plastic sheeting cover question

[logstar]

So I usually keep a plastic sheet on top of my seasoning log piles to keep the rain off. (They are on pallets and criss-cross stacked) My question is in the winter time when we get snow should I put the sheeting down to cover both sides of the cord too, so its completely covered to keep the melting snow out? Or will this just make it go moldy and mildew inside? Do I need to worry about the sides getting wet from rain and snow or will this wet not affect the overall moisture content? Thanks for any advice, I'm a newbie still trying to figure stuff out.

[nepia]

Leave it as it is; airflow is everything, even when things get damp.

[davetaz]

Yep, leave sides uncovered. The benefits of allowing good airflow are far greater than keeping a bit of snow/rain off the ends.

[liamjordan]

yeah just keep the sheet on the top, so you not having to dig your cords out if theres heavy snow, but the air still needs to get through the lot

[Dave Martin]

So I usually keep a plastic sheet on top of my seasoning log piles to keep the rain off. (They are on pallets and criss-cross stacked) My question is in the winter time when we get snow should I put the sheeting down to cover both sides of the cord too, so its completely covered to keep the melting snow out? Or will this just make it go moldy and mildew inside? Do I need to worry about the sides getting wet from rain and snow or will this wet not affect the overall moisture content? Thanks for any advice, I'm a newbie still trying to figure stuff out.

 

Many experienced firewood producers on here dont bother to cover logs.

[Swedish Dave]

Logstar we have covered ours for years just on the top and its been fine .As said Airflow

is the main game to produce quality logs.

[log_hauler]

Logstar we have covered ours for years just on the top and its been fine .As said Airflow

is the main game to produce quality logs.

 

As above posters have said airflow is key. In my younger days I made the mistake of neatly stacking the logs from six newly felled larch in a shed. I shut the door to keep the rain out. When I went back inside 3 weeks later every log had a nice furry coating of white mould! An older (and wiser) aquaintence said I would have been better off just leaving the door wide open or stacking them outside. Wood dries slowly internally and the odd rainshower has little effect if sun and wind are allowed to act natutally on the log pile. Very wet wood- like my larch- is almost certainly best left in the open for 6-12 months and maybe moved under cover once its ready for final drying before sale/use.

[renewablejohn]

Even drying in a polytunnel airflow is critical. My tunnels are aligned North to South to use the prevailing winds