Best/Fastest seasoning of firewood

[SbTVF]

Looks fantastic and the ideal way to do it, wish the packfix system wasn’t so expensive. Only a grand or so less than the processor itself!

How do you then deliver after seasoning? I’m hoping some fully vented bags should work almost as well and totally avoid rehandling the wood.

[Peasgood]

1 hour ago, SbTVF said:

Looks fantastic and the ideal way to do it, wish the packfix system wasn’t so expensive. Only a grand or so less than the processor itself!

How do you then deliver after seasoning? I’m hoping some fully vented bags should work almost as well and totally avoid rehandling the wood.

Why don't you make your own system if you think the packfix is too expensive? You have seen mine out of an empty ibc, just make something bigger out of an empty diesel tank or something. Mine started off being filled from an elevator even though I have ended up stacking them in the ibc. Tipping in off an elevator works too but as with the packfix stacking the pallets is harder.

[SbTVF]

Why don't you make your own system if you think the packfix is too expensive? You have seen mine out of an empty ibc, just make something bigger out of an empty diesel tank or something. Mine started off being filled from an elevator even though I have ended up stacking them in the ibc. Tipping in off an elevator works too but as with the packfix stacking the pallets is harder.

It was certainly a thought, it’s just the double handling that puts me off. if I delivered in a tipper loose then it’d be easy to cut the net and drop the logs in the back. As we deliver in bags it’s easier to process straight into them for seasoned stuff.

What goes in the kiln goes into IBC’s or purpose built stillages and is tipped into bags with the excavator forks.

Still it might be worth a try for the sake of an afternoons messing about!

[sandhill]

SbTVF:    

Delivery, for me at this time, is covering pallets with a 'sock' if you will, and then loading on a flatbed.  Honestly it is not ideal, and a slow process to unload by hand.  There are many pluses to the Posch system, if you have the right support equipment.  I do not, in that my truck is not large enough to carry the lift, and I have never tried to load it on a trailer.  The trailer would have to be a deck over due to width, and have three ramps.

The pluses and minuses therefor change, based on what you have to work with.

Cutting the bundles results in a bit of a mess.  The netting supports the wood.  Cutting the netting releases the wood in all directions and the netting get caught on seemingly every piece of firewood in the bundle.  It doesn't.  Realistically, just 30% or so.  Unwrapping the netting a bit at a time is preferable, removing some of the firewood, and unwrapping a little more.  This requires some space around the bundle to do so.  Strapping bundles on a truck is the opposite of this, tipping them tightly together, and requires scooting pallets with a pry of some sort to gain this space to uncover and unwrap.  These are not huge obstacles, and I just gets by with what I have available.  

The obvious answer is a truck and lift, or trailer with ramps and a power all terrain pallet jack, skid steer, or something.  A pallet weighs about 1,400 lbs green, and 1,000 lbs. seasoned which is a lot for smaller tractors.

I very much like the excavator w/fork adaptor for tipping, that I saw in another thread on Arbtalk, and then use a dump box for efficient deliveries and retaining pallets for reuse.  A cone splitter on an excavator would also allow breaking down large logs for processing.  I can dream...

The Posch's pluses far out weigh my slow delivery issues.  It works well, and should work better in the future with some changes.

Bags were an option, but they are not without handling and re-use issues as well.  I've never tried bags, just read users blogging on them.  Cost, tipping over while moving, the more often than not the need of a pallet under them, and a way of dumping them moved me in the Posch direction despite the initial cost.  IBC work well and are stackable, but hold very little unless the firewood is stacked.  Excellent for a kiln operation but I tight stacking seems to reduce open air drying.

Again, in keeping with the topic title, I have found for open air seasoning the Posch netting works very well.  

There is one more pro/con consideration however, and that is the netting and the pollution foot print.  I've added a photo of the netting label.  

On the one hand it does not break down.  That can be seen both as bad and good.  

Bad...it doesn't break down.  

Good...it does not break down... and therefor does not pollute soils, and water tables which move over/under large areas.

It is a number 4 re-cyleable, by incineration.  I do not know if burning, and incineration are different in any way, as in heat intensity.  I have been placing the used netting in with recycling materials.

I have replaced a lot of racks made of treated lumber for something (hopefully), going forward with less over all impact. (I sold some racks, gave some away, and most went to a landfill.) 

Not sure how large firewood bags would compare.

 

Edited January 19, 2018 by sandhill