine tree I usually choose life and let the tree fall. It had termites 50' up (which helped the natural fall) Salvaged the solid stuff stacked and wrapped. As the pile came apart I'd find mud tunnels with dead ends - they got cooked out of the wood
Good to know the bugs got cooked out . I think I'll be wrapping up some shagbark and see iffen I can burn it next winter
When my family sees me wrapping my firewood in plastic, they are going to think I have gone over the edge....
The method works in the simplistic form. It was discouraging in the first month to see moisture recondensing and absorbing into the end grain. That pine was wet from rain moisture but probably mostly seasoned. It burned like stuff that was dead standing c/s/s and top covered for 18 months - stack had no more if any creosote than a whole season If I have time to drop stack & wrap some dead oak just to see if it burns I'll try...unlikely but I shall try
I'll be trying this with the red oak I've got in 102" bolts right now. My plan is to chunk and split, stack it on my pallets as tall as I can, wrap it in baler net wrap then in plastic, either shrink wrap or regular 4-6mil clear. It'll be sitting in full sun for pretty much the entire day the whole summer so that should help a bunch. With any luck it'll be in good shape for burning late '15 or the heart of '16 winter.
Where do you buy shrinkwrap, and what dimensions does it come in? Does it just adhere and tighten as you go, or do you need to shrink it with heat? Have never used the stuff.
This is what I'm thinking: http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Stretch-...F8&qid=1425354819&sr=8-1&keywords=shrink+wrap
Got my shrink wrap at Menards. Started my little test January 19th. 4 pallets freshly split green Mulberry. Sides & top wrapped. Bottom open. Started at 34%. Started getting significant condensation right away even in January! Hoping to burn winter 15/16.
Are those calf pen wire cages I see there? That's my next plan, to ditch the 3 (wood) sided pallets and go to 4 sided calf pen wire. Either that or I'd love to build something like this: http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/attachme...-net-pallet-wrapping-packfixhydro_wickeln.jpg I ran out of time and patience to keep putting sides on the pallets so I ended up crib stacking and net-wrapping 3 or 4 pallets worth. The net wrap holds them together well enough to not lose any moving them with the skid steer but the time it takes to crib stack the whole thing is maddening.
