If you build a long stack, in order to lessen seasoning time, does it matter... keep it one 'row' wide, meaning one split? I see pics on here of people making stacks a cord wide, meaning three stacks if splits are cut 16 inches. Am considering building a long stack for, say, a 3-yr seasoning. Various species but likely mostly red and white oak. I have a woodlot that has 600 linear feet for a potential stack spot; a 'highline' right of way running roughly East-West through it, a large electric transmission line. I suppose the ROW is about 60 feet wide. Have considered stacking on the north side of the ROW border, as that way, one side of the stack would get a bit more winter sun (sun rides low in southern sky in winter). So, 600 feet. If I also stacked on the south side of the ROW, available stack area is 1,200 linear feet. The prevailing wind in this area is from the south-southeast. If I did more than one row, the side facing the woods would get no sun and less air circulation. So, does it matter?
Many stack 2 or 3 rows wide and have plenty of drying success. Many have indicated the stacks in the middle are just as dry given the proper amount of drying time. I opted for single row stacks because I hardly get any sun on my stacks so time and air flow are more my friend and with single rows they get more air flow.
I have one stack 3 rows wide. They've been stacked since last Spring and will probably be burned next winter.
Great topic. i am still waiting to find out the results first hand. Half my stash is single rows, half is "bulk stacks"
My stacks are double stacked because two rows fit my pallets. They are stacked east to west. They get good sun and the wind runs the length of them. In the past I had stacks that were stacked along the edge of the woods. The inner row did seem to hold moisture more than the outside row. I also didn’t stack it for years like I do now. Time makes a big difference.
So many variables here. Orientation of facing direction, regional location and the list goes on. My long row is facing north and south so the sunrise hits it on one side and the other after noon (stack is 2 splits beside each other). It’s next to a field so it gets full wind exposure. I am burning primarily hickory right now that was seasoned 2 years and it’s about 20%. I keep it top covered with rubber. Seems I have very good luck with drying wood.
I stack two wide because I’m too cheap to waste pallets if no other reason. Too many variables as others have mentioned. If your stacking for three years out and top cover good I don’t think it will matter much whatever you do.
It all comes down to space vs. time. If plenty of space and limited time, stack 1 course wide. If limited space and plenty of time, stack 3 courses wide (48" pallet) or more. If plenty of both, then other factors come into play, such as stacking foundation (pallets, poles etc.), ease of access, type of top cover etc.
Sun and wind are huge, location is everything, but we have to do the best with what we have. Single row does dry faster. I was just unstacking some wood from a double row stack with a space in between and under. Split a piece of sugar maple and it was under 20% on the MM. The rest was ash cut from an EAB tree. It was CSS last Jan-Feb.
Stacks in optimal places are better than stacks in shade. If they are tight, you’re likely to have much better success in hot and windy places and it won’t matter a bit. The covers being taken off will mean more drying than uncovered. The best thing to do though is keep them at least 12 inches or so apart. Makes the sun drift through, warming everything, wind takes care of the rest. The space makes it more dynamic to carry more moisture out. Wood will look far more than weathered and feel more light, gray and whitish.
Most of the wood that I harvest has been dead for awhile and standing dead when I can get it so is often not much higher than 20%- 23% mc but I like to stack loose and double rows for spring stacking. If I need it to hurry up then I like to stack loose, single row. Like some have said above, if time is not an issue then you can take more liberties.
I like to have at least a double stack, not for drying purposes though. Single stacks for me seem more prone to collapse. I have a crazy property though where nothing is level and I'm always needing to shim my lower rails or pallets, but over time with rains in the summer and the freezing and thawing in the winter, the pile can start to sag and then ......well you know the rest
BINGO! I stack 3 deep due to space constraints (suburban 1/3 acre lot) but I'm on the 3 year plan so 3 deep isn't an issue. If I needed to catch up I would opt for single row.
For more years than some of the people on this forum have been around, I've stacked wood in multiple rows with excellent results. Usually I stack with 3 rows together. No problem at all getting that middle row dry. Case in point: Most of the time we stack 3 rows together which gives us a cord or a little over a cord per stack. We stack around 54" high and usually do the stacking in the spring. Most times by fall the stacks have shrunk down to 48" high due to the wood drying. Now it would seem to me that if the center row did not dry at the same rate as the 2 outside rows, then that row would not shrink as much. However, all the rows shrink at the same rate. This also says the row that is on the side that does not get as much sun or as much wind still can and will dry. To top this off even more, we have stacked wood in the shade and still had no problem with it drying. But one would have to be careful stacking in the shade. It has to be in a high and dry spot. I know of some folks who did this in a swamp and could not understand why the wood was not dry even after 3 years. I talked them into moving the stacks and then within a year all was well. So if you stack in the shade, it has to be in a dry spot. If the ground stays moist for a good part of the year, do not stack in the shade. I apologize to those who have seen most of these pictures before but they are the best for examples here.
Optimum drying : Off the ground , Single row , top covered, In open sunny breezy area. How much faster will it dry ??? But if time is the #1 issue ......
