Good morning, everybody! It has been quite a while since I have been on here, but I got the bug itching at me again and new of only one place to ask my question. I have read some posts/threads on here about holzhausens, but none of them really answered my main question. How small can a holzhausen be effective? I would imagine that there are a few variables to consider (i.e. wind, splits, etc.), but in general, how small can one be stacked? My wife's aunt and uncle want me to stack one for them, but they probably only have ~1-1.5 cords, so I was thinking of trying a 5'-6' diameter. Thoughts? Thank you so much, in advance, for the support.
I built a very small one last year that I stacked on one individual pallet. I'm guessing it was approximately 3.5' in diameter. Being that small I found it to be tricky to build. At that diameter the radial gaps in between splits were significant and I had to keep adding criss cross layers to help stabilize it. At 5-6' I think you'll have a much easier time. Member rainking63 built what looks to be a perfectly symmetric one that spans 4 pallets: Hoarders Stacks | Firewood Hoarders Club Maybe he could shed some light on the size and volume dimensions.
Same thing with me. Built on a pallet and it was not easy to make or really stable. It ended up partially collapsing.
Hey, thanks for the shout out! Dimension-wise it's 10' diameter at the base, so there's four pallets and one cut in half in the middle. When it was fresh it was stacked to about 8' at the peak, but I assume it has since shrunken a bit as some moisture escapes. It holds just under 3 cords. It fell once because I didn't do the "rings" on the side. My avatar is the before. Here is the after:
I would suggest just using 4 pallets (40-48" whatever you got) and don't worry about finishing it off all at once. I was worried about that when I started my first one which sat from Apr to Oct in 2019....And then that 1/2 turned into 22 holz hausens before I knew what hit me. You can use the four pallet and just make it a shorter holz hausen and finish off the top if you like. I don't even "finish" mine anymore. I just make the center flush with the edges and throw a tarp on any stack I plan on burning in the current winter. It still looks cool half built. The most important thing as Rainking pointed out is to keep that downward angle of the splits on the outer wall of the hausen. Otherwise shrinkage, wind, and settling will lead to an eventual collapse. Also try to do it on flat ground. Makes your life easier. I angle mine in a bit more than Rainking who does more of a straight up and down build. You hold a little less wood but increase the stability. Here is where I had to move part of stack #15 because it wasn't 10' from the property line.....of a neighbor who wasn't complaining but the code enforcement officer was just busting my balls for no reason. So I ended up trying to make a 2-pallet oval shaped hausen came out ok. It toppled over initially and then when I rebuilt it I put the splits at a steeper angle. It can work but it's awkward. Much better to have a stable round or square base.
I guess that is ambiguous, lol, my apologies. What I meant by effective was at what point do you think that the qualities of a holzhausen (drying effectiveness, diameter to height ratio, center storage) become inefficient? I would assume that you could use a dozen splits and make a very small one, but does that actually make sense? Probably not. So, I hope that clarifies a bit, although, subsequent posts after your question have cleared up a lot of my questions. Thank you rainking63 and LordOfTheFlies for the pictures and information, and for Eric Schamell for remembering to tag!
As I have not moisture tested any of the splits that comprise my hausen, I have no empirical evidence to produce that can gauge how dry the wood currently is. She's been sitting for two years; after another year I'll start breaking it down and see how the middle is doing. Also, I'm going to make a wild assumption here, so buckle up. I would reckon that the smaller the diameter of the holz hausen, the quicker it would dry. There is so much wood in the center of mine that sees no sunlight and I would imagine gets little airflow. Do I think it will eventually dry? Yes. It's off the ground, covered, and not stacked insanely tight. Do I believe any of that voodoo hooey about "cyclonic centrifugal airflow chimney effect magical wizardy"? No. It's a pile of wood that looks nice and starts conversations. The neighbors like it too!
I love the fancy words for draft. I also appreciate the conversation and "educated" assumptions. The latter part of your post is really the crux for me, as I just need/want a different way to stack some splits.
Funny I post about this thread and then this happens. Stack was bulging out because the pallet snapped. It must have been weak to begin with. And it's on a slight downward slope on that side....so I decided to force it to collapse partially and rebuilt it with more shims and more downward/inward slope to prevent it from further issues. I forgot to take a pic of the before bulge.
