drying timber logs

geordief

You know the way they stack turf out in the bog.
In such a way as to not really need any covering (well it is better if it is but you can get away without a separate cover)
So does the same trick work with timber.?
If you can't be bothered to make a cover in the open or don't have space to bring it in can you stack in in such a way as to minimise the wetting it is going to get?
(they all dry out more or less eventually anyway if you return to them in the summer...)
Does stacking them barkside up help?
Obviously stacking them barkside down would seem to be the wrong way to do it...

bbam

http://www.woodheat.org/firewood/stacking.htm

geordief

thanks for that.
That is what I was looking for.

CJhaughey

http://www.holzmiete.de/instruction.php

geordief

that looks interesting too.
I had heard that the Germans were very fastidious about drying their logs.
With this weather I am just burning them freezing and half green ( a years drying on them).
I have to pile them high in the fireplace and try to build up a reservoir of heat in the stones after a few hours.

CJhaughey

geordief wrote: »

that looks interesting too.
I had heard that the Germans were very fastidious about drying their logs.
With this weather I am just burning them freezing and half green ( a years drying on them).
I have to pile them high in the fireplace and try to build up a reservoir of heat in the stones after a few hours.

What kind of wood is it? Some species burn well green like Ash. Others like Oak take years to properly dry <14% MC
I stack mine in a lean to that has hit and miss walls so that air can pass through but not rain. The wood dries very well in that especially with a little sun and wind.

geordief

Well I have 2 fireplaces.One is large and for that I have a lot of decent beech ,ash, sycamore and also alder -that I cut to up to 2 foot or more in length.
For the smaller fireplace I am burning rhododendron that I cleared last year.They have a lot of smaller branches and they don't really make as nice a fire but it means I don't have to keep burning my best logs every day.
I also have an old stone garage with leaky walls as well as just plain walls that keep out some of the rain and provide support for the stacks.
But I haven't bothered to properly stack the rhododendron at all and so I am burning it not just greenish but also really icy and even damp on the outside (unless I dig into the middle of a stack where they do seem to be dry at least.
I know they say not to burn logs green as it will soot up the chimney but I figure that I can get around that by more frequent cleaning.
Also I have been told not to burn rhododendron green as it is toxic but I don't think that is true -I haven't noticed any symptoms so far anyway .

CJhaughey

Dry Rhodo burns like coal, it is really good wood.
I would caution you and say that I have seen very few things that dry in an old stone shed. There is something about stone and concrete that just stops things from drying.
Burning wood green and cold is not efficient at all, the amount of energy that is used just to heat and drive moisture out of the wood negates a large part of the calorific output of the wood.

Iwannahurl

CJhaughey wrote: »

Dry Rhodo burns like coal, it is really good wood.
I would caution you and say that I have seen very few things that dry in an old stone shed. There is something about stone and concrete that just stops things from drying.
Burning wood green and cold is not efficient at all, the amount of energy that is used just to heat and drive moisture out of the wood negates a large part of the calorific output of the wood.

Very good and interesting tip re Rhodo.

Makes you wonder: given that many of our woods (native and otherwise) are being choked with Rhodo, there ought to be an economic incentive to clearing it out. At the moment controlling its spread depends on "Rhodie Bashing" volunteers, doesn't it?

General question: is kiln-dried wood a sustainable fuel? There are several suppliers in Ireland (some selling imported stuff) and I have wondered whether it makes sense. It's great to have such dry logs, but at what environmental cost ultimately? I guess it depends on the energy source used to dry the logs...

Pj!

heinbloed

Nice, Pj !