Wind Into Pile Of Wood??

[Logged On]

Not a really good thread title, but here goes...

 

Just how far can the wind penetrate into a stacked pile of split wood to get it dry?

 

We usually build 'pens' out of 12x8 pallets, then cover only. But last year, the centres were still a bit damp..

 

This year though, the pens will be exposed on all four sides, not like the last ones where they had one 'solid' side which I think was the problem for the wind penetrating...?

 

I hear on here people building them out of Heras fence panels and have no problems with drying, so with these pallets being not much bigger, we shouldn't have problems drying either??

 

Thoughts??

[Stubby]

How strong will the wind be ..................... ?

[Logged On]

Just your 'average' wind that comes with the weather.

 

Only difference from our last pens, is they'll be more exposed - except for their roof covers, which I hope is a good thing....

[felixthelogchopper]

Do you put a layer of pallets on the floor to keep the logs out of the wet and to allow airflow under the stack?

[Stubby]

Do you put a layer of pallets on the floor to keep the logs out of the wet and to allow airflow under the stack?

 

This is important . Makes a big difference .

[Logged On]

Oh yes. Just trying to get as much air around / through the stack as possible...

[gooseflight]

What was the moisture content of logs going into the stack compared to other years?

 

Wind is moving air. If the air is moist then moist air is entering the stack. If the temperature is low the drying effect of wind won't be so pronounced. If the air is moist AND it's cold probably not drying at all.

 

Given how wet it has been, I'm not surprised that your stack is not drying as well as in previous years.

[felixthelogchopper]

Oh yes. Just trying to get as much air around / through the stack as possible...

 

Have you tried standing pallets upright at intervals to create channels into the stack? May help if the stack is large.

[Haironyourchest]

Insert or build a 1/2 inch pipe into the centre of the stack then duct tape a dyson hoover to the exposed end. (You will use this to suck air from the centre of the stack, for analysis) The second part is you need to acquire a coloured smoke cannister. I can't help you with this, but in the UK I should think it wouldn't be to hard to track one down. Wait for an averagely windy day and stand upwind of the firewood stack, about ten feet or so, and release some coloured smoke for a few seconds only. Then fire up the dyson, and monitor the colour of the air in the transparent dust container (you should have emptied and cleaned the container first obviously). If you see colour, then you know the wind is penetrating to the centre of the stack.

[rowan lee]

Personally, I would build smaller units say 4x2 pallets. But if you want to keep it big, think you said 12x8?, put some pallet dividers through the pen as you fill it with logs, this will help a lot.