Is it possible to get firewood to 20% MC if air dried outdoors without a roof in the UK?

[Vedhoggar]

Lodgepole pine felled, split and stacked outside in Feb and March of this year well below <20% moisture content now. Logs stacked off the ground on pallets or 4” x 4” x 8’ sawn posts with tarp covering top of stacks with slight overlap, max dia of logs 15cm and lengths 50cm - 1m, before autumn ready to burn wood goes into sheds. Use crates as well to season 20cm, 25cm logs as well as random pieces with top of of crates covered. 

[Muddy42]

On 22/07/2023 at 19:07, Elliott.F said:

In our damp and rainy climate I’m wondering if anyone here has managed to get their firewood (hard or soft) to 20% or less by stacking outside without any kind of roof. 
Assuming stacked off the ground, for as long as necessary, no more than around 1m high x 1 metre wide and in an area that gets plenty of good airflow/sun/wind?

What do you think?

 

Yes you can do this if its split to stove sized pieces and stack well, ideally for two years rather than one.  But why not use tin or tarps to keep the rain off?

Edited July 24, 2023 by Muddy42

[Steven P]

2 hours ago, Muddy42 said:

 

Yes you can do this if its split to stove sized pieces and stack well, ideally for two years rather than one.  But why not use tin or tarps to keep the rain off?

 

Can also use pieces of bark that falloff as you split - some species the whole ring of bark can come off in1 piece as 'roof tiles'.. and once dry burn OK too

[Muddy42]

2 hours ago, Steven P said:

 

Can also use pieces of bark that falloff as you split - some species the whole ring of bark can come off in1 piece as 'roof tiles'.. and once dry burn OK too

 

That's related to the big Scandinavian debate - do you stack split wood 'bark up or bark down'? Bark might keep water off, but also might trap in water?  Maybe you can get the best of both worlds - bark down for a few months then, turn the top row over in September?

 

All very nice and quaint, but once you need a volume beyond a few trailer loads, its all about saving effort and minimising the handling times.  That means stacking in a big open sided shed and as much mechanization as possible - splitter, a few IBC cages and a small tractor/loader etc.

[GarethM]

1 hour ago, Muddy42 said:

 

That's related to the big Scandinavian debate - do you stack split wood 'bark up or bark down'? Bark might keep water off, but also might trap in water?  Maybe you can get the best of both worlds - bark down for a few months then, turn the top row over in September?

 

All very nice and quaint, but once you need a volume beyond a few trailer loads, its all about saving effort and minimising the handling times.  That means stacking in a big open sided shed and as much mechanization as possible - splitter, a few IBC cages and a small tractor/loader etc.

Why am I imagining a weirdo scenario tedding logs out across my yard ?

[Steven P]

1 hour ago, Muddy42 said:

 

That's related to the big Scandinavian debate - do you stack split wood 'bark up or bark down'? Bark might keep water off, but also might trap in water?  Maybe you can get the best of both worlds - bark down for a few months then, turn the top row over in September?

 

Get an air flow around it and it is not important, the air blows through the stack

 

1 hour ago, Muddy42 said:

All very nice and quaint, but once you need a volume beyond a few trailer loads, its all about saving effort and minimising the handling times.  That means stacking in a big open sided shed and as much mechanization as possible - splitter, a few IBC cages and a small tractor/loader etc.

 

Often the bark will fall of certain species, it burns OK so can be dried to use - it is no effort to put to one side and throw on the top once the pile is complete. However OP is for domestic use, not sure they will have an open sided shed, splitter, few IBC cages and a tractor?

[Muddy42]

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Edited July 24, 2023 by Muddy42

[Elliott.F]

11 hours ago, Muddy42 said:

 

But why not use tin or tarps to keep the rain off?

Because covering stacks is quite a lot of extra work and expense if you have a lot of wood, which is fine if you have to. 
Thats what I was trying to get to in my OP, is it essential in our climate, and the answer seems to generally be yes. 

[Elliott.F]

6 hours ago, Muddy42 said:

All very nice and quaint, but once you need a volume beyond a few trailer loads, its all about saving effort and minimising the handling times.  That means stacking in a big open sided shed and as much mechanization as possible - splitter, a few IBC cages and a small tractor/loader etc.

It seems like saying you need a roof of whatever kind in our climate to get wood below 20%. Mechanisation, IBC’s etc is about efficiency at scale. For example why use valuable shed space if you don’t need to?

[Dan Maynard]

I reckon the wood would probably go below 20% over the summer, more sun and wind than rain. The challenge is then keeping it dry until you want to burn it.