Who dries/season wood by leaving in a pile

I'm currently splitting next years wood and debating if I should stack it or just leave it in a pile through the summer. Wood is all soft wood, cedar, pine, and fir. I'm in Northern Ca. with hot dry summers. I realize I'll have to stack it before winter, but too much work for now. Thoughts.

 

Don’t just leave in a pile. Stack split wood off the ground (on rack or pallets) and preferably with cover on top only ( allowing sides to be open). In your climate, you’ll have softwood bone dry by fall no doubt. If left in a pile , you’ll have a pile of marginal crap to burn.

 

Piles don't work. Period.

 

Stack it. Air flow is needed. Plus, it'll look nicer

Although, holzhausen's are found here and there.

 

I beg to differ.. I think they have their place, although very limited.. I split white pine into a pile, leave it for a year and then stack it under my porch in October for the upcoming burn season. Based on when I cut and split it, the space under my porch is usually taken up with the current season’s wood so I have a choice of stacking the wood twice or just leaving it in a pile until it’s ready.. mind you, I don’t do that with any of my hardwoods.. I do believe that stacked and top covered is they best way to ensure the wood dries as quickly as possible and suffers minimal loss from fungus or insects.. friend of mine placed a mesh tarp under his pile to keep the dirt off the wood at the bottom of his wood pile while he empties the wood shed of this years wood..something like this.. jrider also doesn’t stack. But I would assume that his customers do once he delivers their wood.

12 ft. x 20 ft. Mesh All Purpose/Weather Resistant Tarp

 

I would be willing to run an experiment like this but there’s no way I’d throw everything directly on the ground. My guess is there’s too much moisture at ground level (at least where I live) that would keep the bottom splits from drying. I’d lay down a grid of pallets first, as a base.

 

I’ve tried it twice now. There won’t be a third attempt.

 

I threw some in a pile last year for a family friend and stacked it when delivered and she said it burned great, I found some shrooms on peices and others were nice n dry, she wants some more and I'm gonna stack that either here or there.

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How long was it in a pile and how long stacked before it was burned?

 

It's a good time now during spring to stack. Get it off the ground like others point out. The biggest benefit of that is to get some airflow underneath. You might not think it matters but it does. Who cares if it is soft wood or not. Stack it and do it right the first time. It's extra work to throw the pieces into a pile.....and then pick them back up and stack them again. Don't look at your entire pile and think you have to do it all - just take little bites and take your time and do a little every day and before you know it you will be done and glad you did it.

 

Think it was piled the whole summer and stacked a few weeks before burning (I don't have an exact time on that) I was able to stack it in the direction of a good amount wind & sun.
The wood was mostly hard maple I don't remember what else though.

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I guess a lot depends on the size of the pile. A cord or 2 maybe but I never had any luck with anything rather large .

 

I have a couple piles I am considering leave be. Because buyers here do not seem to seek seasoned wood. I’m serious! So, why bother. It is certainly more work and it doesn’t seem to matter to most. My thinking is I can sell about all I want from piles! That’s my thinking lately based on buyers comments this past season. But this is the south.

 

Piling your wood up does work if in full sun. I've been doing it successfully for over 25 years now. From my experience though it only works well out in a field with zero shade. I once tried it in what I thought was a sunny spot in a clearing in the woods and it would never do that again. Also, where my piles are located is a thick layer of bark and splitter debris so the wood is not in contact with the ground. I do think location and climate play a big role in this as well. If you don't have hot long summers with a lot of sun, I don't think they would work as well.

 

How sunny was the spot and how big was the pile?

 

Loose thrown piles, especially on dirt never seem to work. They suck up all the moisture from the ground, rot prematurely, don't get adequate sun, and harbor more rodents.

 

Right now I have a pile , Planning on getting it stacked over the next month or so. Chipmunks won't be happy when they get the eviction notice.

 

dennish ,
Id imagine as others have said, stacking will yeld better benefits. Maybe try stacking/covering half of your supply, and mounding the other half. See what happens.
We had a wet summer here last year, so just against the odd wet year here....stacking and top covering always.
Sca

 

I did it once before I joined up with you folks. Laid out a base of 6 or 8 pallets and split up a bunch of elm that was taken alive 3-4 months previous. Split it into a loader bucket and dumped it on the pallets. Probably a little more than one cord. Sat for better than a year and still was pretty wet.
I have since learned the error of my ways, never again. It all gets stacked now.