I know that different types of wood take different amounts of time to dry. So, does anyone stack wood based on separate stacks for different types of wood, or do most people just age everything for 3 years? The 3 year plan seems easier, but it’s just hard for the first 2 years… PS: what’s “shoulder season”?
I keep three year wood...oak and hickory separate. Black locust by itself. Most "one year" wood stays together. I had never heard of shoulder season until i joined FHC. Basically its early and late burning season when its not that cold where you dont need a lot of heat. Lower btu wood is ideal for SS as its commonly called on here.
buZZsaw BRAD Explained it well If you look at heat needed on a graph head ( dec 15- feb 28) coldest shoulder seasons some but less shoulder
Welcome Patrick. Handshake to you. You will like this place. These folks have lots of knowledge and are willing to share what they know. Stack your wood bark up and the bark that protected the tree will protect your firewood from rain and the elements. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I do. I pretty much have only red maple, red and white oak and eastern white pine, so I'm stacking mostly by species. If I get some cherry I'll stick it in with the oak. If I get some hemlock it goes in with the pine. The pine is ready in a year or less. The red maple almost a year and the oak just takes forever. IF ( and I have) I get some dead standing oak I'll stack that separate too cuz usually that's ready tomorrow or maybe the next day. Especially if it has been standing for quite a while. So yeah, you could say I stack by seasoning time. Plus (mostly because of my limited variety) I tend to burn by BTU need. In the shoulder season sometimes all I need is a quick hot pine fire in the morning and then another quick burn maybe some time after 4PM or so, or I maybe a load of red maple , maybe even an overnight fire if it is cod enough overnight. A little flexibility and some planning, it works out most of the time. I think weeding out the long seasoning time wood if you can is a great idea if you're not a few years ahead yet. Oak burns so much nicer/ you get more out of it, when it has had time to season properly. Unless you have to, why struggle trying to burn unseasoned wood ?
My experience with pine is that it burns fast and hot if seasoned. I call it instant heat. It will not hold all night or make a large bed of coals But it will knock the chill out of the house. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I find that rubber roofing is a great material for covering your wood.It generates heat and helps dry your wood out faster.Just don't completely cover your wood so the moisture can escape from the sides to prevent mold.If you have semi seasoned wood you can mix it with some compressed hardwood bricks or logs.The best ones I've come across are Canawick bricks and or NIEL logs.They burn so hot they help along the semi seasoned wood to burn well.
That red wood looks like cherry, from the splits, but it's hard to tell based on the tree picture. If you want a definitive answer on that red wood, post up a good picture of the bark and leaves
Welcome to the club yourself jewilson . Nice to see another member from Dixie. We came by your town on the way to Dennis' GTG in Michigan, May '19. Had a great time. We actually stopped for a few hrs in Mt Airy.
Did the stop in at Snappy Lunch for a Porkchop sandwich. I’m about 12 north of Mt Airy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
