I don't understand something. I have read over and over that air flow, wind, is the most important factor in drying wood. Sunlight being necessary but secondary. But in a holz hauzen, except for the outer wood, there doesn't seem like there would be near as much air flow as with a single, linear stack. And many say a holz hauzen is a great way to dry wood and I suppose that this usually means that it is over a multi-year period.
The theory was blown a long time ago but it can be difficult convincing some. Stack it that way because it looks neat but that's about it.
Disclaimer: I’ve never built one. Some designs I’ve seen incorporate a chimney in the middle to help pull air into the center. If I were to do one I’d use one. It makes sense. Wether it makes enough of a difference is another matter. The roof, historically constructed of wood, needs to designed to shed water effectively. Some use tarps. These probably work great over the long haul for those seasoning for multiple years. Maybe not so good for one season. I can see them cutting down on airflow. All that said every time I’ve ever done anything but two stacks in a line I’ve had bad results. I’m sure I’ll still try a few ideas yet in the future tho.
Yawner- no disrespect meant at all But the "many say" is the part that I'd avoid. There are so many preconceived notions that people have about wood heat / drying times / methods of stacking. Just like the whole pine issue. Every Tom, duck & Harry out there will tell you pine is no good. Have them drop it at my house!
The holz hausen looks nice and saves on space. I consider mine an art project, and I had the time to let it sit. One more year makes three and I'll see how well the wood dried out, but I'm sure it's not as efficient as stacking the wood in more conventional means. The roof is maple bark shingles, and I'm certain that water has intruded into the interior of the hausen. It will be interesting to see the inside when the time comes. I consider my backyard to be my firewood "lab". I have wood stacked in different ways just to experiment and see how well it seasons over time. There are worse hobbies to have.
You need 3 ingredients to dry wood. Heat (sun) Air circulation (wind) Time. If you reduce one ingredient, you need more of the other two. Shutting the air off (carrying away the moisture) would be the worst situation. I don't believe a holz hausen stops the air, but more of the stack is shaded and the air circulation is slowed down a bit. So time may need to be increased. I also believe (local) climate and soil is a bigger factor than anything. Our area is moist, rainy, often cloudy, and our soil holds a LOT of moisture. I think dennis would have an easier time dring wood no matter the way its stacked in Michigan.
I bet you'll be surprised, Rainking. I have watched how the rain affects my firewood stacks when uncovered. The top 3 or so splits look soaked, but rain water runs down through the stack and drips off in streams. The lower levels are not wet. And when the rain quits, the water goes away quickly from the surface of the wood.
There's an esteemed member here that has an infamous saying... Wood is not a sponge. And he's been burning wood for 150 years...
Especially the sapwood. Turns into a fungi farm on my uncovered stacks. Another one of my pet peeves about oak.
Maybe not so much an art project but just a conversation piece is my intent with the one I’m working on. Hopefully it will turn out as good as it looks in my head. Planning to let it sit until 1/1/2025 if’n it don’t fall apart before then.
I have 21 holz hausen stacks. Before I chopped my own wood I purchased some and stacked them in criss-cross fashion (lots of air between splits). The hausens dry wood just as fast as those stacks - I really don't see a difference. The hausen does a good job of shielding most of the water when it rains and I cover the stacks that I will allocate for use before winter. I think the key is keeping the stacks off the ground and having good air circulation. In fact I'm burning red oak right now that I thought would take 3 years to season but it's already ready. I had an entire stack of pin oak which was so heavy and dense and sopping wet and I already burned through the entire stack. I got that wood in Mar-2020 and thought it wouldn't be ready until 2022/2023 winter. So that's about 1.5 years to dry pin oak. That works for me. I've stacked, burned, and restacked almost all of my piles now. You get better at maintaining the downward angle towards the center. Holz hausens are way sturdier than traditional stacks and you can go higher. Mine are 6-6.5' tall and you can run full speed into it and the stack won't budge. Again, maintaining that downward angle towards the center is important as that's how it is self supporting. I'd say focus on getting wood off the ground, covered on top, and stable - choose whatever style you like. Hausens work for me because I don't have open areas. All my stacks are sort of clustered around huge oak trees so I don't have the ability to have long single rows of wood stacked.
That’s exactly the look I’m going for!!! I have a whole bunch of cottonwood bark I could use instead of trying to make thin splits of cedar. Do you ever have any problems with wind tearing off your shingles?
If you don't like holzhausen, how about wood sheds. Plenty of people cram a shed full with green wood and call it good in 6 months. Minimal air flow or Sun. Also how about stacking in a shed versus thrown in? Which pile has more air in it to help dry. Oh, the problems we face.
