Neatly stacking logs

[muldonach]

Yep all for me as long as I can keep me mates away from it, just can't be bothered to split the branches any smaller as I've still got the other half to fill yet

 

One of the reasons for my concern is I had some apple seasoning last summer and it didn't really seem dry enough this winter and didn't want the beech to be the same

 

It will season much better if it has a face which is bark free - the approved guage in our house has always been if you can pick it up with one hand it is fine - if you cannot pick it up one handed then split it

[Stereo]

I read that wood dries along the grain ie. the moisture exits at the ends of the log. Does moisture pass horizontally through the wood? Or is it just that you have more warmth getting in there to drive the moisture out?

[delabodge]

had about 20m3 in a big stack for last few months,,,bagged it finaly this week,,all the logs in middle of the stack where soaking and going mouldy,,,vented sack are really great and eliminate this,,,air flow is so important,

[chilli]

That beech will be fine. I've had August cut beech ready for the winter, stacked in a similar way but on a bigger scale.

Apple, like oak, just takes longer to dry.

[s.varty]

What you have there is absolutely fine and it'll be perfectly dry for next winter.

 

From experience, spot on.

[Stereo]

Where's the best place to get vented bags? We've had a massive clear up of rivers and overstood coppice this winter and have hazel, alder and ash all over the place. Probably about 5 years worth for us and I don't want to handle it twice so I'm thinking split on site and chuck into vented bags on the hilux then unload with bobcat back at the farm.

[Stubby]

If its all beach its fine like it is . Mine is the same . No worriues bud .

[muldonach]

I read that wood dries along the grain ie. the moisture exits at the ends of the log. Does moisture pass horizontally through the wood? Or is it just that you have more warmth getting in there to drive the moisture out?

 

The bark is designed by nature to keep the moisture in - if you leave all the bark on you will slow the drying down until the bark fails. Similarly if you leave all the bark on then the easiest way out is through the end grain.

 

If you split the log you do three things:-

 

a) offer the moisture an unimpeded path to the air

b) increase the ratio of surface area to volume

c) reduce the distance moisture has to travel from the centre to the outside

 

As plenty of people have said - including me - those logs will be fine, but they will be ready earlier if anything over 4" dia had been split

[agg221]

I read that wood dries along the grain ie. the moisture exits at the ends of the log. Does moisture pass horizontally through the wood? Or is it just that you have more warmth getting in there to drive the moisture out?

 

The structure of wood is like a big bundle of tiny drinking straws, with little holes in the sides of the straws. This means that virtually all the water goes out of the ends, but it can very slowly go out sideways.

 

If you make the section thinner, more goes out sideways, but realistically unless you were to totally de-bark, the bit opposite a split face would still take just as long to dry.

 

One complication is that the little holes in the sides of the drinking straws actually have little flaps over them. These are open while they're wet, but once they're pulled shut, the stay shut. They get pulled shut if there's a big pressure difference from one side to the other, which is caused if one side is very wet and the other very dry. This is called 'case hardening' which can be a real problem with seasoning milled timber. With firewood however the transport of water is so much faster through the ends than through the section that it makes no odds.

 

Alec

[hardtop110]

The structure of wood is like a big bundle of tiny drinking straws, with little holes in the sides of the straws. This means that virtually all the water goes out of the ends, but it can very slowly go out sideways.

 

If you make the section thinner, more goes out sideways, but realistically unless you were to totally de-bark, the bit opposite a split face would still take just as long to dry.

 

One complication is that the little holes in the sides of the drinking straws actually have little flaps over them. These are open while they're wet, but once they're pulled shut, the stay shut. They get pulled shut if there's a big pressure difference from one side to the other, which is caused if one side is very wet and the other very dry. This is called 'case hardening' which can be a real problem with seasoning milled timber. With firewood however the transport of water is so much faster through the ends than through the section that it makes no odds.

 

Alec

 

Nice explanation their Alec. It's always nice to see proper science explained simply.