Stacked or pile

[Taff855]

Ok I'm running late this year and have about 60 tonne to process. In sunny South Wales.

 

Been wathing the tube and am wondering if just piling wood on pallets will dry it just as good as stacking it in rows?

 

Just dumping off the end of the conveyor about 6 foot high and on a bed of pallets 3 wide x 4 long would save loads of time. 

 

 

Who has tried what and with how much success.

[Steven P]

If you have the time stacking them will give a greater surface area to the wind and sun (? not convinced about sun, it does the job, not relying on getting sun in the Great British summer that's all)

 

 

[difflock]

The problem with getting or keeping cut to length firewood exposed to drying ventilation, was the reason I went with the billet bundles.

Stacked 4 high, with runners beneath, the wind fair whistles through them, and easy to cover with tarp.

But then I have the luxury of being able to wait for a bracing dry spell to bring them in under cover and process into my logpile.

[Dan Maynard]

Rather than one big heap I think it might be good to put some pallets across to divide it up into bays. This would end up with no log more than half a pallet away from the wind, or similar to using IBCs which work well for me.

Other thing might be hoops of stock fencing, you can go two high on a pallet and point the conveyor in the top.

Sure there's got to be no need for stacking individual logs.

[Billhook]

I cannot understand why people spend so much time hand stacking logs when there is so much machinery available to make it unnecessary.  In America it seems to be a signal of your firewood credentials to everyone to have an immaculate cord stacked in full view.

I put mine in 6x4x3 old potato boxes which are rejects from the big farmers as they may have a couple of boards missing or are becoming a bit ragged.  Each box holds 72 cubic feet or about 2000 litres or a bit over half a cord at 0.56 cord.

In an open fronted shed and stacked as they fall from the elevator and ventilated by open slats in the boxes and the boxes themselves having air flow all around them, they seem to dry well stacked three high.

Armed with a Palax processor which cost £2500 second hand in 1996 , and a Matbro 270 teleporter which cost £7000 in 2010, I find that I have a system which takes a lot of the hard work out of firewood. I do not touch the wood again after the Palax until I take it out of the box which I have parked in front of my conservatory with the Matbro. Three paces from the Aarrow Stratford stove.

It may seem expensive to lay out this money  but over 25 years the Palax has cost £100 /annum and the Matbro about £700/annum but it does all the farming jobs as well.  I hate to think what my labour would cost at £15/hour stacking firewood by hand over 25 years!  Let alone the medical bill

 Neither the Matbro or the Palax has cost me anything in all these years..  The Matbro is invaluable in the woods working on my own and dealing with hung trees or guiding them to fall where I wish. and of course bring them back to the yard.

The other helpful thing about boxes is that you have a ready prepared quantity of firewood if somebody wants to buy a box.

[topchippyles]

51 minutes ago, Billhook said:

I cannot understand why people spend so much time hand stacking logs when there is so much machinery available to make it unnecessary.  In America it seems to be a signal of your firewood credentials to everyone to have an immaculate cord stacked in full view.

I put mine in 6x4x3 old potato boxes which are rejects from the big farmers as they may have a couple of boards missing or are becoming a bit ragged.  Each box holds 72 cubic feet or about 2000 litres or a bit over half a cord at 0.56 cord.

In an open fronted shed and stacked as they fall from the elevator and ventilated by open slats in the boxes and the boxes themselves having air flow all around them, they seem to dry well stacked three high.

Armed with a Palax processor which cost £2500 second hand in 1996 , and a Matbro 270 teleporter which cost £7000 in 2010, I find that I have a system which takes a lot of the hard work out of firewood. I do not touch the wood again after the Palax until I take it out of the box which I have parked in front of my conservatory with the Matbro. Three paces from the Aarrow Stratford stove.

It may seem expensive to lay out this money  but over 25 years the Palax has cost £100 /annum and the Matbro about £700/annum but it does all the farming jobs as well.  I hate to think what my labour would cost at £15/hour stacking firewood by hand over 25 years!  Let alone the medical bill

 Neither the Matbro or the Palax has cost me anything in all these years..  The Matbro is invaluable in the woods working on my own and dealing with hung trees or guiding them to fall where I wish. and of course bring them back to the yard.

The other helpful thing about boxes is that you have a ready prepared quantity of firewood if somebody wants to buy a box.

Man who sings the same tune i play. You bought a couple of top quality machines and looked after them which is what i do with all my stuff. Every year my workshop stuff gets fully serviced and i bet a couple only do 25 hrs a years work 

 

One of my best (pad sander) like photo below same machine as i have. Old school but bomb proof 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by topchippyles